Software testing importance and benefits

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Software testing is a crucial part of the software development lifecycle. Yet, many developers consider it a bottleneck or secondary task in the development process. But like others, I have a different opinion. I think testing is my best mate during development. I figured after investing a long time in developing software – from simple command-line utilities to cloud-based web applications.

The best friend alerts you when you move in the wrong direction. He keeps track of your progress. He is always with you, and nothing can replace him. In the same way, your unit tests alert you if your code is about to break or if you need further thinking.

In my opinion, development is not about writing source code and completing the features. Instead, it is about writing source code and then proving that it works in all foreseen scenarios.

I have been programming since 2006 and have written many lines of source code. I have been working on E-commerce website development using Drupal for the last five years. Software testing is the main activity I do in my work. It helped me a lot and made my life easier.

 

So, what is software testing anyway?

In simple terms, it is a process of proving that your written code generates the same predictable output in all foreseen testing scenarios.

You write a simple feature and then add testing elements to test against different data sets and scenarios.

Let's assume you have a feature - Download a file from the server.

The testing scenarios could be;

  1. Does the file exist?
  2. Is the file protected against downloading?
  3. Is this a legitimate downloading request?

Your feature is complete once you pass these scenarios. These scenarios also help you to elaborate on requirements presented by clients.

 

Importance of software testing

In short, software testing helps you identify the presence of bugs in your code. Having spent many development hours, I found the following importance of software testing.

  1. Help you write maintainable code.
  2. Help you think clearly.
  3. Help you find the complex features early in development.

 

Benefits of software testing

The following are some advantages you find when you include complete test suites.

  1. Help you in refactoring the code later in the maintenance cycle.
  2. Help you generate the ongoing progress report at any time. You can share it with your clients or peers to review.
  3. Help you make clear thinking and less dependable code. Meaning you create a reusable and less dependent code.

 

When to start software testing?

You can start it from project inception or when specifications are getting outlined. If you do not have authority, at the least, you can initiate the testing as soon as project development starts. However, many project managers include a testing team after completing the partial development.

I know your development team may be reluctant to include a QA person. But you should add him anyway. It is worth a try.

Your development time will exponentially increase when you introduce the testing team later. The team finds many inconsistent requirements and a lack of design choices.

I always see my testing team as a helping hand. What do you think?  

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