When the entire global
digital landscape is underpinned on the reliability or performance of software,
the role of software reliability testing becomes critical. In the metrics of
gauging performance, reliability is often pegged above efficiency owing to the
following reasons:
·
The lack of product
reliability can be telling on the brand value of a company. This may lead the
end-users to shy away from buying the software, thus impacting sales.
·
For critical systems
like navigation control in an aircraft or an embedded software in a medical
device, any system failure can have serious consequences.
·
An inefficient system
can be improved by working on small sections of the program suite. However, an
unreliable system can be difficult to improve as the glitches leading to such
unreliability are not localized but distributed throughout the suite.
·
Inefficient systems can
lead to delays and have their own sets of issues. However, the consequences of
unreliable systems can be more telling on their immediate surroundings or the
people handling them.
·
Inefficient programs can
take a long time to execute. This may help programmers or users to find out the
issues and remedy them. However, unreliable systems may not sound any alarm
until it is too late. For example, a design flaw in an aircraft may not be
visible during testing but can manifest itself in the form of a crash.
·
Executing each function
fully at least once.
·
Reducing the interaction
between functions.
·
Checking the new
functionality for its quality and accuracy.
·
Identifying bugs that
could get into the system after the new addition or modification.
Since reliability is a
critical factor when it comes to the execution of software, software
reliability testing needs to be pursued in right earnest. However, let us first
understand what software
quality testing in
terms of validating reliability is all about.
What is software
reliability testing?
Reliability testing as a
part of software quality assurance services ensures consistent performance and
functioning of the software. This means the software should render fault-free
performance in a given environment and time period. Importantly, the end-users
tend to believe in the outcome of any software. They mostly have blind faith in
the performance of software, which may lead to unforeseen consequences. For
example, a glitch-prone banking software can be hacked into by cybercriminals
with disastrous results. However, users do not brook such a possibility while
using the software. Thus, software quality testing becomes the key to ensuring
their trust.
How to make your
software failure-free courtesy software testing services?
The reliability of the software can be assured by executing a number of tests as detailed below:
·
Feature
testing: This type of
software testing services check the features and functionality of the
software. It tests if the application runs according to the expected outcomes.
Also, it checks the interoperability of the software with other components and
environments. The test comprises the following activities -
·
Regression
testing: This type of testing is
done when a new version of the software is added to the build. This validates
the new version to be free of any glitches. The activities associated with this
type of testing are as follows.
·
Load
testing: This type of testing
checks whether a particular functionality works to its optimum when subjected
to the highest workload. The test ensures the software responds within a
minimum time, say 5 seconds, to the user commands. If this test is not
conducted, then the system can crash abruptly or suffer from latency. This can
lead to frustrating user experiences and creating a negative impression of the
brand.
·
Security
testing: Given that a large
number of software is dealing with sensitive personal and business information,
security testing has become integral to reliability testing. It relates to
identifying the vulnerabilities and preventing any unauthorized access. Also, the
testing checks if the software complies with the industry-accepted rules,
standards, etc. This is more apparent with software that deals with banking and
financial transactions.
Conclusion
The reliability of
software is arguably the most important facet of any software application.
Also, it is relatively costly than other forms of testing thus necessitating
proper test management. As the complexity of software increases with each
passing day, software quality engineering can play a key role in driving
reliability. Reliability testing can go a long way in ensuring better user
experiences and maintain the competitive edge of businesses.
This article is already
published on medium.com
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