With the advent of digitalization, the popularity of mobile and web applications increased tremendously. With time passing by, the users’ expectations kept on increasing, and consequently, the technology for developing mobile and web applications kept on advancing. Application testing took center stage as it promised an increase in the speed and quality of applications’ performance. Issues resolved by application testing were plenty, and to name a few were accommodating maximum users in an application, minimizing the loading time, supporting various browsers and os, attractive and straightforward UI, responsive UI design, the seamless performance of various functionalities, etc. This speaks volumes about the importance of application testing. Over the years application testing has evolved tremendously and still many organizations are struggling to adopt them, so let’s have an overview on these testing trends that cannot be ignored in the coming years.
Continuous testing
These days most application development organizations are focusing on implementing continuous testing as much as possible. Continuous testing helps investigate the quality of the application at each stage of the development life cycle. Basically, in continuous testing, the application is tested at each and every stage of the development lifecycle, from planning, designing to deployment and monitoring. In Continuous testing, as testing starts from the earlier stages, it becomes easier to detect and rectify the bugs at the later stages. Also, it reduces the cost of rectifying the bugs at the later stages. It increases the speed and quality of testing.
Shift Left
Shift left is about moving the testing phase earlier in the software development lifecycle. The idea is to avoid testing activities taking place after the development lifecycle. In shift left, we introduce testing in the early stage of the software development lifecycle. Here, the QA teams focus on attention to detail and start testing from the development cycle’s latest stages.
- Find bugs from earlier stages of the software development life cycle
- Reduce the cost of solving bugs at later stages by detecting them early on
- Gain a higher-quality product as the code contains fewer bugs and code fixes
- Higher chances of product release on time.
- Delivers higher customer satisfaction as the code is stable and delivered within the time
- Maintains higher-quality codebase
Mobile DevOps
Mobile DevOps aims at better efficiency and shorter release cycles. By DevOps, we mean defining the Development and Operation part in one iterative loop so that each step in development feeds the next step. Mobile DevOps promotes and prepares a comfortable environment for continuous testing. Hence mobile DevOps increases the speed and efficiency of the development process. The advantages of mobile DevOps are as follows:
- Shortens release time
- Enables better quality application development
- Saves time and makes use of efficient resources
- Can quickly solve the bottlenecks and dilute the inefficient practices in software development
- Provides access to multiple tools
CI/CD Pipeline
The ci/cd pipeline is the pipeline for the entire application development cycle. It systematically covers the continuous integration and continuous delivery process and streamlines the entire application development process. It increases the speed and efficiency of the application development process. The pipeline includes the entire development stage from designing, testing, development, deploying, monitoring, etc. It consists of a number of integrated tools and APIs for carrying out the complete continuous integration and continuous delivery process. It increases the overall efficiency of the development lifecycle.
Continuous Integration
In Continuous Integration, small units of codes are deployed in a centralized server at a very high frequency, i.e., in one day, a lot of codes are deployed in a server. Once the code is deployed, the build is passed for testing. If the test is successful, the code is deployed to the production server otherwise, the code is passed to the developer for fixing bugs. Here the tester does not need to wait for long hours for testing, as small chunks of codes are deployed in the central repository. This increases the speed of testing and the overall development process. Also, like the small chunks of codes that are tested and deployed frequently, it is easier to fix the bugs; hence the quality of the code increases and even the speed of app development increases.
Conclusion
Brands across the globe are focusing on application testing solutions that promise the high performance of their applications. An excellent performing application or website has the power to acquire traffic and leads and retain your customers. Application testing helps in increasing the quality and speed of the application and its overall performance. As mobile app testing is evolving, we have to make a point to adapt to all the upcoming trends to develop high-performing applications. Using the right tools and frameworks can make a significant difference. Hence, consider these testing trends mentioned above and see what you can do to incorporate them into your application’s testing life cycle, as they are a must to develop high-performing applications.