Quality assurance is an important aspect of software development and delivery, where the products should meet the needs and expectations of the customers and stakeholders. Therefore, QA experts need to stay on top of the most cutting-edge instruments available, including test automation, to make their work more convenient and effective.
The concept of quality being more important than quantity applies very well when it comes to software testing and quality assurance. For instance, software companies continue to respond with agility and shift their approach towards testing amidst the turbulence that has arisen as a result of the pandemic. Nowadays, there is a higher awareness of digital acceleration and new technology and tools than before.
Therefore, firms are adopting agile testing approaches at the early stages of software development. Trends in software quality testing have shifted towards emphasizing factors such as reliability and error elimination.
We shall dive into some of today’s advanced and latest approaches and tools used for quality assurance and software testing.
Table of Contents
Latest Tools for Quality Assurance Professionals to Learn
Listed below are a few of the best QA Testing tools, along with their key features:
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Selenium
Selenium, an open-source automation testing tool, is the most used and common tool among various automation testing tools listed to test different web applications. Quality Analysts use it widely because it is available in many languages and browsers, and test automation is customizable.
Selenium is used to:
- Testing the function of websites on various browsers.
- Carry out cross-browser testing to ascertain if the website remains constant in diverse browsers.
- It offers a single interface for writing test scripts in programming languages such as Ruby, Java, NodeJS, PHP, Perl, Python, JavaScript, etc. Selenium is very much extensible, and it can easily be integrated with other tools and frameworks such as TestNG, JUnit, Cucumber, etc.
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LambdaTest
LambdaTest is a scalable cloud-based cross-browser testing platform that provides all website or web app testing needs to cloud infrastructure. LambdaTest will enable you to see your web app elements like CSS, JavaScript, HTML5, Video, etc., and will render correctly in every desktop and mobile web browser both manually, visually and automatically.
LambdaTest provides you with over 3000 combinations of desktop and mobile browsers on the cloud. Secondly, we also have a developer tool called LT browser that can be used to test how responsive your web page is. Interactive dev tools and scroll sync, along with over 25+ devices, have made mobile web testing very comfortable with LT Browser. There are even devices that you can create and test localhost URLs without any extensions or tunnels.
Lambdatest automated testing offers increased efficiency, faster feedback cycles, and less testing time and cost. The repetitive nature of automated tests makes regression testing easier and helps to confirm that the application’s existing functionality is not interrupted by new changes or updates.
Lambdatest also offers parallel testing, where more than one automated test can be run at the same time, thus saving up on time. In addition, testers can integrate their automated tests with their CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing and integration.
At large, Lambdatest provides automated testing that is an integral part of the process of testing. It helps a team to increase the quality and reliability of a web application or website and decreases the manual effort involved in testing.
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Appium
Appium is an open-source system that helps QA specialists execute automated testing of mobile applications on various platforms, namely iOS, Android, and Windows.
It automates testing for:
- Applications written in iOS, Android or Windows SDKs.
- Mobile Web Applications are accessible through mobile browsers such as Safari, Chrome, or native Android browser apps.
- Native-wrapper web view-based Hybrid Mobile Applications.
Appium is a cross-platform testing framework which is flexible so that testers may write test scripts against multiple platforms like iOS, Windows, and Android. It means that QAs will employ the same code for both iOS and Android, thereby saving their time and effort.
Just like Selenium, Appium allows QAs to write test scripts in various programming languages like Java, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, and C#.
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Cypress
Cypress is a JavaScript-based end-to-end testing tool for modern web test automation. The tool runs in the browser with a DOM manipulation technique, allowing front-end developers and QQ engineers to write automated web tests with ease, doing away with the pain points.
Key Features:
- Real-Time Reloads: During test development, cypress provides real-time reloading, enabling testers to view how the application behaves as they write test scripts.
- Debugging: The testing tool features an easy debugging function that enables testers to pinpoint and fix problems in test scripts.
- Automatic Waiting: Cypress works automatically by waiting for elements to appear on a page; hence, less explicit wait statements are required.
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JMeter
Apache JMeter is an open-source software written purely in Java. This software is used to execute performance testing, functional testing, and load testing for web applications.
It is applied to test load testing functional behavior and performance measurement. It achieves this by creating a multitude of concurrent users, which simulates a high load. At first, JMeter was meant for testing applications, but it has grown into other test functions.
Key Features:
- Multi-Protocol Support: JMeter is versatile because of its ability to test a variety of protocols such as HTTP, FTP, JDBC, and many more for performance.
- Distributed Testing: JMeter can distribute tests to multiple machines that simulate a large number of users and concurrent requests.
- In-Depth Reporting: JMeter gives thorough test reports and performance indices to trace bottlenecks and weak spots.
Latest Technologies and Practices that Quality Assurance Professionals Should Learn
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Test Automation (Scriptless)
Test automation has enjoyed its fair share of attention with the increasing interest in web development. Nevertheless, when observing the prevailing market forces, manual testing becomes too slow and sometimes even redundant. Currently, many multinational companies are implementing the scriptless automation of software quality testing. With it, the developers can code to enable automatic testing and avoid issues like coding errors. Based on Gartner, in 2023, 40 percent of large companies will implement AI-augmented automation to boost output.
However, with the application of this technique, IT companies are now able to develop marketable software at a much faster speed.
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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning allow software systems to get data and patterns as well as feedback for performing tasks that a person would normally perform. QA can be increased by utilizing smart test generation, test optimization, defect analysis, and predictive analytics of AI and ML. QA professionals should be taught to apply AI and ML techniques and tools to their testing processes, including, but not limited to, NLP, generating test cases from user stories, computer vision in identifying visual defects, and data mining in prioritizing test cases.
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IoT-Based Testing
Software quality audit involves ensuring that different segments of the system integrate and function together seamlessly. It is important to note that IoT is an innovative technology which aids the process of software integration.
Software testing is carried out based on IoT, in this regard, all operating systems, communication protocols, software & hardware implementations in different devices must be in sync and be ready to deliver them. This connective smart device protects the business from all threats and vulnerabilities.
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Performance Engineering
All companies want to make high-end software. Nonetheless, attaining this is only possible once a greater deal is placed on other elements like usability, cybersecurity, business value, and technology stacks.
The process can be especially cumbersome in the long run when balancing it with UX and market demand. Luckily, there are a group of professional QA software testers that will help you overcome any bugs or bottlenecks at the initial stages of the process.
Performance engineering can be termed as an alternative for performance testing standards mainly based on MVPs or ready-made applications.
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Regression Testing
Regression testing is another special QA testing variant that is called a powerful tool for 2023. It is a testing procedure that is implemented when one tries making a possible application change and when linking a new feature.
Engineers apply this testing practice to check if a new software performs after designing. This software testing methodology works incredibly well if your design often alters and updates the application, including bugs or errors in the main design.
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DevOps Culture
If you are always up-to-date with the latest developments in the software world, I am sure you have come across DevOps-as-a-Service. The practice of this is pervasive; it is a process that involves operations and development to achieve a test-centric culture. Essentially, DevOps testing culture simply means having some collaborations that take place between the Dev and Ops teams.
These days, it is a modern collaboration and coordination code protocol between different teams with faster delivery of software and, thus, faster release. Also, DevOps culture in the practical implementation makes it possible to provide feedback and, hence, quality software and increased customer satisfaction.
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Integration Testing
However, it should be noted that every software module has its application component to be integrated in order to make the whole system’s work process smooth. In enterprises, integrated testing is used to test each module’s security and effectiveness as one team.
Software companies find integration tests beneficial as it provides several advantages. For instance, when an integration test is applied, it identifies processes at the system level where it detects issues such as broken databases and corrupted integrations, among others. It is done faster and earlier during the development phase of the software test.
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User Acceptance Testing
After that, the usability and function testing of the software takes place according to the UA testing process in the software quality testing team. It is done prior to the software being transferred into the production phase. The last phase of this software testing is prior to the product’s launch so that the stakeholders can ensure their products have been segmented and developed in line with the prescribed specifications.
At this point, the stakeholders can also test it out for any mistakes before they advance to the functionality test phase. The year 2023 sees more users being more critical of software testing, so UA testing has become even more significant for software testing.
Consequently, if the end users cannot decode and operate the product by this time, the market hits for the software would drop, therefore impacting both stakeholders, businessmen and others who have invested in the same.
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Accessibility Testing
Nowadays, we are living in an ever-online world, and there exist more than tens of millions of mobile apps and connected devices. We do not doubt that mobile and web applications must be convenient for persons with disabilities and the broadest possible coverage of the target audience when it comes to delivering software products. On the other hand, the markets are not so vibrant for those with some disabilities.
However, companies are compelled to utilize the value of usability testing to gain access to all kinds of consumers. The software quality assurance testing protocol, however, does not limit itself to verification of user application usability but also focuses on better user acceptance. It includes testing for auditory, visual, physical, cognitive, speech, learning, language, and neurological disabilities.
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Selenium Testing
Organizations adopting DevOps and Agile methods should use different software quality testing tools for test automation in order to ensure faster releases. It also releases the product to the market at a faster pace. Selenium is often a used testing tool for this protocol. This lightweight and simple-to-use developer tool allows for the automation of web applications.
The Playback option is an addition to this testing tool that facilitates the creation of functional tests without learning the test script language or the Selenium IDE.
Conclusion
In summary, quality assurance professionals should keep up with the latest tools and technologies in their field. Most enterprises emphasize quality to match the market requirements because professionals use contemporary methods to make the products relevant. It is necessary to adopt various tools in LambdaTest, Selenium and testing methods to ensure the quality and reliability of software products. These evolving tools and technologies are very important in the current software industry, where the demands are rising, and high-quality software has to match the users’ needs.
