Software testing is a really important part of the development process. Our skilled Quality Control specialists use a bunch of tools that support testing operations and significantly improve their effectiveness. In this blog post, we will explain what we use and why.
Before we begin, a quick explanation of what QC actually is.
Quality Control is a proper name for all testing processes happening inside a digital agency. Its main purpose is to find bugs in developed software and give feedback that helps to fix them.
So, what kind of tools can help testers with their daily work?
Types of testing tools
We can sort these tools into a couple of basic categories — based on their functionalities. These are:
- Automation testing tools
- Bug tracking systems
- Test management tools
- Performance testing tools
- Manual testing tools
Let’s give them a rundown — see what their advantages are and why their help is invaluable.
Automation testing tools
Oftentimes, when it comes to complex and long-lasting projects we introduce test automation to make the processes more efficient and to reduce the cost of regression tests. Implementation of the automatic tests can also save time when it comes to manual, repeatable activities — and this way it allows for investing more into other types of testing, for example exploration tests.
Automation of routine work equals testing products the same way each time which means no human-factor is involved. That can be crucial for the results.
This type of tests can be created using different programming languages, but usually that’s C#, Python or Java. Thanks to their big popularity, but also lots of help from devs and testers when it comes to their advancement, these languages have many ready-to-use solutions and libraries supporting them.
Additionally, there are also tools that work by the rule of record and play — for example Selenium IDE — that are dedicated to everyone who is not experienced enough to write their own code. It is worth mentioning, that these tools can be more prone to application changes and expensive to maintain.
Bug tracking systems
Bug reporting is one of the tester’s main duties. Many useful tools were created to report them efficiently and transparently. They make the job easier for testers and programmers, too. Thanks to these systems, bug management and reporting is easy. Each team member can track the process of fixing them.
Test management tools
Testers do not only report bugs but they also have some other responsibilities to keep in mind. That includes creating:
- Test plans
- Test scenarios
- Test reports
Doing all those things can be supported by test management tools. Most of them can integrate with the most popular bug tracking systems — so we can have all the needed data in one place.
Performance testing tools
Most tests for performance, load and stress are usually not possible to do manually or just unprofitable. Especially since there are many tools that can run scripts to simulate traffic of thousands of users in different time sequences or at the same time. It allows us to verify the system will respond regarding reaction time, maximum load or stress.
Manual testing tools
While performing exploratory testing in SBTM (Session Based Test Management) model, it is important to make notes during the session. The reason is that this approach — unlike testing based on test cases — we don’t report bugs while tests are still ongoing.
No matter which method you choose, reporting bugs should be very detailed. What’s most important is to deliver as much information as possible for each fault — so we often use screenshots or even video clips.
Sometimes we need to create accounts or fill out forms in the systems we test, which can be time-consuming. That’s why we use many tools that can make the job of a tester much more efficient.
Our favorite tools
Here’s a list of some popular testing tools, that we also use at iteo:
- Selenium Framework: for end-2-end test automation for web apps. It supports most of the popular internet browsers. Using it we can write automated tests with well-known programming languages like C#, Python and Java.
- Insomnia REST Client: it’s an open-source tool for API testing. Works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It has a user-friendly GUI and advanced options like code generator, authentication support and environment variables.
- SoapUI: another open-source tool for API testing and efficiency testing. Mostly for web applications.
- Gatling: great for performance and load testing of web apps. Includes an advanced system for reporting test results. Generating HTML report with it has information such as: active users over time, response time distribution, response time percentiles over time, requests per second over time, responses per second over time. It supports HTML, WebSocket, Server-sent events and JMS protocols.
- Appium: another framework used for tests automation. This one is useful for native mobile applications, mobile web apps and hybrid applications for Android and iOS.
- Postman: this tool assists in creating and testing API thanks to the possibility of sending different HTML requests (GET, POST, etc.). It cooperates with different programming languages (JavaScript, Python).
- Jira: a paid system for tracking and reporting bugs. Thanks to many different plugins it can be useful for test management.
- Rapid Reporter: a free-to-use tool for Windows and Mac that helps with exploring tests in SBTM (Session Based Test Management) model. It creates notes from each session.
- Rapid Paste: a tool for keeping predefined data with basic data generators. The app is dedicated for Windows and written by one of our testers.
- PicPick: this is a fully functional software for snapping screenshots. An intuitive image editor with a probe and a color palette, a ruler, a protractor, area measuring and more.
To sum it up
As you might already know from our blog, testing is super important for every product designed by a digital agency. We always want to be sure that the mobile apps and websites we create work properly. That’s why we use the tools mentioned above — to make our work more productive and precise.
If you are looking for a company that always pays attention to details — throughout every part of the product development — let us know what you have in mind. We’re here to help!
