Best Practices to Implement Continuous Testing in Agile & DevOps

Best Practices to Implement Continuous Testing in Agile & DevOps

Posted by admin | Posted On March 14th, 2023 | General

What is Continuous Testing in DevOps

Continuous Testing ensures the product is evaluated early, often, and throughout the entire Continuous Delivery (CD) process. Continuous Testing uses automated tests (i.e., Unit tests, API Tests, UI Tests, and/or DB Tests) to ensure developers receive immediate feedback to mitigate as many risks as possible throughout the software development lifecycle.

It’s evident that every software application is built uniquely, and it needs to be updated regularly to meet end-user requirements. As the development and deployment process was rigid, changing and deploying features required considerable time. This is because projects earlier had definite timelines for development and QA phases, and the codebase was transferred between teams.

However, with the Agile approach becoming mainstream, making changes even in real-time has become more convenient, primarily due to Continuous Testing and the CI/CD pipeline. The code continually moves from Development to Testing to Deployment Stages.

The following are the best practices to reap the best out of continuous Testing –

Adopt More Test Automation and Optimize it

Automating as much as possible in the development lifecycle will help you achieve faster releases.

Keep this in mind. If you shift from a fully manual testing procedure, don’t expect automation to happen overnight. It can take time to set up. But once you do, the time-saving benefits will earn you points with your customers, who won’t have to wait as long for new features. Or even getting your product to market before your competition can.

Multi-layer Tests

For a successful application or product deployment cycle, it is important that all development facets or phases are covered extensively by the QA team and vetted for quality. Hence, testing teams need to leverage a multi-layer strategic approach. Consider having different layers of continuous automated tests – Unit Testing, Integration tests, API Tests, E2E UI Tests, database tests, and performance tests. Unit Tests are the fastest, then comes API Tests and UI tests are the slowest. We need to maintain the balance between these tests to improve the speed of test execution and the quality of Testing.

Leverage the CI Pipeline

Adopting the right tools is the first step to ramping up a CI/CD pipeline. The tool supports various test types required by a continuous delivery cycle, including unit and regression testing.

Tracking Metrics

Use quantifiable metrics to keep track of your success or failure rate during Testing. Continuous Testing offers immediate results to see if the software works as expected. Hard data yield results to measure progress and quality outputs. Tracking how many bugs are found and corrected provides continuous validation for your business value ROI.

Two key metrics you need to be sure to keep track of are: counts of defects and counts of fail/pass test scripts. Tracking the number of defects discovered in your testing process will help you determine if the number increases or decreases. If it increases, strategize ways to change your development process; if it decreases, keep up the great work! Additionally, keeping track of the number of passes/fails test scripts will help you produce a comprehensive testing strategy to improve your application’s functionality.

Leverage Containerization

Containerization is bundling all components of an application – including configuration files, libraries, and dependencies – within its own operating system.

Containerization makes continuous testing easier to process by keeping each application’s service in its own environment. Imagine testing only the specific code you need at one time rather than the entire application.

Also, using containers for your test environments keeps the often difficult-to-maintain environments up-to-date with the latest code changes that would be released to production. Furthermore, if the test suite fails or the data becomes corrupted, the container can be discarded and another one set up with fresh data.

Integrate Automation Tool reporting with Test Management tools

When Automated tests are integrated with Test Management tools such as Jira-Xray/Zephyr, TestRail, PractiTest, Microsoft DevOps, etc., automated tests results can be posted into the test management tools with evidence in case of passed/failed tests. This process improves transparency the Quality Assurance across the stakeholders of the application. This also helps generate many test reports, such as traceability matrices, test execution reports, etc.

Conclusion

Continuous testing is a great way to ensure your product is released to the market at the quality customers expect. You’ll be off to a great start if you incorporate these best practices before implementing continuous testing within your organization. You can also take this free self-assessment to learn where your team is in the continuous testing maturity roadmap and get expert tips to improve your CI/CD.

Discover how QualiTlabs can elevate the quality of your software products. For a personalized free consultation, inquiries, or expert assistance, please get in touch with us at sales@qualitlabs.com. Let us be your trusted partner in achieving exceptional quality and success.

GraphQL and REST Test Automation – the Key differences

Posted by admin | Posted On March 14th, 2023 | General

As the world of software development continues to evolve, new technologies are constantly emerging to improve the way we build and consume applications. One such technology that has gained popularity in recent years is GraphQL, which offers an alternative to the traditional REST API architecture. In this blog post, we will discuss the key differences between REST and GraphQL for API test automation and how testers can ensure they are effectively testing both.

REST (Representational State Transfer)

REST is a widely used architectural style for building web services, which has been around for over a decade. REST APIs rely on HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform operations on resources that are identified by URIs. REST is known for its simplicity and scalability and is widely supported by popular testing tools such as JMeter, Katalon Studio, Postman, Rest Assured, etc.

GraphQL

GraphQL, on the other hand, is a query language for APIs and a runtime for fulfilling those queries. Unlike REST, which relies on multiple endpoints to fetch data, GraphQL uses a single endpoint and allows clients to specify exactly what data they need. This reduces the amount of data transferred over the network, improves performance, and allows for more flexibility in client-side development. GraphQL also provides powerful tools for schema validation and type checking, making ensuring data consistency across applications easier. It is widely supported by popular testing tools such as Katalon Studio, Postman, Rest Assured, etc.

Key differences between Testing the REST and GraphQL

So, what are the key differences between REST and GraphQL for API test automation? One of the main challenges in testing REST APIs is ensuring that the API endpoints return the correct data and that they are properly secured. This requires careful planning and design and a robust testing strategy that covers all the relevant endpoints and scenarios.

With GraphQL, testing becomes more focused on ensuring the schema and queries are correct and the API properly responds to client requests. This can be achieved through automated testing tools that validate the schema and manual testing to ensure the queries return the expected results.

Another key difference between REST and GraphQL for API test automation is the level of documentation required. REST APIs often require extensive documentation, including details on each endpoint, the HTTP methods it supports, and any required parameters. GraphQL APIs, on the other hand, require less documentation as clients can easily explore the API schema to determine what data is available and how to query it.

Simple code to test REST API using Rest Assured library in Java:

 import org.junit.Test;
import io.restassured.RestAssured;
import io.restassured.response.Response;

public class RestApiTest {
    @Test
    public void testRestApi() {
        RestAssured.baseURI = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com";
        Response response = RestAssured.given()
            .when()
            .get("/todos/1")
            .then()
            .extract()
            .response();
        String responseBody = response.getBody().asString();
        System.out.println("Response body is: " + responseBody);
      // apply the assertions as needed on responseBody
    }
}

And here’s a simple code to test GraphQL API using the Rest Assured library in Java:

import org.junit.Test;
import io.restassured.RestAssured;
import io.restassured.response.Response;

public class GraphqlApiTest {
    @Test
    public void testGraphqlApi() {
        RestAssured.baseURI = "https://api.github.com/graphql";
        String query = "{\"query\":\"{ viewer { login } }\"}";
        Response response = RestAssured.given()
            .header("Authorization", "Bearer <your_token>")
            .header("Accept", "application/vnd.github.v3+json")
            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
            .body(query)
            .post()
            .then()
            .extract()
            .response();
        String responseBody = response.getBody().asString();
        System.out.println("Response body is: " + responseBody);
        // apply the assertions as needed on responseBody

    }
}

Conclusion

In conclusion, while both REST and GraphQL offer unique benefits for API development, the approach to testing each requires a different strategy. REST APIs require thorough testing of each endpoint to ensure data consistency and security, while GraphQL APIs require more focused testing of the schema and queries. By understanding these differences, testers can develop effective testing strategies that ensure the quality and reliability of their applications.

Please feel free to reach out to us at sales@qualitlabs.com for any help or questions.

Selenium WebDriverManager: Setup Guide, Benefits, Features, and Best Practices

Posted by admin | Posted On March 10th, 2023 | General

Selenium WebDriver is one of the most popular tools for automating web browsers. It allows testers to write automated tests in various programming languages such as Java, Python, and C#, among others. However, one of the biggest challenges with Selenium is setting up and managing the WebDriver executable files for different browsers and platforms. This is where WebDriverManager comes in – a powerful tool that simplifies the process of managing WebDriver dependencies in Selenium. In this blog, we will discuss the setup guide, benefits, features, and best practices of using WebDriverManager.

Setup Guide

Before we dive into the benefits and features of WebDriverManager, let’s first take a look at how to set it up. WebDriverManager can be set up in three easy steps:

Step 1: Add WebDriverManager Dependency

WebDriverManager is a Java library that can be added to your project as a dependency. You can add it to your project using your preferred build tool such as Maven, Gradle, or Ivy. Here is an example of adding the WebDriverManager dependency to a Maven project:

<dependency>
    <groupId>io.github.bonigarcia</groupId>
    <artifactId>webdrivermanager</artifactId>
    <version>5.1.1</version>
</dependency>

Step 2: Instantiate WebDriverManager

After adding the WebDriverManager dependency, you need to instantiate it in your code. You can do this by calling the WebDriverManager.getInstance() method. This method initializes the WebDriverManager and sets the system properties for the WebDriver executable files. Here is an example of instantiating WebDriverManager for Chrome:

 WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

Step 3: Use WebDriver

Finally, you can use the WebDriver instance to automate your tests. Here is an example of using WebDriver to open a website and verify the page title:

 driver.get("https://www.google.com/");
String title = driver.getTitle();
Assert.assertEquals(title, "Google");
driver.quit();

And that’s it! With these three simple steps, you can set up WebDriverManager and start automating your tests with Selenium.

Benefits of WebDriverManager

Now that we have seen how to set up WebDriverManager let’s discuss its benefits.

Simplified WebDriver Setup

The primary benefit of using WebDriverManager is that it simplifies the process of setting up WebDriver dependencies for different browsers and platforms. With WebDriverManager, you no longer need to download and manage the WebDriver executable files manually. WebDriverManager automatically downloads the appropriate WebDriver executable files and sets the system properties for them.

Cross-Browser and Platform Support

Another benefit of using WebDriverManager is that it provides cross-browser and platform support. WebDriverManager can automatically download and manage WebDriver dependencies for different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It also supports different operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Easy Upgrades

WebDriverManager also makes it easy to upgrade the WebDriver versions. When a new version of WebDriver is released, you can simply update the WebDriverManager version and it will automatically download and manage the new WebDriver executable files.

Reduced Maintenance Overhead

By simplifying the WebDriver setup and management, WebDriverManager reduces the maintenance overhead of Selenium tests. It eliminates the need to manually download and manage the WebDriver executable files, which can be a time-consuming and error-prone process.

Features of WebDriverManager

In addition to the benefits, WebDriverManager also comes with several features that make it a powerful tool for managing WebDriver dependencies in Selenium.

Dynamic Version Detection

One of the key features of WebDriverManager is its dynamic version detection. WebDriverManager can automatically detect the latest version of WebDriver and download it. It also provides the flexibility to

choose a specific version of WebDriver if required.

Local and Remote Configuration

Another feature of WebDriverManager is its support for both local and remote configuration. WebDriverManager can be configured to download WebDriver dependencies locally or remotely from a specified URL. This feature is particularly useful for organizations that need to manage their own WebDriver dependencies.

Customizable Configuration

WebDriverManager also provides a range of customizable configuration options. You can configure the download path for the WebDriver executable files, the proxy settings for downloading, and the timeout for downloading. This feature allows you to customize WebDriverManager to meet your specific requirements.

Integration with Selenium Grid

Finally, WebDriverManager integrates seamlessly with Selenium Grid for distributed testing. With WebDriverManager, you can set up a Selenium Grid environment and automatically download and manage WebDriver dependencies for different nodes in the grid.

Best Practices for Using WebDriverManager

While WebDriverManager simplifies the process of managing WebDriver dependencies, there are still some best practices that you should follow to ensure that your tests run smoothly. Here are some best practices for using WebDriverManager:

Keep WebDriverManager Up-to-Date

WebDriverManager is constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes. To ensure that you are taking advantage of the latest enhancements and fixes, it’s important to keep WebDriverManager up-to-date.

Use Specific Versions of WebDriver

While WebDriverManager can automatically detect the latest version of WebDriver, it’s always a good idea to use specific versions of WebDriver for your tests. This ensures that your tests are consistent and stable across different environments.

Check Compatibility with Selenium Versions

Before using WebDriverManager, it’s important to check the compatibility of the WebDriver version with your Selenium version. Some WebDriver versions may not be compatible with certain Selenium versions, which can cause issues with your tests.

Configure Proxy Settings for Downloading

If your organization uses a proxy server for internet access, it’s important to configure the proxy settings for downloading WebDriver dependencies. This ensures that WebDriverManager can download the required files without any issues.

Use Parallel Testing with Selenium Grid

Finally, to optimize the performance of your tests, it’s a good idea to use parallel testing with Selenium Grid. By setting up a Selenium Grid environment and using WebDriverManager to manage the WebDriver dependencies, you can run your tests in parallel across multiple nodes in the grid, which can significantly reduce test execution time.

In conclusion, WebDriverManager is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of managing WebDriver dependencies in Selenium. By following best practices and taking advantage of its features, you can ensure that your tests run smoothly and efficiently. With WebDriverManager, you can focus on writing high-quality tests without worrying about the complexities of managing WebDriver dependencies.

Please feel free to reach out to us at sales@qualitlabs.com for any help or questions.

Salesforce App Testing: Challenges, Solutions, and Benefits

Posted by admin | Posted On March 10th, 2023 | General

As a Salesforce app developer or user, you want to ensure that your app functions flawlessly and delivers a seamless experience to its users. With thousands of apps available on the Salesforce AppExchange, testing and automating the testing process is critical to ensure quality thoroughly.

This blog will cover the challenges and best practices for testing Salesforce apps and how to automate testing to ensure consistency and accuracy.

Why is Testing Important for Salesforce Apps?

Salesforce apps are built on a complex platform that is highly customizable, and it’s easy to overlook certain functionalities that can lead to issues down the line. Therefore, it is crucial to test apps thoroughly to ensure they function correctly and deliver a seamless experience to users.

The consequences of a poorly tested app can be disastrous. It can lead to user frustration, lower adoption rates, and even financial losses. Therefore, investing in thorough testing is vital for any Salesforce app.

Challenges in Salesforce App Testing

Salesforce app testing can be challenging due to the platform’s complexity and each app’s varying functionality. Some of the significant challenges businesses face when testing their Salesforce apps include the following:

1. Diverse Environment: Salesforce environments can vary based on the organization’s needs and configurations, making testing the app across all environments challenging.
   
2. Time-Consuming: Manual testing can be time-consuming, and with multiple Salesforce apps, it can become overwhelming to test all of them manually.
   
3. Maintenance and Updates: As Salesforce and the apps get updated, testing the app for compatibility with the latest versions is essential.

Best Practices for Salesforce App Testing

1. Define Test Scenarios: Begin by defining your testing objectives and what you want to achieve from testing. Identify test scenarios that cover all use cases and functionalities of the app. This will help you ensure that you have tested every aspect of the app and that it functions correctly.
   
2. Use Different Testing Techniques: Use different testing techniques, such as unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing, to ensure that every layer of the app is tested.
   
3. Create Test Data: Create test data that resembles real-world data to ensure your app performs well in real-world scenarios.
   
4. Use Test Automation: Automate your testing process to ensure consistency and accuracy. Automation can save time and resources while ensuring that your app functions flawlessly.
   
5. Use Appropriate Testing Tools: Use testing tools designed for Salesforce apps to ensure you are testing the app effectively and accurately.
   
6. Deal properly with Diverse Environments for Manual and automation testing – Ensuring that the customized Salesforce apps (tailored to an organization’s needs and configuration) function properly across these environments requires a thorough testing process considering the different configuration setups. Therefore, developing a comprehensive testing strategy that addresses the challenges of testing customized Salesforce apps across various environments is important.
   

Salesforce App Testing Automation

Automating the testing process can save time and resources while ensuring consistency and accuracy. Here are some best practices for automating Salesforce app testing:

1. Use Appropriate Automation Tools: Use automation tools designed for Salesforce apps to ensure your testing process is accurate and effective.
   
2. Create Automated Test Scenarios: Create automated test scenarios that cover all use cases and functionalities of the app. This will help you ensure your app is thoroughly tested and functions correctly.
   
3. Run Tests Regularly: Run your automated tests regularly to catch issues early and ensure that your app functions flawlessly.
   
4. Integrate Testing into Your Development Process: Integrate testing into your development process to catch and fix issues early before they reach production.

Conclusion

Thorough testing is crucial for any Salesforce app to ensure that it functions correctly and delivers a seamless experience to users. Following best practices for testing and automating testing processes, you can ensure your app functions flawlessly and successfully on the Salesforce AppExchange.

Please feel free to reach out to us at sales@qualitlabs.com for any help or questions.

Testing Blockchain dApps for Scalability, Security and User Experience

Posted by admin | Posted On March 10th, 2023 | General

Blockchain technology is quickly becoming one of the most popular technologies in the world, and with it comes the rise of decentralized applications (dApps). These dApps are built on top of blockchain networks like Ethereum and are designed to be transparent, secure, and immutable. However, despite their many benefits, blockchain dApps must be thoroughly tested to ensure they work as intended. In this article, we’ll look at what blockchain dApps are, why they need to be tested, and how to test them effectively.

What is a Blockchain dApp?

A blockchain dApp is a decentralized application that runs on top of a blockchain network. These applications are typically open-source and rely on smart contracts to function. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts stored on the blockchain and automatically execute when certain conditions are met. Because of their decentralized nature, dApps are not controlled by any single entity and can be accessed and used by anyone with an internet connection.

Why Test Blockchain dApps?

Blockchain dApps need to be tested for a variety of reasons. Firstly, because they are built on top of complex smart contracts, coding errors could lead to security vulnerabilities or even the loss of funds. Secondly, because blockchain networks are decentralized, there is no central authority to oversee and correct errors, making testing even more important. Finally, because dApps are designed to be used by anyone with an internet connection, they need to be tested to ensure they function properly across different devices, operating systems, and network speeds.

How to Test Blockchain dApps

Testing blockchain dApps requires a different approach than traditional software testing. Here are some key considerations for testing dApps:

Test the Smart Contracts: Because dApps rely on smart contracts to function, it’s important to test these contracts to ensure they work as intended thoroughly. This includes testing for code errors, security vulnerabilities, and compatibility with the blockchain network.

Test the User Interface: In addition to testing the smart contracts, it’s also important to test the user interface of the dApp. This includes testing for usability, accessibility, and compatibility across different devices and operating systems.

Test for Security: Security testing is crucial because blockchain networks are decentralized and can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection. This includes testing for vulnerabilities like denial-of-service attacks, SQL injections, and other potential security threats.

Test for Performance: Because blockchain networks can be slow and inefficient, it’s important to test the performance of the dApp across different network speeds and under different load conditions.

Test for Compatibility: Finally, it’s important to test the dApp’s compatibility with different blockchain networks, wallets, and other third-party tools that it may interact with.

Tools for Testing Blockchain dApps

There are several tools available for testing blockchain dApps, including:

Truffle Suite: This development framework for Ethereum includes tools for testing smart contracts.

Ganache: This is a personal blockchain for Ethereum that can be used for testing smart contracts and dApps.

Manticore: This is a symbolic execution tool for testing smart contracts.

Remix: This is a web-based IDE for Ethereum that includes tools for testing smart contracts and dApps.

Best practices for blockchain dApp Testing

Here are some best practices for testing a blockchain dApp:

1. Test on different networks: Test the dApp on different blockchain networks such as testnet, rinkeby, and ropsten before deploying on the mainnet. This helps to ensure that the dApp is functioning correctly on different networks and also allows you to test the smart contract code in different environments.
   
2. Test with different clients: Test the dApp with blockchain clients such as Geth, Parity, and Besu to ensure it works with different client implementations. This also helps to identify any client-specific issues.
   
3. Test with different browsers: Test the dApp on different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari to ensure it works correctly on different platforms.
   
4. Test for edge cases: Test the dApp for edge cases such as low network connectivity, invalid inputs, and insufficient funds to ensure it handles these cases gracefully.
   
5. Test smart contract security: Use tools such as Mythril and Solhint to test the smart contract code for security vulnerabilities. This helps to ensure that the smart contract is secure and cannot be exploited by attackers.
   
6. Test for scalability: Test the dApp for scalability by simulating high transaction volumes and network congestion. This helps to identify any performance issues and optimize the dApp for scalability.
   
7. Test user experience: Test the dApp from a user’s perspective to ensure it is intuitive and easy to use. This can be done by conducting user testing and gathering feedback from users.
   
8. Document test cases: Document all the test cases and results to ensure that they can be reproduced and verified. This also helps to ensure that the dApp is fully tested and meets all requirements.

Following these best practices ensures that your blockchain dApp is thoroughly tested and ready for deployment.

Conclusion

Blockchain dApps are becoming more popular, and with their many benefits come unique challenges for testing. To ensure the security, usability, and compatibility of dApps, it’s important to thoroughly test them using a combination of smart contract testing, user interface testing, security testing, performance testing, and compatibility testing. Using the right tools and techniques, developers and testers can ensure that blockchain dApps are functioning properly and providing the intended benefits to their users.

Please feel free to reach out to us at sales@qualitlabs.com for any help or questions.