How to do Functional Testing for Cloud-based Applications?
An increasing number of organizations are moving towards adopting cloud applications as they offer a lot more advantages than traditional web-based applications. In a 2020 IDG survey, 92% of organizations have stated that they use cloud technology in some form or the other.
However, just like every application, to ensure the seamless working of cloud-based applications, their functionalities must also be tested and validated. So, this is where cloud app testing comes into the picture.
Functional testing is a QA process that verifies and validates all the functionalities of a software product. It is a type of black box testing that can be conducted within any STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle) stage, depending on the requirement. Nonetheless, executing a functional test for a cloud-based application is not much different from regular functional testing.
Here are some best practices that will help you get an idea about going ahead with functional testing for cloud-based applications:
Set up & manage the testing environment.
One of the bigger challenges that enterprises face is setting up a test environment and maintaining it throughout every functional testing stage. Modern test labs consist of multiple tools, real devices and browsers, all of which are required to set up a robust software testing environment. For organizations, arranging most of these by themselves would mean additional acquisition and maintenance costs.
However, if organizations opt for cloud testing of their applications, they can save a lot of inconveniences. Additionally, functional testing of cloud apps in a cloud-based environment can enable remote accessibility as well as control on any platform, irrespective of their versions.
Hence, depending on your requirements, you can set up a testbed or seek guidance from an experienced quality engineering company.
Automate the functional testing frameworks.
Functional testing as a framework, includes various testing processes such as unit testing, sanity testing, smoke testing, regression testing so on and so forth. On the basis of their testing approach, you can automate most of these processes. Automating these testing processes can allow you greater test coverage and increased time for resolving any testing-related issue.
Here are some standard practices that you can follow while performing automated functional testing for your cloud applications:
- It is essential to keep a record of every cross-platform script from the cloud itself. Doing so will ease the task of testers as it would help them swiftly create the script structures. Using the cloud would further enhance the user interface factors, checkpoints and other elements while testing.
- As no plug-in or local software is required, just by uploading the recorded tests, you can run the existing tests in the cloud and then directly from the browsers.
- Irrespective of which framework you use to write and run the automated test scripts, you can get the results displayed in your browser.
Contemplate on the manual testing processes.
Not all functional test processes can be automated, so you will also need to consider managing the manual processes. For example, unit testing focuses on the functionality of standalone modules, the developers, therefore, do the manual testing here.
In manual functional testing, there is a limited use of browsers as well as devices. But, for cloud app testing, you need to find new ways to ease this process and ensure a better user experience. One such way is to examine the repeatability of the manual aspects of the functional testing, such as automated screenshot captures, annotations, etc. All such duplication of work in the manual testing procedures can be easily automated.
Use the right test automation tool.
To automate your functional testing for the cloud-based application, you need to identify the best-in-class automation tools. Once you have decided on the tools, you also need to ensure that you have complete access to the tool. Since most organizations are not well-versed in automation frameworks, it is advisable to seek the expert guidance of test automation service providers instead of choosing them on your own.
Irrespective of whether you have opted for a quality engineering service provider or are doing it all by yourself, here are a few things that you need to consider before going ahead with tools to automate the functional tests for cloud-based applications:
- Ensure effectiveness of the tool in safeguarding your mission-critical sensitive data.
- Assess the difficulty level in understanding the complexity and stability of automation tools.
- Understand the scope of tool upgradation and its ability to support the latest browsers as well as real devices.
Take actions on the basis of insights during the testing processes.
When prioritizing work, software testing engineers bank primarily on their experience and learnings to tackle most of the QA-related issues. However, as QA teams move towards a shift-left approach, the outcome is usually high-quality software products and shorter release cycles.
To successfully ensure that all aspects of functional cloud-based testing follow this approach, it is crucial that you focus on accuracy and precision in the testing practices. One such way to do this is to base your actions on production analytics (SDKs & JavaScript). These analytics tools provide you with actionable insights that help you prioritize a specific functional testing process viz-a-viz the browser or device.
Adopt parallel testing frameworks.
Running a parallel test on a software product can significantly increase the test coverage, simultaneously decreasing the testing time. In cloud-based testing, you have the option of performing parallel tests across multiple platforms with distinct scripts. So, it’s imperative on your part to start using it from the word go.
The path ahead…
Even though most of these best practices are quite helpful for functional testing your cloud-based applications, performing a functional test over the cloud still has its own set of challenges. These challenges can range from writing test scripts to running integration tests on the beta version on your cloud-based applications.
Therefore, to ensure seamless testing across all platforms and browsers, it is recommended to opt for an industry-leading business assurance company with expertise in providing excellent software testing services for all your cloud application needs.
