Feb 28

The Different Phases of QA Testing

QA testing can be confusing to anyone who doesn’t work in tech – and even many who do. For those who are unaware of what QA testing entails, the vague concept might be “looking for problems in a website or app.” But there are many different phases of QA testing. Some of them happen before a product is even ready to test!

Read on to find out more about the different phases of manual QA testing.

The Design Phase

One of the first steps that QA can help with is the design phase. This might seem surprising, as QA testers aren’t exactly known for being graphic designers. But testers can provide valuable insight into user experience issues with design.

If QA can anticipate design and user interface issues before development begins, the team will save money, time, and effort. Continue reading →

Sep 1

Wes Silverstein

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

QA testing may sound like a catch-all term — and in some ways, it is. “QA” stands for Quality Assurance, and all of the different types of software testing have this goal. But each type of testing achieves it differently. As a result, they’re best used for different purposes. Find out how what the different types of software testing are, and when to use them.

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

The main types of software testing are:

Manual Testing
Automated Testing
API Testing
Performance/Load Testing

These types of testing can be done on websites, mobile apps, and other software.

Manual Testing

Manual Testing is done by hand. This doesn’t mean not using technology — far from it. But it does mean manually going through different sections of a mobile app, websites, or other software, looking for any problems. Unlike automated, API, or performance testing, all you need for manual testing is access to the website or app. The other main types of software testing typically involve using other software or tools to test and/or find bugs. Continue reading →

Jul 5

Wes Silverstein

Manual Testing / QA Engineering

What is Manual Testing?

What is Manual Testing?

In the world of QA, automated testing is becoming more and more popular. This can be confusing to employers, who aren’t sure how much automated testing they need, and whether it can replace manual testing completely. Some aren’t even sure what manual testing is, or how it differs from automation.

The reality is that manual testing is the cornerstone of a good Agile QA process and should have a strong presence in any Engineering team.

What is Manual Testing?

Manual testing involves manually performing actions on a mobile app or website, looking for bugs or other user experience issues.

For example, let’s say that you wanted to test whether a login feature in an iOS app was working. With manual testing, you would: Continue reading →

Nov 13

Wes Silverstein

Automated Testing / Manual Testing / QA Engineering / QA Process

Manual Testing vs. Automated Testing

Manual Testing vs. Automated Testing

For the field of software testing, manual testing vs. automated testing has become a hot debate. In recent years, automated testing has become more and more in demand. In fact, a quick search of QA jobs on sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. will show that the majority of these jobs now require automation experience with a language like Java, Python, etc.

This can prove daunting for testers with a background in manual testing, who typically leave the coding to developers. It can also be confusing to employers. Many managers aren’t sure how much automated testing they need, and whether it can replace manual testing completely.

Some companies use 100% manual testing to great success. Others have attempted to do 100% automation, and had to re-think their strategy — so the reality isn’t always as black and white as it may appear.

The ideal combination is having both manual and automated testing. The amount of each depends on your exact product/service and what your company’s Agile QA process is like. For example, if you’re constantly adding new features, you’ll need very rigorous manual testers. Of course, ideally you’ll also have automated regression tests set up, to make sure that the new features being introduced aren’t breaking old features. Continue reading →