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Here's an illustration of what happens when we assume that functional testing automatically covers integrations. You get into a taxi and, after some time, arrive at your destination. During the ride, the driver kept calling you by the wrong name, decided to take a 20-minute detour, and bumped into a tree at the end. You did get to where you were supposed to. But did you enjoy the trip? More importantly, would you want to repeat it? The reason for the initial assumption is in the nature of functional tests. They primarily focus on checking if a feature works. And if that feature has integrations, they would exercise them. It's exactly this part that confuses many. It makes us think that dedicated integration testing is redundant. And in a world where time is money and speed is key, skipping a thing or two in QA sounds tempting. Allow us to show you why such a view on functional vs integration testing can really hurt your product. The Impact of Functional Testing Let's start with the b...

Automated UI testing is a somewhat controversial subject. On the one hand, you have the perks of faster time to market, consistent user experience, better scalability, etc. On the other hand, maintenance effort is high, results heavily depend on team skills, and limitations aren't minor. The pros and cons come in very close. That's why determining whether you actually need automation is half of your success with it. Why Automation UI Testing Can Lead to Troubles Automation can wreak havoc on your project. To figure out why, we need to get to the basics and answer, "What is automated UI testing?" It's the process of using tools to automate the checks of your app's UI. Let's dissect the issues that can come out of this. Tools: Selecting automated UI testing frameworks and software is delicate and complex. Setting up, using, and maintaining them properly needs precise expertise. They have their limitations and can't deal with certain UI aspects. Automation itself: Without de...

Treating mobile functional testing as a standard routine will make your app brittle. We're so used to seeing functional tests as something obvious, done for any project, that sometimes, we forget the real power it holds. It's not just about making sure your product works as needed. It's about building a foundation for your software. It's the departure point that makes the entire journey. In this blog post, we're sharing insights from our QA engineers on how to advance functional testing for mobile applications. Common Aspects Missed in Functional Testing for Mobile Apps Everyone knows the answer to "What is functional testing?" It's the staple of quality assurance and the backbone of all apps. And yet, we've seen quite a few details in functional tests being overlooked. This can be due to a range of reasons. The most prevalent ones are: Tight deadlines or budgets (needing to skip certain points to not stretch your resources thin). Insufficient team skills (making mistakes due to ...

Security threats are the forever top-of-the-list challenges for companies. So, it's no surprise that investments in that area are growing. However, it's also no surprise that hackers are adapting quickly. And their new favorite victim is APIs. In fact, just in the last year, 99% of organizations experienced API security troubles. Why did these tiny communicators become blackhats' sweet spot? It's really simple. APIs are extremely prevalent. Most web traffic now flows through them. On average, companies use 131 third-party APIs. Yet, only around 20% can successfully detect attacks at the API level. And so, we're left with a huge gap in necessary protection measures. That's why today, we'll be focusing on how to improve your API security testing. Why We Do API Testing in Cyber Security Services An incredible thing about APIs is that they are tiny but mighty, connecting your app with other systems and services. But that's also scary. Because one flaw in these lining elements can cause a ...

"How can we speed up delivery?" is a pretty dangerous question. And yet, rising competition and shifting user expectations make us come back to that query again and again. Process optimization, investing in quality tools, and advancing team skills would be an unrivaled mix of solutions. But in some cases, they'd take too long, be a tad expensive, or turn out impractical. These situations lead to another scary question: "Should we skip something?". And quite often, a crew's eyes land on regression vs functional testing. They're utterly similar, after all. While omitting certain elements of quality assurance is not unheard of, even NASA does it, this approach shouldn't be applied to the mentioned duo. Today, we'll explore: Why that's the case. How to use both functional and regression testing. And what can help you up project quality and stress less about expenses and effort. What Is Functional Testing? Let's start by figuring out: what is functional testing? Skipping mind-bendi...

At this point, it looks like half of the people are so pro-AI that they ignore all of its faults. And the other half are so against it that they refuse to recognize its worth. You can be sure that both camps are missing out on a big chunk of quality. That's why this article's focus is the objective breakdown of AI-based performance testing. We'll take a look at the state of traditional load tests. Review the perks and limitations of AI in the field (as well as a few imaginary ones). Figure out the most value-adding uses of artificial intelligence. And analyze how to work with AI to get the most out of it. Here we go. Traditional vs AI Performance Testing So, why are so many saying that conventional performance testing services don't cut it anymore? To figure it out, we need to recap how they work. Test Planning The first phase of performance testing is test planning. It's mostly dedicated to defining goals, success criteria, and critical flows. At this point, your team also p...

Digital accessibility has always been surrounded by many struggles. Some companies couldn't get it right. And some overlooked it or didn't care. That's how we ended up with rising accessibility related lawsuits, bumped up fines for non-compliance, and organizations losing billions of dollars. While people battle with basic accessibility issues, most firms fail to resolve them. And so, the state of web accessibility is pretty much the same as it was a decade ago. But things are about to change. They need to. The EU introduced the most advanced accessibility regulations to date. And the US is expecting a huge overhaul to the Americans with Disabilities Act. In light of this, companies are actively looking for solutions that improve their accessibility. So far, the most popular option is automated software testing services. Can Accessibility Testing Be Automated? For accessibility, automated testing offers accuracy and efficiency. It also lets you save time so the team can focus on more ...

AI can never replace people's creativity and intuition. But it's phenomenal with data. That's why it has found its place in an area that is considered human-led. AI for usability testing is gaining traction and already being called a game-changer. We prefer to skip loud titles and get to the bottom of things. So, let's figure out what artificial intelligence can do, where it fails, and whether it deserves your attention. User Experience, Usability, & User Interface—A Brief Refresh First, we need to understand why AI is being pushed into usability testing. Is it another gimmick or an actual revolution in how we do things? Let's start with getting to know usability and its relatives. What Is Usability In Software? Usability focuses on how an actual person uses your product. It includes the technical metrics, such as ease of navigation, and, to a degree, psychological aspects, such as the emotional response. So, let's say you've just downloaded a brand-new game. Your first hours will be...

The single metric of load time can make or break your conversion, user satisfaction, and revenue. Imagine what combined performance criteria can do to your app. You're well aware of the impact performance testing has on your product. And you know that it's tricky to run. That's why we're here to figure out how to simplify and refine it. So, let's learn how to productively couple automated software testing services and performance tests. Can Performance Testing Be Automated? Anything can be automated. The real question is, will that "anything" produce quality results when automated? Luckily, in the case of performance automation testing, the active phase (test runs and report generation) is fully executable by tools. You can even use AI to design investigation scenarios and analyze the outcomes. But automated software performance testing doesn't necessarily presuppose taking care of the entire cycle. What Is Automated Performance Testing? To figure out what automated performance testin...