SmartBear recently asked you to consider “Why Testing Matters”. From Apple’s iOS11 autocorrect failure to a revealing Facebook bug, there are plenty of everyday examples that pop-up to prove why software testing matters.
Whether it’s a loss in revenue, a hit to your company’s reputation, or even an oversight that could put your users in danger, businesses have a lot to lose by leaving their software untested.
In thinking about #WhyTestingMatters, we asked a few industry professionals to add their two cents from an insider’s perspective. Here’s what they had to say.
On What Happens Without Enough Testing:
“Early in my career, I worked on a product that used multiple data points to make predictions about how much traffic a store could expect. Because the product used multiple data points, it was important for each data point to deliver correct information.
At one juncture, our customers said that their video capture data was returning different numbers than our reports. Upon first glance, our numbers were not different than reported numbers. I dug deeper. There were discrepancies in the videos capture that were not reflected in the software. By watching hours of videos, I identified what was happening, and brought samples to the engineering team.
In this case, testing and following my hunch resulted in replacing our third-party vendor, which resulted in more accurate video capture data. Ultimately, my tests resulted in more accurate data, which tightened up the prediction engine. Fortunately, we were able to catch and address this issue in testing, but it might have been a different story if the company had inaccurate traffic predictions around the holidays.”
-Jess Ingrassellino, Senior Technical Staff in QA at Salesforce, JessIngrassellino.com and on Twitter as @jess_ingrass
“The team developing a new European Union shopping cart found out quickly that the VAT tax test server was flaky. But was that the cause of the one-cent discrepancy between the estimated and actual price that randomly appeared? Everyone on the team thought so. I wasn’t sure.
Taking my Selenium script that placed an EU order, I looped it twenty times, collecting data all the while. It had a failure rate of 40 – 60%. After showing the metrics gathered to the new developer assigned to the EU cart, he checked his code. It turned out he had made a rounding error calculating the estimated and actual tax differently.
Does something not feel right? Don’t just go with a hunch or a gut feeling. Make sure to do the legwork required.”
-T.J. Maher, Senior QA Engineer and Ministry of Testing Boston Organizer, Adventures in Automation and on Twitter as @tjmaher1
“Testing doesn’t matter. Not always. But it does matter when your favorite app doesn’t work, or your financial transaction fails to process for you! There is an old saying ‘if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it really make a noise’. The same applies to testing. Testing needs a purpose.
We never realize the power of autocorrect until something as simple as the word ‘It’ is autocorrected to ‘I.T.’ in the latest version of iOS. Therefore, I.T. matters to that person using their phone and appearing to say the wrong things! Testing is important when we need to communicate correctly!
So many times, even the simplest of defects can cause the most grief to us. The first time you find yourself trying to use a product that simply does not work as expected, you too will realize that testing does matter.”
-Mike Lyles, QA Director at MikeWLyles.com and on Twitter @mikelyles
“#WhyTestingMatters It matters because when you are designing a system for a ‘US agency’ for missile positioning, you don’t want that software released without proper and extra testing. I wish I could say more… Go TestComplete and thank you for saving my butt.”
-Lino Tadros, President and CEO of Falafel Software, linotadros.com and on Twitter @linotadros
On Why Software Testing Matters:
“There are so many factors that contribute to software being ‘of quality‘ that typically you have only the resources to make a few stand out. Those that are emphasized become part of your brand. You wouldn’t want your brand to become infamous for a faulty decision that could have been prevented by smarter testing, would you?
Testing can be a trusted advisor to help the business make informed decisions around quality – like when to release. In other words: Testing matters because quality keeps customers coming back for more.”
-Trevor Atkins, Principal Consultant at ThinkTesting.com and on Twitter @thinktesting
“Why does testing matter? Would we be asked why development matters? Or why design matters? Or why management of any kind matters? Why accounting processes matter? Would we assign any of these other tasks to someone who hasn’t studied their role? Why do we and others often think so low of testing? Why do people think that anyone can understand the complexity of software and find the problems that matter? How long are people going to continue kidding themselves that they can save a few bucks by hiring people on the cheap that really don’t know what they are doing?
Testing matters because software is complex. Increasingly complex as the technology connects and integrates with so many other mind-boggling ‘things’.
Testing matters because humans are complex and fallible. No matter how hard a team will try, mistakes will happen. Good testing increases the chance of stopping them get through.
Testing matters because the software experience is crucial to a business’s success. Who else will go through the effort of getting to know your software inside out?
Testing matters because bugs will exist, like it or not, and whilst in theory any can find a bug, testers are the ones that will have the time and knowledge to help you have the confidence to release.”
-Rosie Sherry, Ministry of Testing Founder and BossBoss, on Twitter at @ministryoftest and @rosiesherry
Why does testing matter to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments or tweet it out!
