Who Needs Software Testing?

As we embark on this new year, many companies are, appropriately, assessing their quality assurance strategies. From cyber security, to compliance, to business continuity, organizations are aiming to mitigate risk and increase productivity. Despite these efforts, automated testing, which is of central importance, is often overlooked. Without proper testing practices in place, companies wager that their systems are achieving efficient output. In serving as a trusted advisor, TIC consistently evaluates market trends for solutions to help our clients achieve maximum profitability and productivity. With this in mind, TIC has partnered with Ascert, a market leader in automated testing. In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to introducing our clients, and the larger NonStop community further, to the suite of software testing products offered by Ascert.

Here is an introductory blog on the importance of formal testing by our partner Rich Greene of Ascert.

Did you know companies often release code or products without any formalized testing at all? In fact, a US Defense Department survey found that 83% of IT companies conduct little to no testing! Companies are taking a huge risk with the success of their products and quite simply, by not testing, they’re gambling – that an error will not occur and/or that something catastrophic will not happen because of bad code. As is in gambling (and in coding), though, rarely anything goes according to plan.

Why don’t companies conduct the proper tests before releasing a product? The answer is a combination of avoidance and fear. That being said, putting together some formalized testing process doesn’t have to be complicated. It also doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t necessarily need to cost a lot of money. (Generally, the last consideration is the one that stops a lot of companies from looking to either establishing a testing practice or revving up the one they already have in place).

The big question is how much should you spend on testing? The answer is going to be different for everyone. To begin to come to the right answer you first need to decide how much you are willing to lose. Ask yourself why does a company buy key man insurance, health insurance, or liability insurance? The answer is to mitigate the financial damage that might occur. Implementing a testing practice in your business is just like getting insurance. The only difference is that you’re not waiting for something bad to happen, you’re making sure it doesn’t! It’s just sound business practice. Whatever the amount, the correct answer is that you should invest “something” in formalized testing.

If that is not enough of a reason to test, how about these four reasons:

1. Software testing saves money: since the development process usually has many stages, being able to catch bugs in the earliest stage possible will cost much less to fix. Little by little, it adds up to big savings over time.
2. Software testing can make money: If you are in the business to release a new product to the revenue-generating market, the faster you can get “quality” product to market the better.
3. It adds security: If you are dealing with personal customer information, security is paramount to your business. One bad data breach can have catastrophic effects.
4. Customer satisfaction: The ultimate goal for any business is to deliver the best product or service and garner high levels of customer satisfaction. Buggy software, or services that don’t operate as the customer expects, will quickly lose their trust. Comprehensive product testing helps to ensure you retain the customer’s trust, loyalty, and many more future repurchases.

If you’re ready to stop taking unnecessary risks and want to take control of your software project’s success, you just need to take the first step – and that step is to educate yourself more on testing. You can start here by checking out Ascert’s suite of Versatest Software Testing tools.

Contact Ascert’s richg@ascert.com to find out how we can help you build a successful software testing strategy.

Dr. Richard Greene, DBA, has more than 30 years of experience as a sales executive and testing professional. He’s active in sports and is a 7-time Ironman finisher and ultra-distance open water Swimmer. Rich also has a passion for helping others to achieve peak performance in their personal and professional lives.
As a Sales Director at Ascert, he draws upon this passion for excellence to help companies realize their highest levels of efficiency and business potential. Using the industry’s leading technology from Ascert, his customers can achieve unprecedented levels of testing productivity and performance in their organizations.