Author: headspin

You can conduct performance testing to ensure that the software is working properly. Software performance testing is divided into two distinct categories. 

• Client-side Testing: The scope of client-side testing is to evaluate end-to-end scenarios while evaluating the rendering of elements such as CSS and JavaScript files. 
• Server-side Testing: The scope of server-side testing is to evaluate logical scenarios, focus on the application behavior under user load, and check the server response time. 

In both of these testings, experiments are run to check performance of the website. These tests check the application for bottlenecks, review the time it takes to load under different speeds, and analyze its loading speed, stability, and scalability. 

In the instance of conducting client-side performance testing, what we are checking is: 

• How fast and efficient the application is. 
• The response time of a web application if the user is using the website for the first time and when they revisit the website the second time. 
• The time it takes to render web page elements to the users. 
• The time it takes for the user to interact with the first web element and the average time to display the web content.

The Objective of Client-Side Performance Testing 

The objective of client-side performance testing, or any performance testing, is to ascertain, evaluate, and make necessary changes in the problem areas.

For optimal results on your client-side performance testing, you can: 

• Compress the images and the JS (JavaScript) code. 
• Provide faster response times, enable better cache techniques. JS code caching reduces the start-up time of websites. 
• Ensure implementation of necessary changes after evaluating the results of server-side performance testing. 
• Minimize HTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and JavaScript content. 
• Remove all unused CSS and JavaScript codes. 
• Upgrade the server hardware to create more memory space, if needed. 

To study, analyze, and make necessary changes in the application, software engineers use metrics to study the key performance indicators to form a conclusion.

Metric Performance Testing 

Metrics define the performance of an application by estimating the health, quality, and productivity of the software. A metric establishes the quality of the performance in quantitative terms. Studying metrics can help software engineers and web developers in the following areas: 

• It assists in understanding how much improvement is required and where it is required. 
• It helps with the early detection of problems within an application or website. 
• It is a determiner to check the progress of the development. 
• They provide critical insights about application/ software behavior. 
• It is a measure of quality assurance and is easy to discuss and improve upon due to its quantitative nature. 
• It also helps developers make important decisions, such as estimating the cost of a project and scheduling a future project. 
• It evaluates whether the current technology needs any modifications.

Types of Software Testing Metrics

• Process Metrics: This metric defines the characteristics and execution and is essential for improving the software development life cycle. 
• Product Metrics: It defines a product’s performance, design, quality, and complexity to tackle its quality. 
• Project Metrics: It measures the overall quality of a project. It calculates the team’s performance, calculates the project’s costs and defects, and estimates the deliverables.

Client-side Metrics in Performance Testing 

Client-side metrics in performance testing test the application’s response for different clients using different platforms such as desktop, mobile, smart TV, etc. Client-side metrics check interaction speed, location, and connection speed. 

Important Client-side Metrics in Performance Testing 

• Time to First Byte (TTFB)
  ‍Time to First Byte is a client-side metric that measures the time spent connecting with the server and downloading the site’s contents. The acceptable range of TTFB is between 100-500ms (milliseconds), with anything being under 100ms is even better.
  The unacceptable range of TTFB is anything more than 500ms. Developers can improve upon this by reducing HTTP requests, optimize the application code and database queries, and use a content delivery network.

• ‍CPU Idle Time
  ‍CPU Idle Time metric measures the amount of time the CPU was not busy and was waiting for a response from the third party.
• ‍Payload
  ‍In web development, the word ‘payload’ refers to the difference between essential information in a chunk of data and the information used to support it. In the context of malware, ‘payload’ refers to the transmission of malicious code via worms, phishing emails, and other mechanisms.
• ‍Time to Interact
  ‍Time to Interact or TTI metric measures the time it takes for a website to become fully interactive. A fully interactive page displays useful content and is responsive to user interaction within 50 milliseconds. The acceptable range of the TTI metric is between 0 and 7.3 milliseconds. Between 0-4 milliseconds, it is fast, and between 4.1-7.3 milliseconds is moderate.
  The unacceptable range of the TTI metric is anything above 7.3 milliseconds which is considered slow. Some ways to improve the TTI score are reducing payloads with code splitting, decreasing JavaScript, lowering main thread work, and optimizing third-party JavaScript.

• ‍Speed Index
  ‍The Speed Index metric calculates the time it takes for the contents of a page to become visibly populated. They are measured in milliseconds, and the lower the score, the faster is the loading performance.
• ‍Load Time
  ‍The Load time metric measures the time it takes for a page to appear on your screen. It is calculated from the time you click on a link to when it finishes loading to completion. It is crucial because it determines search engine ranking and increases customer satisfaction.
  You can reduce the load time by minimizing the file size, combining HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, choosing the most appropriate hosting option, and enabling browser caching.
  The acceptable range of load time is a contentious subject, with users wanting the optimal time to be 3 seconds, while the average load time is 15 seconds.
• ‍Time to Render
  ‍This metric calculates its time to process and display elements to the users.

Conclusion

Customer satisfaction is vital when it comes to your website. Performance testing is useful for checking the usability of your website. Client-side metrics in performance testing are tools that help you in this context.

Article Source:

This article originally published on:

https://www.headspin.io/blog/client-side-performance-testing-metrics-to-consider

Software development involves different steps and processes, ranging from writing code and testing every function to debugging and deploying. Unit testing is an important test method used by QA teams to ensure that a software product is free of errors and meets all essential requirements. Nowadays, unit testing has become imperative in the software testing cycle to ensure that each unit of the software product is completely functional and operates as planned. Unit testing is generally considered the first step in the software development life cycle (SDLC). In unit testing, testers validate each testable part of an application to ensure that each unit of the app’s code works as intended. Unit testing is normally executed in the early development stages of an application by developers or testers.

This blog discusses unit testing’s importance, advantages, and various testing techniques in detail.

Fundamentals of Unit Testing

In a software application, the smallest part of a code that can be tested is called a unit of code. Unit testing is a testing method used in the software development cycle to validate that a unit of code will behave as intended and that the tested code will produce the same result every time the test is performed. Unit testing comes under white-box testing, and it is generally done by writing test cases that exercise individual functions, methods, and classes. Unit tests are normally written in pseudocode. The accuracy of the code, code coverage, implementation and maintenance of coding standards, and verification of the functionality covered by the piece of code are the main components or functions verified by QA experts with unit testing.

Here are the four important steps used by QA teams to run unit tests.

• Writing test cases: Developing multiple test cases of applications’ components.
• Review and edit: Verifying the written test cases and editing them if there are any errors. 
• Baseline: Ensuring whether each code line is in a manner or not.
• Execution: Executing test cases to identify possible errors.

Test cases of unit testing are simple and clear so that they are easy to read and understand, even if they have complex logic and lots of variables. Unit testing is performed before integration testing, which saves a lot of time and costs. Moreover, unit tests can be carried out manually or with test automation tools.

Importance of Unit Testing

Unit testing is crucial for developers during software development, as proper unit testing in the early stage of development can help them save time and money. The programmers or developers generally execute this testing in the development environment before combining the code with other existing functional modules of code. There is a high probability that the code turns out to be faulty if the unit testing of a software application is not performed.

Some of the main reasons why testers consider unit testing an important part of the software testing cycle include:

• Identify bugs or errors at the early stages: As unit testing is executed before integration testing, possible errors and bugs can be detected early in the development cycle before they become pervasive. 
• Easily and quickly debug software applications: In unit testing, it would be easier to detect the bugs, as the units are tested, not the combined modules, thus, making the debugging process easier and faster.
• Isolate a unit of code and verify that it works properly: Unit testing helps QA experts make code more maintainable by allowing them to modify it without changing other parts of the app.
• Test software application’s functionality: With the help of unit testing, testers can validate every module unit before integrating it into a software application. 
• Reduce cost and save time: In the software testing cycle, integration testing is considered relatively high maintenance and complex. With unit testing done before integration testing, QA teams can save a lot of time and drastically cut the overall cost. 

Different Unit Testing Techniques

Unit testing of software applications can be performed with the help of three main testing techniques:

‍1. Structural Testing Technique

The structural testing method is a test that evaluates the structure of a software application. This test is often known as white box testing. As structural testing necessitates a thorough understanding of the code, the development team considers this testing mandatory.

‍2. Functional Testing Technique

The functional testing method is a test that aims to verify that each app feature works as per the requirements of the software. This testing is performed by putting sample inputs, recording the resulting outputs, and verifying that the actual outputs match the expected outputs.

‍3. Error-based Testing Technique

The error-based testing technique is an experience-based testing technique where testers use their experience to guess the problematic areas of the software application. Some of the error-based testing techniques are historical test data, mutation testing, and fault seeding techniques.

Major Benefits of Unit Testing

Unit testing is essential for fast and agile software development. It can also help development and QA teams have various short- and long-term benefits, the biggest ones being improved overall software application quality and customer satisfaction. Let’s check some of the major benefits of unit testing.

1. Accelerated Software Development 

Writing a complete set of unit tests helps testers understand inputs, outputs, errors, and the overall architecture of the code very well. As a result, development teams can identify bugs and errors in the code very early in the development process. It is very easy to be in an endless and unproductive testing cycle. However, unit tests can save a lot of time and effort for QA teams, as they remarkably identify regressions.

2. Minimum Regressions

Regression bugs are errors that are introduced after an update is made to the software and did not exist before that update. Bug fixes and new features can cause regression bugs to break existing functionalities. A well-designed and comprehensive unit testing will help QA teams prevent breaking functionality that previously worked.

3. Test in Isolation

Unit testing allows testers to evaluate the method logic in isolation from its dependencies. In this type of testing, when an error is introduced, only a specific type of unit test will fail and show that there is an error. QA teams will be able to understand what the underlying problem is and fix it immediately. Isolation allows all unit tests to be performed in random order. This is crucial because tests are a dynamic system — adding new tests, changing or deleting existing tests, and keeping test cases independent may reduce dependencies between tests. Some tests may fail during some runs and pass in others if done incorrectly. Debugging these types of failures is difficult and time-consuming. The main takeaway of this testing is that the order in which the unit testing is performed will not affect the outcome of the unit test.

4. Code Modification, Refactoring, and Maintenance

Once testers have covered the bulk of their software applications by unit tests, it is assumed that they have covered all the bases for delivering high-quality applications on time. Moreover, unit testing gives developers the confidence to update the software application, knowing it will work as expected and prevent bugs and regressions.

5. Cost Reduction 

The cost of identifying and fixing an error during the initial stages of software application development is lower than doing it once the software is in production. This is because testing is context-dependent. When testers are engaged in the process of implementing new functionality, their mind is faster and better at identifying an issue than doing it weeks later when it needs to re-create the code structure from scratch. Errors that go unresolved late in the process can have significant negative implications for a company’s business, such as damaged reputation, payment of contractual penalties, customer dissatisfaction, or even a lawsuit.

6. Easy Upgradation of Third-Party Libraries

Software applications depend on third-party libraries. Unit tests allow testers to upgrade any third-party library without a defect outside their control. Updating third-party technology is particularly important when new features, significant improvements, and bug fixes are released that will benefit the software. The more often testers do it, the easier it will be to manage the updates.

7. Automated Unit Testing

Nowadays, unit testing has become a vital component of the automated continuous integration process. Continuous integration provides a consistent approach toward quality software and ensures that any adjustments to the code are tested, no matter what. As a result, software applications are getting more reliable and easier to maintain, and customers are delighted. There are many automated tools available in the market to support unit testing in the software development cycle, and some of them are Jtest, JUnit, PHPUnit, etc. JUnit testing is the most popular automated testing tool, which is based on the Java language. It provides assertions to identify various testing methods. JUnit automated testing also verifies the data before putting it into the code.

Double the Benefits of Unit Testing with HeadSpin

1. Identify UX and Performance Issues

HeadSpin’s unit testing helps organizations gather insights into their software applications’ performance and user experience. Some metrics, like packet-level network data and device KPIs, are measured and analyzed through the AI-based Platform to provide actionable insights for organizations. Enterprises can gather insights about their software applications, such as issue cards, time series, session videos, and packet-level details to improve their applications’ performance.

2. Use Data Science and AI for Root Cause Analysis 

HeadSpin can help development and QA teams analyze degradation across new app builds, OS releases, feature additions, and locations. HeadSpin’s data-driven Platform will also help customers get insights into third-party API and SDK behavior and performance-impacting UX. Testing teams can get root cause analysis while performing unit tests to fix the errors in their software applications.

3. Execute End-to-End Automated Unit Testing on Real Devices 

Organizations can perform end-to-end automated unit testing of mobile apps and software applications with the HeadSpin Platform. HeadSpin offers end-to-end visibility and UX and functional assessments for companies. HeadSpin’s end-to-end automated unit testing can help companies increase collaboration for product management and release efficiencies across teams and team members. With HeadSpin, companies can reduce the time-to-market of their products and stay competitive in today’s crowded app space.

4. Perform Unit Testing Remotely with Global Teams

With the HeadSpin Platform, a company’s QA experts and teams worldwide can remotely access and perform unit testing of their software applications on real devices on the real carrier and Wi-Fi networks in 90+ locations worldwide from their desktops or phones without SDK or local team support. Organizations can choose HeadSpin’s multiple deployment models, namely on-prem, cloud (single tenant), cloud (multi-tenant), and create their own lab, as per their testing requirements

Conclusion

Unit testing is the cornerstone of software application development, as it involves the testing of individual components of a software application. The prime focus of this testing is to verify that all the individual units are working in the intended way. The unit testing method has become a vital step in the software development process, as if done correctly, it can help identify initial code errors that may be more difficult to find in recent test stages. Unit testing has a lot of advantages, and its absence can cause issues and thus can have a profound effect on the software application. It also ensures that all units are working the way they should in the development phase and ensure maximum software performance. It is difficult for testers to find a reliable testing provider to manage the software application’s testing phase.

The main features of the HeadSpin Platform, the best testing solution, which align with the key components of unit testing during application/software development, are:

• Automated unit testing: It supports all major unit testing automation frameworks, like JUnit, TestNG, and more.
• Continuous monitoring: It provides 24*7 access to any device, running any application, on any network, anywhere in the world, for continuous quality assurance.
• CI/CD integration to automate the testing of new builds: It automatically sniffs new builds, runs tests, and provides insights on performance regression.

Article Source:

This article was originally published on:

https://www.headspin.io/blog/unit-testing-guide

In the banking industry, consumers increasingly demand digital tools to execute transactions and access services that banks and other financial institutions offer. Ease of use, convenience, personalization, and 24*7 services are among the significant factors driving this consumer demand. In line with this surging demand, organizations compete to deliver the best mobile banking applications and websites that facilitate everything from checking account balances and transferring money to availing loans and trading stocks. 

Banking applications have a complex structure, as they accommodate multi-layered workflows and offer a wide range of features. In addition, as these apps deal with sensitive data, including customers’ financial and personal information, the level of data protection should also be flawless. Hence, software testing for banking applications needs to be designed with utmost precision, as the lack of test coverage can lead to data breaches, loss of funds, banking fraud, and other felonies.

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Banking Domain Application Testing

Banking application testing is a software testing procedure to examine a banking application’s functionality, performance, and security. Mobile banking app testing allows a software development team to predict and proactively manage the banking app’s protection and performance issues. The primary focus of banking application testing is to guarantee that the banking software’s actions and features are secure and run smoothly.

Characteristics of Banking Domain Applications

In the post-COVID era, implementing technology in the banking, financial service, and insurance (BFSI) sector is no longer optional. Not only has the pandemic expedited the rate of digital transformation within organizations, but it has also sped up the digital embracement rate among consumers globally. As users across the world have become significantly more technology-dependent, financial services companies must rapidly adapt to new trends.

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Mobile and online banking services have opened new doors for financial service providers to build a lasting bond with customers, reduce operating costs, and comply with regulations. However, if not monitored effectively, a banking domain application can expose a financial service provider to a multitude of risks, such as security breaches, faulty transactions, and bad customer relationships due to increased bounce rates, all of which may negatively impact the profit, functioning, and reputation of the organization.

To follow industry standards, a financial service provider’s software development team needs to be aware of the critical characteristics of successful banking software.

Some of the crucial characteristics of a banking application are listed below. It must:

• Allow several user sessions supported with multi-tier functionalities
• Enable large-scale integration of multiple programs, including trading accounts 
• Handle complicated workflows 
• Enable bulk and real-time processing
• Facilitate high-pace transactions per second 
• Allow safe transactions
• Keep track of day-to-day transactions
• Troubleshoot client difficulties
• Have a massive storage facility
• Allow for the management of disasters and recovery
• Enable user support on multiple platforms (Mac, Linux, Unix, and Windows)

Banking Domain Application Testing Workflow

1. Gather and Identify Requirements: A tester documents the requirements and sorts those under the specified use case or functional specification. In the BFSI sector, testers should have sufficient domain knowledge, as banking has multiple sub-domains, and one full-fledged banking application may integrate all these domains. They should be able to think from both the stakeholder’s and the end user’s points of view. For every aspect of an application, such as money transfers, bill payments, mortgages, loans, and deposits, there exists a module, and the tester must categorize the requirement into a specific module.

2. Build a Business Scenario and Review Requirements: Once the application requirements list is set up, it must be reviewed further. QA engineers build business scenarios covering all business requirements based on the requirement documents (including function specifications or use cases). These are high-level scenarios and may not include any detailed steps. This review involves all stakeholders – business and technical – including QA engineers, development leads, and peer business analysts. They cross-check to ensure that the existing and new business workflows are not violated. Once all requirements are verified and validated, follow-up actions and requirement document revisions are done based on the same.

3. Build a Test Case Suite: Post review, automation engineers select test cases to determine which of these test cases can be automated and create custom scripts. In software testing in financial services, a QA specialist can also opt for manual testing, wherein they assemble a team of testers and allocate responsibilities to each one.

This stage involves: 

Test Case Preparation: Test cases are derived from business scenarios. One business scenario leads to several positive and negative test cases. Generally, the tools used during this stage are test management tools such as ALM/Quality Center, qTest, TestRail, and TestDirector.

Test Case Review: Reviews by peer QA engineers.

Test Case Execution: Test case execution may be manual or automatic, involving tools like Quality Center (QC) and Unified Functional Testing (UFT).

4. Functional Testing: The QA team conducts functional testing after test case creation. This process ensures that main user workflows are carried out without any bugs or errors and that the features are implemented per requirements. 

Functional Testing Checklist: 

• Verify if keeping mandatory fields empty shows error messages. For example, while transferring the money manually, the ‘Amount’ should be entered and cannot be kept empty
• Verify whether all the fields accept valid values and show error messages after entering an invalid value. For example, the ‘Account Number’ field should not accept special characters
• Verify whether all the fields have a valid character limit. For example, the ‘Account Number’ field should accept values between 9 and 18 characters
• Make sure that all the links in the application are clickable and land on the desired page
• Verify whether all the buttons are clickable and work in the desired manner
• Verify whether all the calculations are performed in the desired manner 
• Check the scrolling functionality of the application
• Verify whether the application is working in flight mode
• Make sure that the application works during the ongoing transaction when a phone call, SMS, or any other notifications are received
• Verify the application installation, uninstallation, and update processes

5. Database Testing: During database testing in the banking domain, a tester ensures that the app has data integrity, while QA specialists assess the database schema and data types, stored functions and procedures, and data loading speed. The process involves testing database objects like schemas, tables, views, triggers, and access controls. 

The major focus of database testing is to ensure that the banking domain application can store and retrieve data from the database without data loss. It also ensures that the completed transactions are committed, and aborted transactions are reverted to avoid any mismatch in the stored data. Yet another crucial aspect that database testing verifies is that only authorized applications and users are given access to the database and the underlying tables.

Banking software and applications involve complex transactions that are performed both at UI and database levels. The complicated database is an entirely separate layer in the application. Hence, this crucial testing is carried out by database specialists.

Database testing involves techniques like:

• Data Loading
• Database Migration
• Testing DB Schema and Datatypes
• Rules Testing
• Testing Stored Procedures and Functions
• Testing Triggers
• Data Integrity

6. Security Testing: Security testing ensures that the software has no security flaws. Security testing is highly critical for banking applications and software, as they are highly sensitive in nature. Also, developers must put in extra effort to protect user data from hacker attacks or fraudulent activities. During security testing, the QA team ensures that the application complies with the security regulations and standards, like Open Web Application Security Project, and exposes no sensitive data for public display. During test preparation, testing teams need to include negative and positive test scenarios to break into the system and report them before any unauthorized individual access it. However, to prevent hacking, the banking institution or financial service provider should also implement a multi-layer access validation, like a one-time password.

7. User Acceptance Testing: This testing is the final stage of all testing done to ensure the application’s compliance with real-world scenarios. A software development team must be confident that real-world users will be satisfied with the application’s functionalities. Hence, QA specialists assess the user acceptance of the application by asking a focus group to test it.

Banking domain applications have multiple users in the range of millions. Simulating such a high number of users may create a challenge for the testing team. Due to the presence of multiple users, it can be expected that they use different types of devices, connections, or even operating systems. Testing each combination of devices, OS, and connections is a complex and tedious process. Moreover, additional time and care are required to test bank applications, as they deal with money and sensitive information.

Sample Test Cases for Banking Application

1. Test Cases for New Branch

• Generate a new branch with data from the valid and invalid tests
• Generate a new branch without data
• Generate a new branch with existing data
• Double-check the reset and cancel options
• Add branch details with valid and invalid test data
• Update branch details with existing test data
• Verify whether the new branch has been added
• Check if the cancelation option is working
• Check the branch deletion with and without dependencies
• Check if the branch search option is working

2. Test Cases for New Role

• Generate a new role with data from the valid and invalid tests
• Generate a new role without data
• Check if a new role can be created with existing test data
• Check the role description and role type
• Check whether the cancelation and reset option is working
• Check the role deletion process with and without dependency
• Double-check the links on the role detail page
• Check the admin login without test data
• Double-check all home links for the admin role
• Check if the admin can change the password with valid and invalid test data
• Check if the admin can log out successfully

3. Test Cases for Customers and Bankers

• Check if all visitor and customer links are working properly
• Double-check the customer’s login with valid and invalid test data
• Check the customer’s login without any data
• Check the banker login without any data
• Check the banker’s login with valid or invalid test data
• Check whether the customer or banker was able to log out successfully

4. Test Cases for New Users

• Check if the new user can be created with valid and invalid test data
• Generate a new user with existing branch test data
• Check whether the cancel and reset option is working properly
• Add user details with valid and invalid test data
• Check the deletion of the new user
• Check whether the new user can be verified
• Check mandatory input parameters
• Check optional input parameters
• Check whether a user can be created without optional parameters

5. Test Cases for Net Banking Application

• Check whether the user is able to open the bank website
• Double-check if all the links on the website are working
• Check whether the user is able to create a new account
• Verify whether the user is able to log in with a valid or invalid username and password
• Check if the user is allowed to change the password
• Check whether a proper error message is shown if an invalid username or password is entered 
• Make sure that after repeated attempts to log in with an incorrect password, the user should be shown an error message and blocked
• Verify whether the user is able to perform some basic transactions
• Make sure that the user is able to add a beneficiary with valid and invalid details
• Check whether the user can delete the beneficiary
• Make sure that the user is able to make transactions to the newly added beneficiary
• Verify whether the user is able to enter the amount in a decimal number
• Check whether the user is not able to enter negative numbers in the amount field
• Check whether the user is allowed to make transactions with or without a minimum balance
• Check whether the user can add a new RD
• Make sure that the correct message is showing in case of a transaction done with an insufficient balance
• Check whether the user is asked for confirmation before any transaction is made
• Check whether acknowledgment receipts are provided on each successful transaction
• Check if the user is able to transfer money to multiple accounts
• Check whether the user can cancel the transaction
• Make sure that the account details reflect the financial transactions done
• Check whether the timeout feature has been implemented
• Make sure that in case of session time out, a user should log in again
• Make sure that the proper session time out is done in case of any inactivity
• Make sure that while doing the transaction, the user is taken to secure mode
• Check whether the user was able to log out successfully
• Double-check the search and reset options

What are the Essential Steps to Improve the Banking Application Test Results?

• Test the banking domain applications regularly 
• Take control and participate in all testing team activities, such as collecting requirements, reviewing them, and composing a testing scenario
• Involve real users to help you get the most reliable results
• Use a combination of manual and automated testing
• Use real devices for testing, as emulators cannot replace testing on real mobile devices
• Collect feedback to improve your app’s performance

Conclusion

Web and mobile banking apps are becoming the most crucial platforms for financial institutions to interact with consumers effectively and build strong customer relationships that help retain them. Today, customers expect their online banking experiences to be just as smooth and easy as their in-person banking experiences. Thus, a website or app with weak security or a lackluster user experience can lead to poor customer satisfaction ratings, lower brand reputation, litigation, poor customer retention rates, and even loss of customers. Around 46% of the customers below the age of 55 years would switch banks for a better digital experience, according to the Mobiquity Digital Banking Report. 

As of 2023, the global average cost of a data breach has risen to USD 4.45 million, reflecting a 15% increase over the past three years. Recent findings indicate that 51% of organizations are planning to boost their security investments in response to data breaches, directing resources toward incident response (IR) planning and testing, employee training, and the adoption of advanced threat detection and response tools. Notably, a study by IBM underscores the significance of swift incident response, revealing that organizations containing a breach in less than 200 days experience a cost savings of nearly 30%. This emphasizes the critical role of proactive measures in mitigating and minimizing the financial impact of data breaches.

Therefore, as so many factors remain at stake for the BFSI industry, banking domain application testing not only plays a crucial role in the banking software development lifecycle but also becomes crucial to maintaining positive customer relationships and upholding the institution’s reputation. 

HeadSpin solutions help your testing teams ensure your app’s testing requirements are met, from functional, performance, and regression testing to guaranteeing mobile banking solutions’ security, accessibility, compliance, and global consistency. Our teams are available to help you get the most out of your investment and assure optimal digital experiences for your customers

Article Source:

This article was originally published on:

https://www.headspin.io/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-testing-banking-domain-applications

Ensuring a flawless user experience across various devices and platforms is paramount in automated testing. This becomes especially critical when testing applications for smart TVs like those running on Samsung’s Tizen operating system. To streamline the testing process and guarantee a seamless experience for your TV app users, we explore how to harness the power of the latest Tizen Appium driver offered by HeadSpin.

HeadSpin empowers the support of automated and manual testing for common AV (audio-visual) devices and smart TVs, including WebOS, TizenOS, AndroidTV, and Apple TV. In this blog, we’ll delve into leveraging the test automation tool for Tizen— the Appium driver by HeadSpin— to test AV-enabled Tizen TVs.

Automation Testing of Samsung Tizen TV: Why Is It Necessary?

The surge in TV app development and the increasing variety of smart TV platforms necessitate robust testing methodologies. Automation testing offers several advantages, including:

1. Efficiency: Automation expedites the testing procedure, decreasing the time and energy needed for manual testing.
2. Consistency: Automated tests provide consistent and repeatable results, eliminating human errors.
3. Coverage: Automation allows for testing a wide range of scenarios, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
4. Quick Feedback: Automated tests can quickly identify and report issues, facilitating timely bug fixes.

The Tizen Appium Driver: A Game Changer

The Tizen Appium driver by HeadSpin was meticulously crafted to eliminate the need to automate a mobile remote control, simplify the setup, and conduct TV tests. This driver seamlessly interacts with the device SDB (Samsung Debug Bridge) bridge, abstracting away the complexities and making it easier for testers to focus on what matters most – ensuring the quality of their TV applications.

Getting Started with Appium Capabilities

Appium is a widely used open-source automation testing framework that provides cross-platform support, making it ideal for Tizen, WebOS, Android, and Apple TV. It enables both automated and manual testing of common AV devices and TVs.

To kickstart your testing journey with the Appium for Tizen TV, you must first acquire the Appium capabilities.

Step 1: Obtain Appium Capabilities

1. Go to the Automation Configuration section after clicking on the ellipsis next to the TV under test.
2. If required, create an API key from the provided hyperlink.
3. Copy the Web driver URL and capabilities to a new Python script with the Appium library imported.

Step 2: Create a Python Script

Here’s a Python script snippet that demonstrates how to set up your Appium capabilities:

from appium import webdriver

caps = {

“platformName”: “tizentv”,

“appium:automationName”: “tizentv”,

“appium:deviceName”: “087K3CTN7004332”,

“appium:udid”: “087K3CTN7004332”,

“appium:appPackage”: “biF5E2SN9M.AppiumHelper”

}

driver = webdriver.Remote(“https://dev-us-pao-7.headspin.io:7303/v0/{api_token}/wd/hub”, caps)

driver.execute_script(‘tizen: pressKey’, {‘key’: ‘KEY_HOME’})

driver.execute_script(‘tizen: pressKey’, {‘key’: ‘KEY_UP’})

driver.execute_script(‘tizen: pressKey’, {‘key’: ‘KEY_RETURN’})

Step 3: Automate Key Presses

With HeadSpin’s installation of the Appium for Tizen TV apps, you can easily automate key presses using the execute_script capability of the Appium client. This allows you to interact with the TV as if you were using a remote control.

For instance, to simulate pressing the ‘HOME’ button on the remote, you can use the following code:

driver.execute_script(‘tizen: pressKey’, {‘key’: ‘KEY_HOME’})

The beauty of this approach is that it grants you the ability to control various aspects of the TV using key presses, just as a user would.

List of Supported Remote Control Keys

Here is a comprehensive list of supported remote control keys that you can use to control various functionalities during Samsung Tizen smart TV testing:

  0: ‘KEY_0’,

  1: ‘KEY_1’,

  2: ‘KEY_2’,

  3: ‘KEY_3’,

  4: ‘KEY_4’,

  5: ‘KEY_5’,

  6: ‘KEY_6’,

  7: ‘KEY_7’,

  8: ‘KEY_8’,

  9: ‘KEY_9’,

  11: ‘KEY_11’,

  12: ‘KEY_12’,

  ’16_9′: ‘KEY_16_9’,

  ‘4_3’: ‘KEY_4_3’,

  ‘3SPEED’: ‘KEY_3SPEED’,

  AD: ‘KEY_AD’,

  ADDDEL: ‘KEY_ADDDEL’,

  ALT_MHP: ‘KEY_ALT_MHP’,

  ANGLE: ‘KEY_ANGLE’,

  ANTENA: ‘KEY_ANTENA’,

  ANYNET: ‘KEY_ANYNET’,

  ANYVIEW: ‘KEY_ANYVIEW’,

  APP_LIST: ‘KEY_APP_LIST’,

  ASPECT: ‘KEY_ASPECT’,

  AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_AIR: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_AIR’,

  AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_CABLE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_CABLE’,

  AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_SATELLITE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_ANTENNA_SATELLITE’,

  AUTO_ARC_ANYNET_AUTO_START: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_ANYNET_AUTO_START’,

  AUTO_ARC_ANYNET_MODE_OK: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_ANYNET_MODE_OK’,

  AUTO_ARC_AUTOCOLOR_FAIL: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_AUTOCOLOR_FAIL’,

  AUTO_ARC_AUTOCOLOR_SUCCESS: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_AUTOCOLOR_SUCCESS’,

  AUTO_ARC_C_FORCE_AGING: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_C_FORCE_AGING’,

  AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_ENG: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_ENG’,

  AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_KOR: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_KOR’,

  AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_OFF: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_OFF’,

  AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_ON: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_CAPTION_ON’,

  AUTO_ARC_JACK_IDENT: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_JACK_IDENT’,

  AUTO_ARC_LNA_OFF: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_LNA_OFF’,

  AUTO_ARC_LNA_ON: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_LNA_ON’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_CH_CHANGE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_CH_CHANGE’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_DOUBLE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_DOUBLE’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_LARGE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_LARGE’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_LEFT_BOTTOM: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_LEFT_BOTTOM’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_LEFT_TOP: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_LEFT_TOP’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_RIGHT_BOTTOM: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_RIGHT_BOTTOM’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_RIGHT_TOP: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_RIGHT_TOP’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_SMALL: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_SMALL’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_SOURCE_CHANGE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_SOURCE_CHANGE’,

  AUTO_ARC_PIP_WIDE: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_PIP_WIDE’,

  AUTO_ARC_RESET: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_RESET’,

  AUTO_ARC_USBJACK_INSPECT: ‘KEY_AUTO_ARC_USBJACK_INSPECT’,

  AUTO_FORMAT: ‘KEY_AUTO_FORMAT’,

  AUTO_PROGRAM: ‘KEY_AUTO_PROGRAM’,

  AV1: ‘KEY_AV1’,

  AV2: ‘KEY_AV2’,

  AV3: ‘KEY_AV3’,

  BACK_MHP: ‘KEY_BACK_MHP’,

  BOOKMARK: ‘KEY_BOOKMARK’,

  CALLER_ID: ‘KEY_CALLER_ID’,

  CAPTION: ‘KEY_CAPTION’,

  CATV_MODE: ‘KEY_CATV_MODE’,

  CH_LIST: ‘KEY_CH_LIST’,

  CHDOWN: ‘KEY_CHDOWN’,

  CHUP: ‘KEY_CHUP’,

  CLEAR: ‘KEY_CLEAR’,

  CLOCK_DISPLAY: ‘KEY_CLOCK_DISPLAY’,

  COMPONENT1: ‘KEY_COMPONENT1’,

  COMPONENT2: ‘KEY_COMPONENT2’,

  CONTENTS: ‘KEY_CONTENTS’,

  CONVERGENCE: ‘KEY_CONVERGENCE’,

  CONVERT_AUDIO_MAINSUB: ‘KEY_CONVERT_AUDIO_MAINSUB’,

  CUSTOM: ‘KEY_CUSTOM’,

  CYAN: ‘KEY_CYAN’,

  DEVICE_CONNECT: ‘KEY_DEVICE_CONNECT’,

  DISC_MENU: ‘KEY_DISC_MENU’,

  DMA: ‘KEY_DMA’,

  DNET: ‘KEY_DNET’,

  DNIe: ‘KEY_DNIe’,

  DNSe: ‘KEY_DNSe’,

  DOOR: ‘KEY_DOOR’,

  DOWN: ‘KEY_DOWN’,

  DSS_MODE: ‘KEY_DSS_MODE’,

  DTV: ‘KEY_DTV’,

  DTV_LINK: ‘KEY_DTV_LINK’,

  DTV_SIGNAL: ‘KEY_DTV_SIGNAL’,

  DVD_MODE: ‘KEY_DVD_MODE’,

  DVI: ‘KEY_DVI’,

  DVR: ‘KEY_DVR’,

  DVR_MENU: ‘KEY_DVR_MENU’,

  DYNAMIC: ‘KEY_DYNAMIC’,

  ENTER: ‘KEY_ENTER’,

  ENTERTAINMENT: ‘KEY_ENTERTAINMENT’,

  ESAVING: ‘KEY_ESAVING’,

  EXIT: ‘KEY_EXIT’,

  EXT1: ‘KEY_EXT1’,

  EXT10: ‘KEY_EXT10’,

  EXT11: ‘KEY_EXT11’,

  EXT12: ‘KEY_EXT12’,

  EXT13: ‘KEY_EXT13’,

  EXT14: ‘KEY_EXT14’,

  EXT15: ‘KEY_EXT15’,

  EXT16: ‘KEY_EXT16’,

  EXT17: ‘KEY_EXT17’,

  EXT18: ‘KEY_EXT18’,

  EXT19: ‘KEY_EXT19’,

  EXT2: ‘KEY_EXT2’,

  EXT20: ‘KEY_EXT20’,

  EXT21: ‘KEY_EXT21’,

  EXT22: ‘KEY_EXT22’,

  EXT23: ‘KEY_EXT23’,

  EXT24: ‘KEY_EXT24’,

  EXT25: ‘KEY_EXT25’,

  EXT26: ‘KEY_EXT26’,

  EXT27: ‘KEY_EXT27’,

  EXT28: ‘KEY_EXT28’,

  EXT29: ‘KEY_EXT29’,

  EXT3: ‘KEY_EXT3’,

  EXT30: ‘KEY_EXT30’,

  EXT31: ‘KEY_EXT31’,

  EXT32: ‘KEY_EXT32’,

  EXT33: ‘KEY_EXT33’,

  EXT34: ‘KEY_EXT34’,

  EXT35: ‘KEY_EXT35’,

  EXT36: ‘KEY_EXT36’,

  EXT37: ‘KEY_EXT37’,

  EXT38: ‘KEY_EXT38’,

  EXT39: ‘KEY_EXT39’,

  EXT4: ‘KEY_EXT4’,

  EXT40: ‘KEY_EXT40’,

  EXT41: ‘KEY_EXT41’,

  EXT5: ‘KEY_EXT5’,

  EXT6: ‘KEY_EXT6’,

  EXT7: ‘KEY_EXT7’,

  EXT8: ‘KEY_EXT8’,

  EXT9: ‘KEY_EXT9’,

  FACTORY: ‘KEY_FACTORY’,

  FAVCH: ‘KEY_FAVCH’,

  FF: ‘KEY_FF’,

  FF_: ‘KEY_FF_’,

  FM_RADIO: ‘KEY_FM_RADIO’,

  GAME: ‘KEY_GAME’,

  GREEN: ‘KEY_GREEN’,

  GUIDE: ‘KEY_GUIDE’,

  HDMI: ‘KEY_HDMI’,

  HDMI1: ‘KEY_HDMI1’,

  HDMI2: ‘KEY_HDMI2’,

  HDMI3: ‘KEY_HDMI3’,

  HDMI4: ‘KEY_HDMI4’,

  HELP: ‘KEY_HELP’,

  HOME: ‘KEY_HOME’,

  ID_INPUT: ‘KEY_ID_INPUT’,

  ID_SETUP: ‘KEY_ID_SETUP’,

  INFO: ‘KEY_INFO’,

  INSTANT_REPLAY: ‘KEY_INSTANT_REPLAY’,

  LEFT: ‘KEY_LEFT’,

  LINK: ‘KEY_LINK’,

  LIVE: ‘KEY_LIVE’,

  MAGIC_BRIGHT: ‘KEY_MAGIC_BRIGHT’,

  MAGIC_CHANNEL: ‘KEY_MAGIC_CHANNEL’,

  MDC: ‘KEY_MDC’,

  MENU: ‘KEY_MENU’,

  MIC: ‘KEY_MIC’,

  MORE: ‘KEY_MORE’,

  MOVIE1: ‘KEY_MOVIE1’,

  MS: ‘KEY_MS’,

  MTS: ‘KEY_MTS’,

  MUTE: ‘KEY_MUTE’,

  NINE_SEPERATE: ‘KEY_NINE_SEPERATE’,

  OPEN: ‘KEY_OPEN’,

  PANNEL_CHDOWN: ‘KEY_PANNEL_CHDOWN’,

  PANNEL_CHUP: ‘KEY_PANNEL_CHUP’,

  PANNEL_ENTER: ‘KEY_PANNEL_ENTER’,

  PANNEL_MENU: ‘KEY_PANNEL_MENU’,

  PANNEL_POWER: ‘KEY_PANNEL_POWER’,

  PANNEL_SOURCE: ‘KEY_PANNEL_SOURCE’,

  PANNEL_VOLDOW: ‘KEY_PANNEL_VOLDOW’,

  PANNEL_VOLUP: ‘KEY_PANNEL_VOLUP’,

  PANORAMA: ‘KEY_PANORAMA’,

  PAUSE: ‘KEY_PAUSE’,

  PCMODE: ‘KEY_PCMODE’,

  PERPECT_FOCUS: ‘KEY_PERPECT_FOCUS’,

  PICTURE_SIZE: ‘KEY_PICTURE_SIZE’,

  PIP_CHDOWN: ‘KEY_PIP_CHDOWN’,

  PIP_CHUP: ‘KEY_PIP_CHUP’,

  PIP_ONOFF: ‘KEY_PIP_ONOFF’,

  PIP_SCAN: ‘KEY_PIP_SCAN’,

  PIP_SIZE: ‘KEY_PIP_SIZE’,

  PIP_SWAP: ‘KEY_PIP_SWAP’,

  PLAY: ‘KEY_PLAY’,

  PLUS100: ‘KEY_PLUS100’,

  PMODE: ‘KEY_PMODE’,

  POWER: ‘KEY_POWER’,

  POWEROFF: ‘KEY_POWEROFF’,

  POWERON: ‘KEY_POWERON’,

  PRECH: ‘KEY_PRECH’,

  PRINT: ‘KEY_PRINT’,

  PROGRAM: ‘KEY_PROGRAM’,

  QUICK_REPLAY: ‘KEY_QUICK_REPLAY’,

  REC: ‘KEY_REC’,

  RED: ‘KEY_RED’,

  REPEAT: ‘KEY_REPEAT’,

  RESERVED1: ‘KEY_RESERVED1’,

  RETURN: ‘KEY_RETURN’,

  REWIND: ‘KEY_REWIND’,

  REWIND_: ‘KEY_REWIND_’,

  RIGHT: ‘KEY_RIGHT’,

  RSS: ‘KEY_RSS’,

  RSURF: ‘KEY_RSURF’,

  SCALE: ‘KEY_SCALE’,

  SEFFECT: ‘KEY_SEFFECT’,

  SETUP_CLOCK_TIMER: ‘KEY_SETUP_CLOCK_TIMER’,

  SLEEP: ‘KEY_SLEEP’,

  SOURCE: ‘KEY_SOURCE’,

  SRS: ‘KEY_SRS’,

  STANDARD: ‘KEY_STANDARD’,

  STB_MODE: ‘KEY_STB_MODE’,

  STILL_PICTURE: ‘KEY_STILL_PICTURE’,

  STOP: ‘KEY_STOP’,

  SUB_TITLE: ‘KEY_SUB_TITLE’,

  SVIDEO1: ‘KEY_SVIDEO1’,

  SVIDEO2: ‘KEY_SVIDEO2’,

  SVIDEO3: ‘KEY_SVIDEO3’,

  TOOLS: ‘KEY_TOOLS’,

  TOPMENU: ‘KEY_TOPMENU’,

  TTX_MIX: ‘KEY_TTX_MIX’,

  TTX_SUBFACE: ‘KEY_TTX_SUBFACE’,

  TURBO: ‘KEY_TURBO’,

  TV: ‘KEY_TV’,

  TV_MODE: ‘KEY_TV_MODE’,

  UP: ‘KEY_UP’,

  VCHIP: ‘KEY_VCHIP’,

  VCR_MODE: ‘KEY_VCR_MODE’,

  VOLDOWN: ‘KEY_VOLDOWN’,

  VOLUP: ‘KEY_VOLUP’,

  W_LINK: ‘KEY_W_LINK’,

  WHEEL_LEFT: ‘KEY_WHEEL_LEFT’,

  WHEEL_RIGHT: ‘KEY_WHEEL_RIGHT’,

  YELLOW: ‘KEY_YELLOW’,

  ZOOM_IN: ‘KEY_ZOOM_IN’,

  ZOOM_MOVE: ‘KEY_ZOOM_MOVE’,

  ZOOM_OUT: ‘KEY_ZOOM_OUT’,

  ZOOM1: ‘KEY_ZOOM1’,

  ZOOM2: ‘KEY_ZOOM2’

These keys offer precise control over the TV’s functionalities, allowing for thorough testing.

Conclusion

With the Appium Tizen TV test automation and leveraging the capabilities of the HeadSpin AV box, numerous global video streaming companies have managed to ensure a perfect and flawless experience for their TV app users.

Are you ready to enhance your Tizen Smart TV test automation? Discover how the Tizen Appium driver by HeadSpin can elevate your automation testing process and guarantee an impeccable user experience for your Tizen TV applications.

Article Source:

This article was originally published on:

https://www.headspin.io/blog/how-to-use-appium-to-test-your-samsung-tizen-ui

In today’s digital economy, software developers cannot afford to rely on anything less than the latest software development practices to deliver efficient products and services. As per the data reported by Statista, the number of mobile app downloads globally has been increasing from 2016 onward, surpassing 200 billion in 2019. In 2021, consumers downloaded 230 billion mobile apps to their connected devices, an increase of more than 63% from 140.7 billion app downloads in 2016.

Given the increasing number of app downloads, testing apps has become more critical than ever, as it helps you rectify mistakes and verify that your code is working. Perhaps even more importantly, testing ensures that your code continues to work in the future as you add new features, refactor the existing ones, or upgrade significant dependencies of your project. According to the World Quality Report, automating the testing process is helping organizations speed up their decision-making to provide better outcomes in a shorter period. Automating the testing process has many benefits, but the most crucial advantage is that app developers can use automated tests to detect problems quickly before sending them to QA. Moreover, tests can run automatically whenever source code changes are checked in and notify the team or the developer if they fail. Features like these save app developers time and increase their confidence.

Graph showing the number of mobile app downloads globally during 2016-2021

Nowadays, most applications running on different platforms, such as iOS, Android, and the web, are developed with the help of React Native. React Native is an open framework for cross-platform mobile app development for iOS and Android. So, React Native automation testing plays a crucial role in the app testing process. React automation testing is crucial to delivering flawless UX. Given that React Native generates cross-platform apps, manual testing will quickly become a highly time-consuming task. In this regard, React Native automation testing will save both time and money in the longer run.

Now, let’s take a look at various testing processes available for React Native apps and five popular React Native testing tools for automated testing.

What are React Native Testing Apps?

React Native testing apps are specialized tools designed to evaluate and verify the functionality of applications built using the React Native framework. These tools are essential for developers aiming to create high-quality mobile apps that operate smoothly across multiple platforms like iOS and Android. Testing React Native apps is a cornerstone in app development, enabling developers to discover and fix bugs before the product reaches the end user, thus ensuring a seamless and engaging user experience.

Some types of tests for testing React Native apps include:

• Unit Testing: This involves testing individual components or functions in isolation from the rest of the application.
• Integration Testing: For React Native apps, integration testing could involve checking the interaction between different components.
• UI Testing: Also known as end-to-end testing, UI testing checks the interactions that a user would make with the application.

Let’s consider the types of tests in further detail.

Importance of React Automation Testing

React Native helps build cross-platform mobile apps by writing code once and deploying it on iOS and Android. However, the complexity of modern mobile applications requires robust testing to ensure quality and performance. This is where React automation testing comes into play.

• Consistency Across Platforms: Automated testing ensures your application behaves consistently across devices and OS. This is crucial for maintaining a uniform user experience.
• Faster Release Cycles: You can execute automated tests quickly, enabling faster detection of bugs and issues. This accelerates the development process and reduces the time to market.
• Improved Test Coverage: Manual testing can miss edge cases or complex user interactions. Automation allows for comprehensive test coverage, ensuring all functionalities are thoroughly tested.
• Cost Efficiency: While setting up automation initially requires an investment, it significantly reduces the cost of regression testing and manual efforts over time. Automated tests can run unattended, freeing up resources for other critical tasks.
• Early Bug Detection: Automated tests can be integrated into the CI/CD pipeline, enabling continuous testing and early detection of defects. This helps in addressing issues before they get bigger.
• Enhanced Reliability: Automated tests eliminate human error, providing more reliable and accurate test results. This reliability is crucial for maintaining the quality and performance of the application.
• Scalability: As your application grows, the number of test cases increases. Automation makes it easier to scale your testing efforts to match the application’s complexity and ensure ongoing quality.

Incorporating automation into your React Native app testing strategy is essential for delivering high-quality applications that meet user expectations and perform well under various conditions. By leveraging automation, development teams can achieve better efficiency, reliability, and overall project success.

Various Types of React Native App Testing

React Native has been enjoying great popularity for its features over the years, and it is one of the best programming languages. So, let’s check out various types of testing used for React Native apps.

1. Writing Tests

The first step in testing is to write code that is testable. Writing your entire program in a single file with many lines of code will lead to numerous confusions while testing. So, you can write your code in multiple small modules that you can test more thoroughly than if you tested the assembled whole. In this way, writing testable code is intertwined with writing clean, modular code.

‍2. Unit Tests

Unit testing is a fundamental testing process used for mobile apps. JavaScript objects and methods present at the primary level are tested with it. Unit testing covers the minor parts of code, like individual functions and classes. When the object being tested has any dependencies, you will often need to mock them out. The critical thing about unit testing is that they are very quick to write and run. Therefore, as your testing progresses, you will get fast feedback about whether your tests are passing or not. 

 Image representing the unit tests

Mocking

When we test objects with external dependencies, you will need to mock them out. Mocking is when you change some dependency of your code with your own implementation. Usually, working with real objects in tests is better than using mocks, but there are situations where this is not possible. So, mocking will help complete the unit testing of React Native apps without any hurdles.

3. Component Tests

React components are the building blocks of apps, and users can directly interact with their output. Even though your app’s business logic has high testing coverage, without component testing, you may deliver a broken user interface to your users. Each component is tested functionally and visually with component testing. 

For testing React Native components, there are two essential things you may have to test:

Interaction: This testing ensures that the component is in the operating condition when interacting with a user.

Rendering: This testing ensures that the component rendering output used by React is accurate.

 Image representing the component tests

Component testing is a JavaScript test running in the Node.js environment. It does not consider any iOS, Android, or other platform code backing the React Native components. This type of testing cannot give you 100% confidence that everything is working, as it cannot find the bug in the iOS or Android code.

4. Integration Tests

When developers are writing codes for complex software systems, individual components of the app need to interact with each other. All individual units are combined and tested in integration testing to ensure that their cooperation works per the app’s requirement.

Image representing the integration tests

An app only needs integration testing if it:

• Combines several modules of the app 
• Uses an external system
• Makes a network call to other applications 
• Operates any file or database I/O

5. End-to-End Tests

With the end-to-end (E2E) testing, you can check your app’s operation on a device (or a simulator/emulator) from the user’s perspective. This testing is done by creating your app in the release configuration and running the tests against it. In E2E testing, React Native components, React Native APIs, Redux stores, or any business logic are not tested. E2E testing can give you the highest possible confidence that your app is working correctly. 

 Image representing the end-to-end tests

There are various end-to-end testing tools available for React Native apps. Detox is a popular framework because it is customized for React Native apps. Another popular automation tool in the space of iOS and Android apps is Appium.

5 Popular Test Automation Tools for React Native Apps

Conducting a react native app test involves an array of tools designed to assess the app’s functionality across different devices and platforms. React automation testing tools help ensure that your app is in perfect condition by performing various tests, ranging from static analysis to end-to-end tests. In the coming section, let’s discuss five popular React Native testing tools for automated testing.

1. Appium

Among the top choices for this purpose is Appium, renowned for its capability in react native Appium testing that simplifies cross-platform testing tasks. Appium is an open-source automation testing tool that offers seamless automation of native, mobile web, and hybrid applications on iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. It utilizes the WebDriver protocol to drive apps on these platforms, serving as a server that receives commands from automated scripts and translates them into instructions understandable by mobile devices. Similarly, it captures responses from mobile devices and converts them into automated scripts.

One of the key advantages of Appium is its cross-platform compatibility, enabling the writing of tests for multiple platforms, such as iOS, Android, and Windows, using the same API. This is made possible by the Appium “drivers” that power each supported platform. These drivers are specialized software components that implement the Appium protocol for a particular platform, enabling smooth automation across different environments. Embracing tools like Appium for react native Appium testing can significantly streamline your development process, ensuring your app performs well on any platform.

Appium boasts several powerful features, including:

• It does not require application source code or library in React applications.
• It has multi-platform support, i.e., it can run the same test cases on multiple platforms.
• It allows the parallel execution of test scripts.
• It supports various languages, like C#, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, and JavaScript, with node.js.

‍2. Detox

Detox is an end-to-end framework for applications on mobile devices, and Wix developed it. The significant problems in UI testing of mobile devices are slowness and flakiness. Detox solves the problem of slowness and flakiness for UI testing of mobile devices. It provides excellent abstractions to select and trigger actions on elements during the testing.

Some of the significant features of Detox are:

• It monitors asynchronous operations in the app to reduce the flakiness of finding the async elements in the app UI.
• It is a grey-box testing tool that can access the code and data from mobile apps. 
• It easily connects to any CI systems and prominent cloud testing services.
• It provides fast feedback on your end-to-end testing.

‍3. Jest

Jest is an open-source testing framework created on JavaScript. It is designed majorly to test React and React Native-based web applications. Generally, unit testing is not very useful when it is run on the front-end of any software. This is mainly because unit tests for the front-end development require extensive, time-consuming configuration. Jest framework can reduce this complexity to a great extent.

Moreover, the Jest framework is used to validate everything around JavaScript, especially the browser rendering of web applications. Jest is also widely used for automating browser testing. It helps you write tests with an approachable, familiar, and feature-rich API that gives you faster results. Jest offers a combination of an assertion library, a test runner, and a built-in mocking library. Its features make it the best tool for testing JavaScript Library Projects, such as AngularJS, Vue JS, Node JS, Babel, and TypeScript.

Notable features of Jest include:

• Speed and performance 
• Pre-commit hooks 
• Easy to migrate 
• Additional features and configurations

‍4. Karma

Karma is a node based automation testing tool. Karma’s ability to run tests against real browsers and real devices makes the testing more robust and reliable. As different browsers have different DOM implementations, testing against them is essential if you want to ensure your application will behave appropriately for most of its users. Karma is a tool that makes test-driven development faster and easy. The main focus of Karma is to develop a productive testing environment for the developers, where they get instant feedback about the test. 

Notable features of Karma include:

• Remote control
• Easy debugging via WebStorm, IDE, or Google Chrome
• Continuous integration

‍5. Jasmine

Jasmine is an open-source JavaScript library testing framework to test any JavaScript application. Jasmine mainly helps with automated unit testing, which has become an essential practice while developing and deploying modern-day web applications. Jasmine uses the Behavior Driven Development (BDD) procedure to ensure that each line of JavaScript statement is appropriately unit tested. It is not dependent on browsers, DOM, or any JavaScript framework. Thus, the Jasmine testing framework is available for various versions, like standalone and node.js. It also offers extensive support for Python, Ruby, and other JavaScript-based languages. Another benefit of using Jasmine is that it is an independent framework with minimal language, browser, and platform dependency.

Significant features of Jasmine are:

• It is independent of other JavaScript frameworks.
• It does not need any DOM.
• It uses clean and obvious syntax.

Conclusion

According to Statista, in 2021, 38% of software developers used React Native to build apps. As people are using more apps based on this framework, React Native testing on devices is of utmost importance. Automating React Native app tests with the help of the tools mentioned above will save developers a lot of time and effort.

If your team already utilizes test automation tools, you can seamlessly integrate them with the powerful HeadSpin Platform. This allows you to execute your automated tests on any device to which you have access. With this integration, your test automation tool takes care of the functional aspects of the test, while the HeadSpin Platform provides valuable data and insights to evaluate the non-functional aspects of the test.

Article Sources:

This article was originally published on:

https://www.headspin.io/blog/5-popular-test-automation-tools-for-react-native-apps

As the popularity of streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV continues to soar, ensuring the quality and functionality of Fire TV apps becomes increasingly crucial. Testing apps on Amazon Fire TV can be complicated and time-consuming. However, with the help of Appium, it becomes much more efficient. Appium for Fire TV provides a reliable framework for automating the testing of Fire TV apps, allowing developers to test apps on Amazon Fire TV seamlessly and identify potential issues early in the development cycle. By leveraging the capabilities of Appium, teams can ensure that their apps are compatible with Fire TV devices, deliver consistent performance, and provide a seamless user interface.

Whether you are a developer or a QA professional, this blog will help you navigate the process of automating your Fire TV app testing using Appium. We explore the various techniques and best practices to test on Amazon Fire TV OS, ensuring your apps function flawlessly on real Fire TV devices.

How is Fire TV Testing Different from Android TV Testing?

Fire TV app testing and Android TV app testing are similar in many aspects, as both platforms are based on Android. However, there are some differences that developers should consider when testing apps for Fire TV and Android TV. Here are a few key differences:

• User Interface (UI): Fire TV and Android TV have slightly different UI designs. Fire TV uses Amazon’s customized user interface, while Android TV follows Google’s design principles. During testing, it is essential to ensure that the app’s UI is optimized and functional on both platforms.
• Input Methods: Fire TV devices typically have a remote control with a D-pad, navigation buttons, and voice search capabilities. On the other hand, Android TV devices can have various input methods, including remote control, gamepad, and even touch controls in some cases. Testing should ensure the app functions correctly with the available input methods on both platforms.
• App Store Distribution: Fire TV apps are distributed through the Amazon Appstore, while Android TV apps can be distributed through multiple channels, including the Google Play Store. Testing should account for each app store’s specific requirements and guidelines to ensure compliance and successful distribution.
• Amazon Services Integration: Fire TV devices are tightly integrated with Amazon services such as Alexa voice assistant, Amazon Prime Video, and Amazon Music. Testing should include scenarios that involve these services, such as voice commands, playback, and content integration.
• Device Fragmentation: Both Fire TV and Android TV platforms are available on various devices from different manufacturers, resulting in device fragmentation. Testing should cover a range of devices with different specifications, screen sizes, and performance capabilities to ensure app compatibility and optimal performance across devices.
• Feature Support: Fire TV and Android TV may differ regarding supported features or APIs. Testing should verify that platform-specific features or integrations are implemented correctly and function as expected on the respective platforms.

Despite these differences, many testing practices and tools used for Android app testing can be applied to both Fire TV and Android TV app testing. It is essential to refer to the specific documentation and guidelines provided by Amazon and Google for comprehensive testing and quality assurance on each Platform.

What Are the Steps to Automate App Testing on Amazon Fire TV?

You can test apps on Amazon Fire TV using Appium and Python.

Appium is an open-source automation framework used to automate mobile apps and web apps. On the other hand, Python is one of the most popular programming languages and is often used for automation tasks. 

Here are the broad steps to automate Fire TV apps using Appium Python:

1. Set up the environment:

• Install Python: Install Python on your system if it’s not already installed.
• Install pip: Pip is a package installer for Python. Install it if it’s not already available.
• Install Appium-Python Client: Use pip to install the Appium-Python Client library, which allows communication between your Python script and the Appium server. You can use the following commands:

pip install appium

pip install python

• Install Node.js: Appium requires Node.js to run. Install Node.js on your system if it’s not already installed.
• Install Appium: Use npm (Node Package Manager) to install Appium globally by running the following command: 

npm install -g appium.

2. Connect the Fire TV device:

Ensure your Fire TV device or emulator is connected and accessible by the computer running the Appium server. You may need to enable ADB (Android Debug Bridge) debugging on the Fire TV device.

3. Configure Appium and create a new project:

To create a new project with the desired capabilities set up for your Fire TV device, you will need to specify the following information such as:

• The path to the Appium server
• The platform name
• The platform version
• The device name
• The app package name
• The app activity name

These details can be obtained from the Fire TV device or emulator you intend to test.

4. Write an automation script:

• To write the script, you can create a config file and test file or leverage frameworks like Unittest or Pytest. 
• Develop your test cases using the available methods provided by the Appium-Python Client. These methods include interacting with elements, performing actions, and verifying expected results. 

The following is an example of a test script that opens the Netflix app on Fire TV:

from appium import webdriver

driver = webdriver.Remote(‘http://localhost:4723/wd/hub’, desired_capabilities={

    ‘platformName’: ‘Android’,

    ‘deviceName’: ‘Fire TV’,

    ‘appPackage’: ‘com.netflix.ninja’,

    ‘appActivity’: ‘com.netflix.ninja.ui.splashscreen.SplashScreenActivity’

})

driver.find_element_by_id(‘com.netflix.ninja:id/login_button’).click()

driver.find_element_by_id(‘com.netflix.ninja:id/username_edit_text’).send_keys(‘your_username’)

driver.find_element_by_id(‘com.netflix.ninja:id/password_edit_text’).send_keys(‘your_password’)

driver.find_element_by_id(‘com.netflix.ninja:id/login_button’).click()

5. Run the automation script:

• Start the Appium server: Launch the Appium server by running the command ‘appium’ in a terminal or command prompt window.
• Run test scripts: Execute your Python test scripts using the testing framework of your choice. The tests will communicate with the Appium server, which in turn interacts with the Fire TV device.
• Use a Continuous Integration (CI) server like Jenkins to automate the execution of your test scripts. This will allow you to run your tests on a regular basis and ensure that your Amazon Fire TV app is working properly.

How to Automate Fire TV Remote Control Navigation

As we have already discussed, to test Fire TV apps, you must automate remote control navigation within the app.

The following is an example of how to use the pressKey() method for setting up functions for every action on the Amazon Fire TV remote control:

def up(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_DPAD_UP

        Value: 19

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(19)

        print(”   + Navigate Up”)

    def down(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN

        Value: 20

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(20)

        print(”   + Navigate Down”)

    def left(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_DPAD_LEFT

        Value: 21

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(21)

        print(”   + Navigate Left”)

    def right(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT

        Value: 22

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(22)

        print(”   + Navigate Right”)

    def select(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER

        Value: 23

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(23)

        print(”   + selected”)

    def home(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_HOME

        Value: 3

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(3)

        print(”   + Press Home”)

    def back(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_BACK

        Value: 4

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(4)

        print(”   + Press Back”)

    def menu(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_MENU

        Value: 82

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(82)

        print(”   + Press Menu”)

    def fast_forward(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_MEDIA_FAST_FORWARD

        Value: 90

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(90)

        print(”   + Press Fast Forward”)

    def play_pause(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE

        Value: 85

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(85)

        print(”   + Press Play Pause”)

    def rewind(self):

        ”’

        KEYCODE_MEDIA_REWIND

        Value: 89

        ”’

        self.driver.press_keycode(89)

        print(”   + Press Rewind”)

How You Can Troubleshoot Your Test Session

Amazon Fire TV app test automation using Appium can be challenging. If you are having trouble running your Amazon Fire TV test script, there are a few things you can check:

• Make sure that Appium is installed and running.
• Ensure that Python is installed and running.
• Verify that your test script is saved with a .py extension.
• Check whether your test script is syntactically correct.
• Confirm that the key codes you are using are correct.

How HeadSpin Empowers Organizations to Seamlessly Conduct Amazon Fire TV App Testing with Appium

HeadSpin presents a comprehensive solution to effortlessly run app automation on Amazon Fire TV, significantly boosting the speed and efficiency of Fire TV app development and testing. 

The Platform’s integration with Appium enables you to streamline the entire Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) process. This integration lets you create robust Appium scripts with ease, reduces the complexities associated with test frameworks, and facilitates parallel testing on over-the-top (OTT) devices.

Moreover, HeadSpin’s AI-driven capabilities enable you to evaluate the user experience and optimize the streaming performance, capturing crucial Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).

By leveraging HeadSpin, organizations can:

• Automate the testing process for Fire TV with Appium, enhancing overall efficiency.
• Conduct tests on authentic Fire TV devices, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of issues.
• Employ a unified platform that caters to all non-functional requirements. (NFRs) and functional testing needs for Fire TVs and their applications.
• Enhance overall testing efficiency, elevating user engagement and driving revenue growth.

Conclusion

Appium allows for automated testing of Fire TV apps, enabling developers to perform comprehensive testing across different devices and scenarios. It provides the flexibility to write tests using various programming languages, making it accessible to a wide range of developers. By utilizing Appium’s powerful features and capabilities, developers and QA teams can ensure the quality and functionality of their Fire TV apps while saving time and effort.

With its extensive global device infrastructure, the HeadSpin Platform allows you to test Fire TV apps using Appium on real Amazon Fire TV devices, ensuring accurate and reliable results. 

Leverage HeadSpin’s advanced capabilities to automate app testing on Amazon Fire TV, streamline your testing workflows, and gain valuable insights into your app’s performance.

Article Source:

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