In this era of startups, new ventures are emerging daily on their way to becoming the next unicorn. But, do you think–focusing only on the development process and giving less importance to the testing can help them reach their goal? What is software testing? How important is it to help a startup set foot successfully in the already established market?
In this post, I’ll give you a complete idea about– what software testing is, how important it is for startups, and how to become a skilled tester.
So, let’s begin.
Software testing is an integral part of developing quality software. This process includes identifying, evaluating, or experimenting with a piece of software to dig out inevitable information so that the stakeholders (Product owner, designer, developer, company owner, etc.) can convert them into decisions to optimize the quality of the product.
In simple terms, a software tester checks whether the software product meets the standard requirements, bug–free, and is ready to cater to the customers. A software tester is vital to delivering a user-friendly product.
And, when it’s the time of the digital revolution and every business is in the race to mark its online presence effectively to provide excellent services to its customers, software testing becomes critical.
“To err is human”-- even an extremely qualified professional can make mistakes. Honestly, It is common for an individual to overlook his work. Like – sometimes, for a writer or cook, it is difficult to tell or know mistakes in self-created products–software developers are no different.
But, these tiny-looking mistakes are more than enough to bring a huge disaster.
Here are some real examples of what negligence may cause–
*In 2015, the Bloomberg terminals crashed due to a software malfunction that possibly affected more than 3 lakh traders on financial markets. This accident forced even the government to postpone its three billion pound sale. (Source– The Guardian )
* In September 2016, Yahoo confirmed a massive data breach that attacked more than 500 million user accounts which included identifying information, contact details, email addresses, hashed passwords, and in some cases, some security questions. It was considered one of the massive data leaks in 2016. ( Source– Money.cnn.com )
*In December 2015, a software glitch pre-released 3,200 prisoners out of the Washington jail in the US. They built the software in 2002 to check the behavior of the prisoners. The problem had been occurring for 13 years and released many criminals early. ( Source– ITPro.com )
Innumerable other such incidents affected a majority of people.
We should never forget that “Prevention is better than cure.’’
It doesn't matter if your organization is big, small, old, or new– accidents can happen to any organization. Building a good quality product (application) requires testing as a cure to prevent unimaginably immense disasters that could be far greater than the expense we initially try to avoid in the testing process.
There are several valid reasons why software testing is beneficial. Here are some of these points that explain the purpose and value of testing.
1. Quality improvement
“It takes time to achieve quality - quick work is the work of the devil.”
Startups hurry to launch their product because they want to raise funding for their survival. But, they need to understand that putting quality at risk to present the product quickly for use can invite big catastrophic troubles and ruin their chances of success.
“It is the time of ratings– they can bring down the castle before it is built. “
Quality should never be taken for granted– it’s where you may stick out!
Therefore, effective testing is more than necessary for startups to develop high-quality products.
2. Trust building
“Trust is everything in businesses or any long-term relationships.”
Trust building is a long process, and presenting a top-quality or stable product to customers according to their specific requirements is the ideal first step a startup can take toward building the foundation of trust.
When the customers know that the product has gone through numerous critical testing processes, they are less likely to hesitate to use it.
So, a software tester’s role is vital for startups in building trust and satisfying their customers’ requirements.
3. Reduction in future risks
Startups often try to escape the testing process because they lack resources or time. But, protecting revenue in the first place may incur heavy losses or some unrecovered losses in the end.
Finding the defects and rectifying them in the early stages of production can save startups from incurring losses around 30 times the cost they could have spent on quality testing.
So, it will be unwise to escape the testing in developing high-quality products–if you want to set foot in the aggressive market competition.
4. Scale high
Every startup dreams of scaling up or venturing beyond its native market, but scaling up your product's quality is out of the question without scaling up the testing strategy– you can’t expect a 100-watt bulb to emit light like a 500-watt bulb.
To increase the enduring power of the product and ensure it doesn’t break down on different servers, devices, locations, and the increased load, startups must perform performance and localization testing.
5. Increment in sales
Suppose you are shopping for dresses online on a newly designed shopping app. You selected the dresses and added them to your bucket list, entered the required details, and then the time you clicked on the “place my order” button, a message popped up– SORRY, ERROR!
It would have a nasty impact on you, right? So do your customers may experience.
Startups need to understand that these tiny defects/bugs on their e-commerce site can impact your sales directly. Customers want smooth services, which is one of the keys to competing with established brands. Therefore, startups should find bugs before their customers do.
Startups = Limited people (infused with passion & commitment) +
Limited Time + Limited Resources + Limited Money
Startups are usually born with high ambitions but limited people, resources, time, and money. And, to maximize their limited resources and people, they multi-task at once. They want to launch their product before anyone else executes their idea in the market. Furthermore, they want to raise additional funds as soon as possible to stay alive.
During this process, they assume testing is an additional cost for them and hand it over to the developer.
A developer checks whether his codes are working properly; he will perform automation testing to test the workability of his coding. But, He may miss out on some requirements or things crucial from the users’ perspective– come on, who sees defaults in his foster child?
The goal of a tester is to enhance the quality of the product in all possible ways.
After knowing the importance of testing, it must have been quite clear how vital role a tester plays. I have laid out a few points here.
If you want to pursue software testing as a career and help startups or enterprises add value to their product, MoolyaEd is here to help walk you through it.
What is MoolyaEd? MoolyaEd is a magical key to help you break through the Software Testing Career. It is a 4-month intensive software testing training program initiated by Moolya (home of testers) to create a squad of potential testers to help enterprises/ startups prevent bugs and build quality.
To know more about MoolyaEd– visit our Website
As a tester, you may play an indispensable role in helping startups with zero brand recognition create a positive impact on their customers– you’re a gem!
While startups may find it difficult to bear testing, they shouldn't risk letting their users find glitches in their products– it may cause unrecoverable damage to their image!
So, you must have understood that testing creates a major difference between a startup that flies high and one that could fall flat.
At last– to become a skilled tester– join MoolyaEd today!
Happy growing! 🤗
