June 2017 Summaries

Accessibility testing is a critical component of software development that ensures digital components are usable by everyone, regardless of age or ability. It's not only the right thing to do but also a requirement for government regulations in the U.S. and European Union. Accessibility testing involves evaluating how users with disabilities interact with software, mobile apps, and websites, considering factors such as text alternatives, multimedia captions, high contrast colors, and keyboard navigation. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a framework for designing and developing accessible digital components. By prioritizing accessibility, developers can improve the quality of their products, enhance user experience, and avoid potential fines and penalties. Automated testing frameworks like Selenium and Appium can be used to perform accessibility testing, providing cross-platform compatibility and easy maintenance. Regular accessibility testing is essential throughout the development stages to identify bugs and changes early, making it easier to fix them.

To get started with WebDriver in Python on OSx, you need to install Python and its package manager pip, as well as the Selenium library. The recommended editor for this task is any plain text editor such as Vim, Emacs, or Sublime, although several other options are available. You also need to download and add the ChromeDriver executable to your system's PATH environment variable. Once you have these components in place, you can write a simple test using the unittest framework, which includes setting up and tearing down a browser instance, navigating to a webpage, clicking on links, and verifying that elements are displayed. The test is then run by typing `python3` followed by the name of the test file, and it will launch the browser, execute the test, and close the browser instance.

Emulators are software applications that mimic the interface of a particular mobile device, offering advantages such as rapid bug identification and cost-effectiveness. However, their performance may not match real devices, and they only exist for common types of devices. In contrast, testing with real devices provides insights into actual performance, network variability, and realistic user experiences, but requires purchasing multiple devices and incurring significant costs and maintenance. A balanced approach using both emulators and real devices can leverage the strengths of each, while addressing their limitations, to achieve high-quality mobile applications.

Automated testing is a critical component of mobile application development due to the increasing complexity of devices and software updates. Automated testing allows developers to simulate user interactions with their applications, validate content, and measure performance on various devices, reducing the need for manual testing and improving efficiency. To get started with automated testing, developers can use frameworks like Appium, which supports multiple platforms and languages, and cloud-based services like SauceLabs Real Device Cloud, which provides access to a wide range of devices for testing. By automating tests, developers can reduce their workload, improve test coverage, and increase the speed of deployment, ultimately leading to better quality applications.

Automating functional testing is a critical step in ensuring high-quality systems are delivered to customers. It's often viewed as overly time-consuming and painful, but parallel execution can bring extraordinary value by enabling teams to continually test the most critical aspects of their software. Effective communication is key to functional testing, which requires clear acceptance criteria and an environment that's as close to production as possible. Teams should focus on high-risk, high-value business use cases and create well-crafted, maintainable automated test scripts using principles like Page Object Pattern and abstraction. When running tests in parallel, teams need to consider toolsets and platforms, test infrastructure, cross-browser testing, mobile devices, test runners, reporting, data archiving, and move forward with small experiments to learn how to be successful.

The key difference between traditional web/desktop applications and mobile applications in regression testing lies in scope, with mobile testing being more complex due to the various mobile browser combinations, device and OS combinations of Android and iOS, as well as native, hybrid, responsive, and progressive web apps. Mobile development follows agile and DevOps principles, requiring continuous testing and continuous delivery, which necessitates a comprehensive testing platform, highly scalable infrastructure, and CI/CD optimization to keep up with the fast pace of continuous delivery. By adopting a mobile regression testing plan, organizations can reduce the risks of flaky software and ensure that new features or application updates do not introduce new bugs.

Achieving CI excellence through the role of test automation is evolving, blurring the lines between Test Automation and DevOps. The approach starts by defining a single path to production and outlining pipeline stages, including infrastructure, pre-commit, and product stages. A continuous testing strategy defines how to deliver applications continuously with confidence. Automating cloud infrastructure allows for disposable environments, enabling build, test, and deployment of products in minutes. Clearly defined standards are crucial, starting with documentation and education, while a community movement fosters ownership among teams. The mission is to enable faster feedback from testing and integrating code, fostering a community that builds repeatable and disposable infrastructure and CI ownership.

Emulators have come a long way since the early days of software testing, but they are not a magic bullet and should not be relied upon for all situations. Virtual environments can mimic real-device problems, such as insufficient hardware or firmware version changes, but may also lead to tests that miss configuration nuances found in production environments. Emulators offer speed and flexibility by allowing quick changes to configurations, making them useful for testing applications with GPS, touch screens, biometric readers, and other device-specific features. However, real-device testing is essential for applications requiring precise accuracy, such as facial recognition or location-based tracking of dogs, where the behavior of the application in a specific environment cannot be simulated safely. Additionally, real-device testing provides higher quality documentation and insights into real-life conditions, which can assist with testing and quality assurance. The key takeaway is that both virtual testing and real-device testing are necessary to meet the challenges of continuous delivery, and a balance between the two should be maintained.

You'll need to create and run WebDriver tests in Ruby on OSx using the following components: Ruby version 2.4.1 or higher, an editor such as Vim, Emacs, TextMate, Sublime, or others, a test framework like RSpec, and Mozilla's Gecko Driver proxy for Firefox. To start, install Ruby using Homebrew, then set up a specific working environment with rbenv. Install WebDriver and RSpec, and add the Gecko Driver proxy to your system's PATH environment variable. Write your first test by creating a new file in your chosen editor, requiring the necessary libraries, and defining setup and teardown methods. Run the test by typing `ruby` from the directory where you created the file, which will launch Firefox, navigate to the Sauce Labs home page, and close.