What Is Development Testing? Tools & Best Practices

Development testing isn’t just a buzzword thrown around the software development arena, it’s a game-changer. Imagine having a robust testing strategy that catches bugs early, ensures code reliability, and sets the stage for a seamless development journey. Sounds interesting, right? That’s what development testing is about.

Development testing is like embarking on a safari through the code jungle, armed with tools and best practices to ensure you don’t stumble upon unexpected bugs and glitches. 

In this blog, we’ll discuss the development testing in detail, exploring the tools that streamline the process along with the best practices that ensure your code sails smoothly from conception to deployment.

What Is Development Testing?

Development testing, or DevTest, is a software development approach that integrates both development and testing stages together.

Typically, in traditional software development, coding and testing are often treated as separate phases, leading to delays between writing the code and testing it. 

DevTest bridges this gap by integrating the development and testing phases, where testing is run as a continuous process throughout the development cycle.

Do not confuse DevTest with DevTestOps, they are different. Learn DevTestOps and how it is crucial to software testing.

Purposes Of Development Testing

Development testing in software testing plays a vital role in the software development lifecycle, as it contributes to the overall quality and reliability of the software products. Some of the key purposes of DevTest include,

• Early bug detection and fixes
• Improving code quality with better code review
• Promotes continuous testing
• Validates the core functionality of the product
• Improve the overall product quality

Why Is Devtest Important?

As said, DevTest bridges the gap between the development (coding/construction) and testing phases. Integrating these phases enables automatic testing of newly written code, reducing delays and more, which will be listed below. The core reasons for doing DevTest are,

• Improve code quality: Continuous development and testing enhance the overall quality of the product.
• Cost-Efficiency: Identifying and fixing issues earlier in the development cycle is more cost-effective than addressing them later. 
• Quicker Time-to-Market: With faster feedback loops, early issue identification, and improved collaboration, DevTest contributes to a shorter time-to-market.

When To Perform Development Testing?

Development testing is typically performed throughout various stages of development, typically from the development stage, to ensure the quality and reliability of the code. 

Resource Alert: Learn how Test Driven Development helps ensure the code is working just fine before you even finish the coding part.

Development Testing Key principles

Development testing begins by setting guidelines that outline the organization’s expectations for reliability, security, performance, and regulatory compliance. After the team is trained on these guidelines, development testing practices are put in place to align software development activities with these guidelines. These practices include:

• Practices that aim to minimize defects by adopting a Deming-inspired approach, focusing on reducing errors via root cause analysis.
• Practices that identify defects immediately after they are introduced, as this is the quickest, easiest, and most cost-effective way for bug fixing.

By using these techniques, you can reduce the risk of defects slipping through production stages.

Benefits Of Development Testing

Development testing offers several benefits to the software development process. Here are some key benefits of DevTest,

• Early Bug Detection: DevTest helps identify and fix bugs in the early stages of development, preventing them from popping into the production stage or so.
• Saves Time and Cost: Finding and resolving defects earlier is more cost-effective than addressing them later in the software development life cycle or after deployment.

For example, finding a bug during the requirement phase might cost about $100. If it reaches the testing phase, the cost increases to $1500. When left undetected until production, the cost can soar up to $10,000, posing a significant budget risk for companies. So, find bugs at the earliest with thorough testing.

• Improved Code Quality: Continuous testing promotes better coding standards and highlights areas for improvement, contributing to high code quality.
• Increased Output: DevTest tools and methods enhance developer productivity by simplifying repetitive testing processes, allowing developers to focus on coding.
• Easy Maintenance: When the code has already been tested, it is easier to update and modify it for further improvements. So, when the existing functionality remains intact, developers will make changes confidently.

Disadvantages Of Development Testing

Though DevTest provides numerous benefits, you need to be aware of the disadvantages as well:

• Time and Resource Constraints: Thoroughly testing everything can be time-consuming, and there may be deadline pressure to complete it by a specific date. This may result in incomplete testing or the exclusion of some test cases.
• Much Focus on Unit Testing: Prioritizing unit testing over other testing types, like integration or system testing, may lead to overlooking problems in how components interact with each other.
• False Sense of Security: If the testing environment does not closely mimic the production environment, then testing and passing tests in a development setting might give a false sense of security.
• Overlooking on Exploratory Bugs: Relying too much on automated testing tools may cause some issues that can only be discovered manually or via exploratory testing.
• Lack of User Input: Development testing does not cover every possible user scenario. So, chances are usability problems that are found via user testing might be overlooked.

Best Practices For Development Testing

DevTest, as discussed above, is a critical phase in the software development lifecycle that aims to identify and fix defects early in the process. Let’s take a look at some of the best practices to perform effective development testing,

• Start Testing Early 

Start testing as early as possible in the software development lifecycle. Early testing helps identify and fix issues at their root, reducing the likelihood of more complex problems later on.

• Define Test Objectives

Define clear and detailed testing goals before the testing process begins. Also, define the expected results for every test you create.

• Simulate Production Environments

Create testing environments that closely mimic production conditions. This minimizes the chances of issues arising only in the production environment and provides more accurate testing results.

• Automate Wherever Possible

Utilize test automation for repetitive and time-consuming tasks, especially in regression testing. Test automation tools like Testsigma allow you to accelerate the entire testing process at a 5x faster rate. So teams can ship their products faster as well.

Check how Testsigma can help you accelerate test development with NLP-based scripting.

Keeping up with these best practices will enhance the test efficiency, reliability, and quality of their testing processes, ultimately delivering high-quality software products to end-users.

Tools Required for Development Testing

Development testing is a critical phase in SDLC, and several tools are available to support and enhance the testing process. Some of the most vital development testing tools are as follows,

• Test Automation Tools

Test automation tools help automate repetitive, complex, and time-consuming testing tasks. They save time, cost, effort, and resources, thereby ensuring consistent test execution. Examples of top test automation tools include Testsigma, Selenium, and JUnit.

1. Testsigma

Testsigma is a cloud-based low-code AI-driven test automation tool that allows you to automate web, mobile, desktop app, and API tests in one place. You can automate even complex workflows using plain English statements with the use of NLPs. 

You can leverage the low-code benefits using NLPs, Record-and-playback features, NLP-based scripting, Data-driven testing, and reusable test scripts. It supports Java for code-based testing as well. 

(Automated web tests created with Testsigma)

Check how Testsigma’s automated web app testing helps you automate your tests across 3000+ real devices/tablets and 1000+ browser/OS combos.

You can automate different types of functional testing with one tool, and you don’t have to use different tools for different testing types. 

Sign up to start automating your web, mobile, desktop, and API tests in less than 2 minutes using Testsigma.

2. Selenium

Selenium is a popular open-source test automation framework that allows you to automate web app testing across multiple browsers and platforms. You can create and run automated test scripts in different programming languages like Java, PHP, Python, JavaScript, .NET, C#, Ruby, and Perl.

3. JUnit

JUnit is a test automation framework that allows you to automate unit testing, especially for Java applications.

• Performance Testing Tools

Tools like Apache JMeter and LoadRunner simulate heavy user traffic to test how software performs under pressure. They identify performance bottlenecks.

• Static Analysis Tools

These tools detect issues in software code without executing it, catching potential bugs and code quality issues early on. Examples are SonarQube and ESLint.

Check here – Static Testing

• Test Management Tools

Testsigma, QMetry, or Zephyr are test management tools that help organize testing efforts and help plan, track, and control test instances.

• Continuous Integration Tools

Continuous integration (CI) tools like Jenkins and Travis CI combine code changes to maintain a smooth development flow. They also trigger automated tests with each update.

Metrics Used in Development Testing

Now that you are well aware of “what is Dev testing,” let’s learn about the various metrics to evaluate the quality, efficiency, and progress of the software development process. Some of the commonly used metrics in development testing include,

1. Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis is a debugging technique that examines the source code before running a program. It checks the code against a set or multiple sets of coding rules without executing the program. By doing this early in the development process, developers can identify and address issues in their code more easily.

2. Data Flow Analysis

Data Flow Analysis uses the Control Flow Graph mechanism to examine the program’s flow at various levels. This is a type of structural testing. It helps identify test paths based on the use of variables or the location of definitions in the program. It does not use data flow diagrams. Instead, it uses a control flow graph to detect issues in the code that may interrupt the flow of the program.

3. Metric Analysis

Metric analysis helps calculate the efficiency of a program and different software measurements, such as cyclomatic complexity, function points, counting Lines of Code (LOC), and more. These metrics are used to make decisions for the next phase of activities, like estimating costs for future projects, identifying areas of improvement for project success, or deciding on process change or technology.

4. Code Review

The source code is examined to identify and fix any errors, including memory leaks and buffer overflows. It is crucial to do a code review early in the process, like a peer review, before sending the code to the QA team for testing. Also, functionality tests on the code should be done before the review so it is easy to review. Various code review approaches include Pair programming, Email thread, Over shoulder, and Tool-assisted.

Conclusion

Development testing is not just about finding and fixing bugs; it’s a proactive approach that helps prevent issues, ensure code reliability, and ultimately deliver high-quality software to end-users. It helps ensure that the code we produce is not just functional but resilient. 

Ultimately, DevTest helps foster a culture of continuous improvement, where testing isn’t a phase but an integral part of the development.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a development tester do?

Development testers are software developers or engineers who test their code during the construction or coding phase. This is called development testing.

What is development and testing in SDLC?

• Development is the phase in the SDLC where the actual software code is built. The development phase typically includes tasks such as coding, code review, and unit testing. 
• Testing is also a crucial phase that involves evaluating the software to identify and correct issues or ensure that it meets specified requirements.

Both development and testing are iterative processes, and feedback from testing phases may lead to modifications in the development phase. Collaboration between developers and testers is essential to ensure the software meets quality standards and fulfills user requirements.