The Importance of Software Testing

ISEB (the Information Systems Examinations Board) was the first organisation to certify software testers in 1998. Software testing has existed in some form since the 1950s. Back then, the aim was to fix bugs at the last minute. Today’s software testers use principles like continual improvement to work with the development from beginning to end.

The early mistakes of software testing

Software testing was once treated as an intermediate stage. It was a quick final task done right before the handing the software to the client. Software development agencies wouldn't devote the resources to complete these processes thoroughly. Testing was nothing more than a box-ticking exercise.

Inevitably, software was either incomplete, functionally at odds with the clients’ needs, or both. In some cases, the software was totally unusable. Around 80-90% of software projects went over budget or got cut short.

The consequences

Many high profile, publicly significant IT projects have massively overrun in cost or time. This damages the IT firm, the client and the development industry. Development agencies didn’t know it at the time, but their lackadaisical attitude to software testing would set the IT industry back. A lot of IT projects had to be abandoned completely.

The inadequate testing regime has led to complete project failure. The consequences of these failures for the industry are huge. After all, testing is a big part of quality control. Consultancies and development houses rely on trust, reputation and proven project management excellence. These are the qualities that win and retain business. Likewise, poor quality control is an easy way to lose trust and business.

Why you should implement a strong testing plan                                               

A strong and well-executed testing plan is not the silver bullet solution to a successful project. But few IT projects achieve the required outcome without it. Testing provides evidence for whether an IT system will:

• Function as specified
• Be efficient to use
• Operate with minimum errors
• Demonstrate performance

Testing identifies whether an IT system is robust, or whether it needs further work before the roll out. It also reduces development costs by identifying errors early in the development cycle. Early on, they can be corrected with less impact on the project.

Software development agencies today try to avoid the mistakes of the past by staying under budget and shipping functional software. Because of that, qualified software testers are more valuable than ever. If you want to be qualified in software testing, then we teach BCS-certified e-learning courses. To find out more, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.