SaaS or Software as a service has gained popularity and adoption by organizations as they realize their benefits. In this model, the organization does not pay for the software or hardware itself, they pay the rent as they use it. This is why it is a relatively more attractive model as compared to the on-premises installed applications. Moving to the SaaS model can be a daunting decision for organizations. There are several factors that organizations need to consider including the complexity of the system, application stack, and operational aspects. Organizations that use legacy applications find it difficult to invest in a SaaS application. Since deployments have reduced from months to weeks and maybe days, it is important for organizations to step up their game with the best software testing tools and techniques at their disposal.
SaaS Testing
Although SaaS application testing may not be easy and it may create unique challenges for testers. Most of these require more technical skills, while others require only soft development expertise. SaaS testing means the set of testing processes used to ensure that applications built using the software as a service model function as they are designed. SaaS applications require thorough testing for their data security, privacy, integrity, performance, compatibility, scalability, etc. These testing cycles are shorter because of their architectural model as compared to the traditional software delivery process.
Importance of Unit Testing in SaaS Apps and Products
Unit testing is a form of automated testing that checks if a program works and continues to work as the developer planned for it to work. The purpose of unit testing is to validate that each unit of a software app performs as per design. Since managers are responsible for software quality assurance, they are under pressure to perform unit testing. They ensure QA teams are equipped with the right software testing tools to achieve speed and accuracy. If a change causes a team’s low performance, they are responsible for the consequences too. Thus, managers focus on controlling and managing their projects in a better way for which they use unit testing. It helps them control and manage their projects better. As managers are supposed to keep an eye on each member of the development on a daily basis, unit tests improve their manageability in the following key areas:
- Visibility and reporting
- Control and rectification
- Speed and efficiency
- Planning and achievement
- Customer satisfaction
Automated unit testing can be utilized to check if a code is working and continues to perform as it is intended to. They are used for the following objectives:
- Developers should be able to run all the tests written by them
- The CI server should be able to run the entire tests without manual testing
- The outcome of the tests should be clear
The testing cycles should be short, fast, and can be partially automated. Speed is an important factor in testing SaaS applications and testers achieve that by breaking down the components and testing them as early in iterations.
As there is a growing competition in the software testing industry, companies need to be more vigilant about providing a quality experience to their customers. Thus, making unit testing extremely important for SaaS applications. QA teams use automated software testing tools to make the most of their unit testing efforts.
