Development Testing – It is a method of applying testing practices
consistently throughout the software development life cycle process.
This testing ensures the detection of bugs or errors at the right time
which further ensures delay of any kind of risk in terms of time and
cost. Development Testing aims to establish a framework to verify
whether the requirements of a given project are met in accordance with
the rules of the mission to be accomplished. This testing is performed
by the software developers or other engineers during the construction
phase of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Development
Testing is a continuous or a running process in the development of a
product in the entire software development life cycle. This testing is
done only once as compared to other testings which can be performed
many times. To meet the deadline date, development testing is
performed during the development phase of a software product,
In Development Testing, the phases are more tightly integrated so that
code that is being written and checked in is automatically tested. In this
way, the problems can be more quickly discovered and can be
addressed.
Development Testing
When to perform Development Testing?
When writing new code or building a new software product.
When development cost is low, the client should perform
development Testing so that the client doesn’t have to face the
debugging and another testing cost.
Development testing requires some metric depending upon the
organization to organization, and these may include the following :
1. Static code Analysis : Static code analysis is a technique of
debugging by analyzing the source code before running a program.
It is carried out by analyzing a set of code against a set or multiple
sets of coding rules. This involves analyzing the source code,
without actually executing the program.
By performing static code analysis, the developers will know early
on if there are any problems in their code and by this, it will be
easier to fix those problems.
2. Data Flow Analysis : This concept uses the Control flow Graph
mechanism to check the flow of the program, at different levels.
Data Flow Testing is a type of structural testing. It is a method that
is used to find the test paths of a program according to the locations
of definitions and uses of variables in the program. It has nothing to
do with data flow diagrams. This testing uses the control flow graph
to check the anomalies in the code which can interrupt the flow of
the program.
3. Metric Analysis : Metric is a synonym for measurement. To
calculate the efficiency of a program, various software metrics like
calculating cyclomatic complexity, counting Lines of code (LOC),
function points, etc. are used in that case. In metric analysis, Test
metrics are used in taking the decision for the next phase of
activities like cost estimating & future projects, recognizing the type
of improvement required to succeed the project, or in taking a
decision on the process or technology to be modified, etc.
4. Code review : The source code is inspected and is checked for any
flaws in it. It can be used to find and remove flaws in the code such
as memory leaks and buffer overflows. It is very important to do a
code review in the early phase like a peer review, carry out this step
earlier than you send your code to be tested for development. Also,
do some functionality testing of your code so that it becomes easy
for code review. There are various approaches to do code reviews
such as The Email thread, Pair programming, Over shoulder, and
Tool-assisted.
Benefits of Development Testing
Early Bug Detecting: Early in the development process, faults and
bugs can be identified and corrected thanks to development testing,
which stops problems from spreading to subsequent phases.
Savings on costs: Early fault detection and correction is more
economical than addressing problems later in the software
development life cycle or after it has been deployed.
Improved Coding Quality: By enforcing coding standards and
highlighting areas for improvement, routine testing aids in the
maintenance and enhancement of code quality.
Increased Output: Development testing tools and methods
contribute to greater developer productivity by simplifying repetitive
testing processes and allowing developers to focus on coding.
Easy Maintenance: Tested code is simpler to update and alter.
Since the current functionality won’t be compromised, developers
can make modifications with confidence.
Disadvantages of Development Testing
Limitations on Time and Resources: Complete testing can take a
lot of time, and there might be pressure to finish it by a given date,
which could result in partial testing or the removal of some test
cases.
An excessive focus on unit testing: If unit testing is prioritized
above other testing stages, such integration or system testing,
problems in the way components interact with one another could go
unnoticed.
False Feeling of Safety: If the testing environment is not a true
duplicate of the production environment, passing tests in a
development environment might lead to a false sense of security.
Dependence on tools for testing: If automated testing
technologies are used excessively, some issues that can only be
found by human or exploratory testing may go unnoticed.
Insufficient User Input: The variety of end-user behaviors and
preferences may not be fully captured by development testing, and
usability problems that are only revealed by user testing may go
unnoticed
