Independent Testing in Software Engineering

Prerequisite: Software Testing

Independent Testing is a collection of tests done by a specific corporation, person, or agency that software system according to desired requirements. 

Definition

The term is defined as independent because it’s neither connected with the producer nor the user. However, the test is either affiliated with the government, some organization, or by an independent testing laboratory. This can be connected and used for all sorts of web applications, iOS, and Android platforms. This also consists of some third-party testing referred to as contrast testing or evaluation facilities.  

Purpose

1. Validation: Independent testing confirms that the program satisfies the stakeholder-defined requirements and specifications. It assists in making sure the program runs as intended and provides users with the anticipated benefit.
2. Verification: Third-party testing confirms that the program operates as intended under a range of circumstances. It also finds errors, malfunctions, and discrepancies that could compromise the program’s functionality, performance, or usefulness.
3. Continuous Improvement: G engineer’s insightful feedback, it promotes a culture of continuous improvement and motivates improvements in upcoming software releases.
4. Quality Assurance: An essential part of quality assurance initiatives is independent testing, which assists in finding and fixing flaws early in the development lifecycle to stop them from growing into more serious problems later.
5. User Confidence: By guaranteeing that the program has undergone thorough testing and validation by unbiased professionals, it inspires confidence in end users and stakeholders.

Features of Independent Testing

Independent Testing services possess some beneficial features throughout the process, some of them are as follows: 

1. Quality of Testing: The testing cycle does not get affected due to the absence of time or budget. Finds more defects compared to testers of the project team by adhering to the goals of the customer.
2. Fewer management Efforts: With the support of the Independent Testing team, it becomes easy to respond quickly to market changes keeping up with the competition.
3. Access to the Best Testing Talent: Independent testing corporations provide access to recent testing practices and resources skills to upcoming technologies.
4. Total Cost Ownership: No need to start extra setups for hardware and software. Businesses do not have the load to maintain the testing practices. Automation reduces the workload and pricing range.
5. Time to market: Independent testing is all about tried and tested processes, it engages the right skilled people to get the most out of it. This ensures a faster turnaround time, thereby reducing the time to market.

Levels of Independent Testing

In Independent testing, there are several levels of testing which are known as Level of Independence.

1. Testing done by the developer means who developed the item/product.
2. Testing is done by another programmer of the same development team.
3. Testing is done by testers integrated with the developer.
4. Testing is done by some independent testing team from another group of the same organization.
5. Testing is done by some independent testers from other organizations.

Benefits of Independent Testing

1. Finds out more defects as compared to other testers working inside the programming team.
2. Unique side assumptions and ideas of independent testers result in identifying hidden defects.
3. The independent testers are unbiased.
4. Cost-effective as it has a separate budget, which helps in tracking money spent on training, testing tools, and equipment.
5. Provides improved Software Quality.
6. Supplies more Experienced and skilled power.
7. One can easily switch between manual and automation testing using independent testing due to being more flexible.
8. Reduces time to market by providing access to expert skills in test automation skills ensuring faster testing cycles.

Drawbacks of Independent Testing

1. The isolating feature can sometimes lead to outdated documentation references.
2. Easily gets affected by delays in the early stage because it’s the execution of the last stage.
3. Developers don’t take responsibility for quality and let the testing team deal with the whole issue.
4. Sometimes independent testing adds hindrance to communication.
5. Faces lack identification in project goals and a few more uncertain things.

Conclusion

Independent testing is essential to maintain the efficiency, dependability, and quality of software systems. Employing an outside team or company to carry out testing allows organizations to obtain objective insights into the functionality, performance, and requirements compliance of the program. In today’s competitive marketplace, this testing helps ensure that high-quality software solutions are delivered that satisfy user expectations, improve user satisfaction, and accelerate corporate success.