When you spend hundreds of hours developing software, you want to see it excel. That’s why it can be devastating when your software doesn’t perform as intended. Moreover, it can lead to a loss in revenue and a hit to your company’s reputation. Luckily, you can avert software failures with a bit of extra planning. Here are five expert-tested strategies that prove an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Partner with an experienced software testing company
Software testing enables developers to determine whether a software product fulfills all the set objectives without errors or lags. It helps identify any defects early on so that experts can fix them before rollout.
Early testing can save money since it costs significantly more to fix issues after a product launch. It also guarantees high performance, security, dependability, and customer satisfaction.
You wouldn’t drive a car that had never been tested before, so why should software be any different? Working with a professional software testing company like XBOSoft is crucial if you want to prevent software breakdowns. Professional software testing emphasizes user experience to create not just a working product but a quality one.
Conduct early and continuous testing
The majority of bugs appear in the early stages of software development. That’s why early testing is vital. Identifying errors and fixing them can be difficult and more costly during the later stages. You don’t want to get five or ten steps along before you realize there’s a wrench in the gears.
Conducting early and continuous testing will help you prevent any nasty surprises further down the line. Since it costs significantly less to catch and kill a bug during coding, early testing is a no-brainer.
Adopt automation
Automation is a growing trend in software testing. This trend is good news for software developers. For one, it can save 20-40% of the time it takes to find bugs. Additionally, you can run the tests repeatedly until you’re satisfied. When software products run smoothly through machine testing, the human experts can direct their attention where it matters most–ironing out the kinks.
Adopt continuous integration
As companies embrace automation, they should also consider implementing continuous integration. The two different technologies work together to streamline the software testing process.
Continuous integration means integrating fixes and improvements into the software product as soon as you develop them. Of course, this is not possible without having automated testing feedback. If you already subscribe to the one, spring for the other as well.
Set realistic time and budget frames
Many projects fail due to a lack of proper planning. You must set a realistic timeline and budget estimate during software development. If not, you’ll be wishing you’d been less ambitious with your timetable when it’s crunch time.
Proposing projected costs based on assumptions can also be costly, especially when working with a third party. Therefore, developers should ensure the nature and complexity of the project informs the projected cost and mere speculation.
Parting shot
Software glitches are not going away anytime soon, at least as long as humans are involved in software development. However, developers are not at the mercy of their code. Implementing these five strategies can help you avoid a matrix meltdown at your next launch.
