IOT stands for The Internet of Things. IOT refers to interconnection of all electronic devices via the internet. With this interconnection, the devices can communicate with each other. The connected devices are called as “Smart Devices”, the devices can exchange data and upload it to the cloud. In other words, IOT is embedded computing with already existing internet infrastructure. Some examples of IoT are:
- Using smartphones to turn on and off the electronic devices like TV’s, AC’s, Fridge.
- Digital Health Monitoring
- Fast Track entry at toll plaza’s
- Tracking of vehicles and so on…
IOT testing is a method to test the devices which are connected to make an IOT application. Each device needs to have faster services like sharing of data, the creation of data which demands great control over the IOT devices. Thus the IoT devices testing is important. An IOT testing consists of different types of testing such as Usability Testing, Reliability Testing, Security, Performance and Integration Testing.
Since the IoT devices are made of different hardware and technologies so there is always a difficulty in testing them. There are many critical bugs related to functionality, performance, security.
Since IOT is evolving at a faster rate so the quality of the software in IoT devices cannot be compromised. The users of the connected devices are unaware of how the IoT system is working but are very much accustomed to using IoT technology. They will demand that the devices they use should work perfectly from the beginning. The businesses will have to face this challenge to develop optimized software which runs on all devices and hardware. So companies which start IOT testing will ultimately win in near future.
An IOT testing requires deep understanding and strategy of Quality Assurance. The staging environment nearly matching the real environment should be provided. Proper use of prototypes, simulators, Test labs, and testing tools be used. The companies need to a tradeoff between making the testing process simpler and clearer and maintaining quality at all levels.
We will discuss a few aspects which are important for avoiding issues with IOT.
Powerful Test strategy
An effective test strategy covering different hardware devices, software applications, testing types, methodology to be used, tools, test environment, emulators and simulators which will be used should be written in a concise way.
Compatibility Testing
Since a number of vivid devices are connected in IOT, thus there shall be a number of combinations possible. So it is required to maintain a traceability matrix. Testing on multiple OS, different browsers, and different ways of communication is necessary for IOT testing
Interoperability Testing
Interoperability is the core of IOT. Different systems exchange information, communicate with each other. During this type of testing, the testers will check the usability of the system, data formats, syntax, and logical as well as physical connections. The programs should be able to run smoothly in large architecture without leading to loss of any information between communicating devices. The results of the systems should be useful for users and easy to understand. The testing needs to be performed in a controlled environment as well in a real-time environment. There are many interoperability testing tools available in the market.
Usability Testing
By usability testing we mean, how user-friendly is the tool for end users. The measures of usability depend on the type of functions of the device, which users are going to use it. For example, some usability measures could be the notification bars, warning messages, portability of the device, and display of data. Different users have different expectations about the usefulness. So usability testing forms a crucial part of IOT testing.
Security Testing
Security is the biggest risk in continued growth in IOT. Since there multiple devices, many connection points exist, so it becomes vulnerable to lose sight to any of the connections and pose a security threat. As devices exchange data between them, so there are chances of data lost or stolen in between when it is transferred. The testers need to check that the data is not accessible while it is being transferred. Some of the ways to protect data from accessing are by encryption and password protection. If the hackers gain access to any of the device they can hack all the devices connected in that IOT. Security testing should be a continuous process.
Integration Testing
A large amount of data and many devices are there in IOT so there is a need for data integrity testing. Seamless integration between devices and smooth flow of data between them is desired.
Performance Testing
The IOT system should be scalable enough so that it could be expanded when numbers of users increase. The IOT testing team should ensure that the performance of the system is not degraded when the number of users increases. The power usage, system usage are some parameters tested in performance testing.
Automation Testing
Automation Testing is important for the company’s continued growth as well as keeping up with fast-paced development. It is important to reach the market on time rather than be a follower. Devops and automation together help in improving the time to market. With DevOps, the deployments are faster with frequent releases. The testing should be done in all stages of development. With automation, this can be achieved. The testing team generally focuses more on the early phases of testing and testers should also focus more on later stages of development.
Creating a Virtual Environment
IOT has a lot of interconnectedness which leads to complexity. Unlike a simple web application which has few functionalities and protocols, an IoT application needs a proper testing environment. For this, a production like the virtual environment is a must. It is not exactly the same as real but it shall be the closest to the real-time environment. It is important to have a virtual environment so that all the bottlenecks can be overcome. If any changes are happening, it will be easier to test all aspects of the changes like security, performance, before releasing to production.
Thus, concluding we can say that the era of IoT is here, but it comes with its own risks, threats. In order to face these risks and threats and make the users enjoy the benefits of IoT, the software testing teams must continuously improve their QA practices.
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2 thoughts on “Essential Elements in the IoT Software Testing”
Interesting article. Could you please share any IoT project?
This is a well-defined article and easy to understand .
Thank You.