“Cook” Your Software Impressively Using Agile Sprints! | KoderShop

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 14, 2022 | blog

Sprints in Agile project management: what are they and how to plan them

Any more or less complex topic is always better to analyze on a simple and understandable example. The field of software development operates with a lot of terms and concepts that will not always be obvious to the average user of the same software, even if they are very easy to understand if you delve a little into the topic. In this article, we will explain in simple terms what is a sprint in Agile software development, and tell what the Scrum approach has to do with it.

Agile in a nutshell

To begin with, let’s imagine that you came to a restaurant and ordered five different dishes at once for a large company. In this analogy, you are the customer of the project, and the restaurant kitchen is its performer. If you ordered only one dish, the best solution for the contractor would be to apply the classic cascade project management method (waterfall): prepare the necessary set of products → cook the dish → put it on a plate beautifully → serve.

However, we are talking about five menu items at once. This formulation of the task requires a slightly different approach, since with the cascade method each time you have to wait until one dish is cooked before starting to cook another. This is where the Agile project management method comes into play. It involves dividing a project not into phases, but into smaller projects that are executed in parallel. The iterations of these subprojects are what we call sprints. At the same time, upon completion of each sprint, all plans and requirements are tested for relevance and expediency given the results already obtained.

Put your finger on the pulse and trust: the benefits of Agile

The main advantage of Agile is that the team releases the product in batches, which allows them to respond in time to end-user feedback, market trends, etc., without violating plans for months ahead.

Agile principles focus not on indicators, but on people and their natural interaction in solving certain problems. This allows agile-team members to decide for themselves which way to accomplish the task will be most effective. As practice shows, by placing such responsibility on the project executors, companies achieve greater success, because, understanding the level of trust shown, employees make every effort to justify it.

The mistake

So, we have already said what is sprint in Agile methodology: a kind of iteration of a subproject. More specifically, this is a fixed time period in which the team completes a certain piece of a global task (whereas iteration is understood not as a period, but as a piece of work itself). But we did not specify that in the Manifesto for Agile software development, which gave the name to the whole concept, sprints are not even mentioned.

For ease of understanding, project management methods such as Scrum or Kanban are often identified with Agile. However, this is a mistake. In its essence, Agile is not a method, but a set of principles that became the basis for the formation of the aforementioned Scrum and Kanban methods.

Moreover, sprints are inherent just in Scrum, while in Kanban the process is not interrupted (we will talk about this some other time). So, the correct wording of the question is not “what are sprints in agile?”, but “what are sprints in scrum?”

How to plan and implement a sprint cycle in software engineering?

Well, we have another term here – the sprint cycle. And that’s one more thing you need to know. A sprint cycle is usually understood as the sequence of such sprint stages in Scrum:

Sprint planning
Daily scrum
Sprint review
Sprint retrospective

Sprint planning involves a meeting in which the team is expected to answer two fundamental questions: what kind of work needs to be done within this sprint and how particularly this work should be done. The product developers` team, its owner (customer), and Scrum master are involved in this process. Together they bring out the definition of the sprint goal as well as the sprint tasks from the product backlog that needs to be done until the sprint is ended. When this is done, the developers sketch out the sprint plan. Thus, the sprint backlog is formed.

Daily scrums are daily discussions that are necessary for the timely analysis of the results of the work done and the quick identification of possible difficulties during the sprint.

A sprint review is needed to summarize the work done. At such meetings, team members show what was done and how, clarify the details, test the functionality of the product (or some parts of it), and share their opinion about the already implemented software features. That is, it is assumed that the team already has some demos by the sprint review.

For such a meeting to be fruitful, it is necessary to clearly formulate the criteria for product readiness. Most often, this is done during sprint planning, but in rare cases, the team may determine the readiness criteria as the work progresses.

Do not confuse the sprint retrospective with the sprint review. During the retro, no one analyzes the results of the sprint. Instead, the team discusses which areas need to be refined and improved in the next iteration. To some extent, the retrospective definition in Scrum is a preparatory stage for planning the next sprint.

As you can see, the sprint methodology in Scrum is not as difficult to understand as it might seem at first glance. Of course, by introducing the Scrum approach or any other direction of Agile into the workflow of your enterprise, you are unlikely to be able to immediately avoid all the difficulties. But this game is worth the candle. The main thing when implementing Agile is the correct selection of a team, and everything else will work out quickly enough.

FAQ

What is sprint backlog in Agile?

In Scrum model the sprint backlog presented as a list of tasks that the development team must complete during this sprint. It also includes a pre-designed plan according to which the performers will do the work.

What`s the difference between sprint backlog and product backlog?

Unlike a sprint backlog, a product backlog contains a list of all the tasks in a project. In the product backlog, tasks are described in order of importance, but Agile principles do not require strict adherence to this order (of course, this may vary depending on the specifics of the project). In the process of work, the team itself determines which task is more appropriate to perform at one time or another.

The basis for the formation of the product backlog is the so-called roadmaps (a document that describes the strategy for the development of your product in the long term), as well as the requirements for the product, which we have already written about here. The product backlog usually serves as the basis for the sprint backlog when it is planned.

How long is a sprint in Agile?

The Manifesto for Agile does not specify the duration of the sprint. However, typically Scrum development teams set a sprint timeframe of one to four weeks. Most often, an agile sprint lasts two weeks.

Python Return Statement Explained in Details and Practical Examples

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 12, 2022 | blog

Python return statement in examples

The Python return statement is associated with functions and methods. In the body of the function to determine the value that is the result of the function, the return in Python3 is usually used (it can not be used outside a function). Execution of this instruction leads to the completion of the execution of the program code of the function. Also the value that is specified after the return statement is returned by the function as a Python result. Keep in mind that the return statement indicates the end of a function, so the statements after are not executed.

Return function Python

A function is a piece of code, that has a name, and which we can call in any place of a programm. It returns value back to a caller.

To define function in Python, you need:

set the name of the function;
describe function arguments;
describe the program code of the function.

The definition of a function starts with the def keyword followed by the name and arguments of a function. Arguments are listed after the function name in parentheses. Even if a function has no arguments, it needs parentheses.

Syntax of a function:

def function_name(arguments):
    a block of statements

You can use a function by calling it

function_name(arguments)

Python return example

Python function return value without arguments

def your_name():
    # The text entered by the user is remembered
    name = input("What is your name?")
    # Return variable name
    return name

Python function with return value with two arguments

def subtract_numbers(a, b):
    result = a - b
    # Return variable result
    return result

A function may or may not return a result (in the latter case it would make sense to talk about a procedure, but in Python everything is called function). If a function return in Python doesn’t have any return statements, it returns NONE. Return 0 Python is not equal to None. However, in boolean context, it means False.

Python function without return statement example:

def say_hello(name): 
    print ('Hello', name)

You can have an expression in the return statement.

Python return command with expression example:

def subtract_numbers(a, b): 
# return result Python 
    return a - b

Python return True or False

In functions you can return different types of data, as boolean values.

def positive_or_negative_number(number): 
    if number > 0: 
        return True 
    else: 
        return False

Or simply use a bool() function.

def bool_value(value): 
    return bool(value) 
a = bool_value(0) 
b = bool_value(12) 
print(a, b) 
# output: False True

Python return string

To return a string you need to use str() function. And also except words you could return numbers that convert to string type.

def str_value(s): 
    return str(s) 
a = str_value('hello') 
b = str_value(12) 
print(a, b) 
# output: hello 12

Python function return multiple values in a single return Statement

In Python, you can use the return statement to return multiple values from a function.

There are different ways to do it.

1. Using Tuple

Tuple is used to store multiple values in a single variable. Still you can use it without creating a separate variable, simply writing several comma-separated values in the return statement.

def fun(x):  
    y1 = x * 4 
    y2 = x + 2 
# Return tuple 
    return (y1, y2) 
t = fun(3) 
print(t) 
# output: (12, 5)

2. Using Dictionary

Dictionary is a collection, which is used to store data values in key:value pairs. In Python to create a dictionary you need to place values in curly brackets.The dictionary is an unordered set of elements. However, unlike a set, each element of a dictionary is “identified” in a special way.

def first_dict(): 
    d = second_dict(); 
    d['str'] = "string" 
    d['i']   = 1 
    return d 
d = first_dict() 
print(d) 
# output: {'i': 1, 'str': 'string'}

3. Using List

For this, you need to write an array of items using square brackets. Arrays can store different types of items that are ordered and can be changeable. The last is the difference from tuples, because tuples can not be changeable.

def first_list(): 
    second_list = [] 
    for i in range(3): 
        second_list.append(i) 
    return second_list 
print(first_list()) 
# output: [0, 1, 2, 3]

4. Using Data Class

A technique of adding methods to a class that was defined by a user is called Data class. In this method, you use data classes to return multiple values. Also it can return a class with automatically added specific methods.

from dataclasses import dataclass 
@dataclass 
class Food: 
    Name: str 
    Cost: int 
    Amount: int = 0    
    # Python class returns total cost     
    def total_cost(self) -> int: 
        return self.Cost * self.Amount  
food = Food("Apple", 30, 4) 
x = food.total_cost() 
print(food) 
print("Total cost:", x) 
# output: Food(Name='Apple', Cost=30, Amount=4) 
# Total cost: 120

Python function return another function

In Python a function is an object, so you can also return another function from the return statement. To do that, you can define a function inside another function.

def fun1(a): 
    def fun2(b): 
        return a + b 
    return fun2 
x = fun1(20) 
print ("The value is", x(80)) 
# output: The value is 100

A function that is defined outside the function also can be returned with the Python method return statement.

def fun1(a): 
    return a - 20 
def fun2(): 
    return fun1 
y = fun2() 
print ("The value is" y(100)) 
# output: The value is 80

Python print return and difference between them

Print() function is used to display messages onto the screen.

Python return function is used to return a result of a function back to the caller. Also when the return statement is used in a function the output can be used again, but with print function it can not. Also the return function can not return print, because it only returns a value, not a function.

Example of a function that includes print():

def say_hello(name): 
print("Hello", name) 
say_hello("World")

Here is output:

Hello World

Example when Python return value from function:

def say_hello(name): 
    return "Hello " + name 
greeting = say_hello("World") 
print(greeting)

An output is same as before:

Hello World

In order to display the value of the function on the screen, you need to store it into a variable and then use print().

Printing and returning are completely different, because printing is used to display value on the screen for you to see and the second giving back a value that you can continue to use.

Summary

Today you learned the Python return statement. It is one of the important parts of any Python function or method. This statement allows you to return any object you want from functions. Also it is possible to return one function from another and return multiple values by tuple, dictionary, lists and data class. Definition and using functions is a central component of Python programming in general.

Negative Testing As a Necessity in Software Testing | KoderShop

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 9, 2022 | blog

Negative Testing definition and using

Software testing focuses on determining whether or not an application complies with the requirements. To finish the process, we might need to utilize a variety of software testing techniques, including functional testing, unit testing, integration system testing, system testing, smoke testing, regression testing, and sanity testing.

Writing lengthy and sophisticated programs, then testing them to ensure flawless and consistent operation, is what makes software development a difficult task to complete. Software testing is a crucial component of writing effective code, as we all know.

But each of these fell into one of the following two categories:

Positive Testing
Negative Testing

The following subject pertaining to the specific testing method known as negative testing.

What is Negative Testing?

Negative testing definition: It is a special kind of software testing method intended to assess the system for unexpected events. In the creation of high-performance software, it is crucial.

By providing the system with the incorrect data during this test, it is permitted. A negative test looked at how well an application performed given its unfavorable inputs.

Testing Results

Negative testing is mostly used to determine whether the performance of the software will be affected by such unforeseen circumstances.

Negative testing, in other words, is used to ensure that the software product being tested DOES NOT fail when an unexpected input is presented. It is often referred to as error path testing or failure testing.

Towards What Is Negative Testing Designed

Negative testing is carried out with the main goal of interrupting the system and verifying the application’s response to unexpected inputs.
Negative testing is carried out to ensure that software functions appropriately and optimally, even when the user behaves inconsistently by entering inaccurate data.
We will use negative testing to ensure the application’s resistance to the effects of many versions of an incorrect validation data set.
It aids in bug discovery and improves the functionality of the software program under test. However, the negative testing is carried out after the positive testing has been put into practice.

Attributes of Negative Testing

Here, we’ll talk about some of the crucial traits of negative testing, which include the following:

Negative testing can be used to assess potential security breaches and unique handling techniques.
Negative testing is performed to analysis the application against the failed circumstances.
By supplying malicious data, it is intended to undermine the system and cause a software product to malfunction.
It is done to find the flaws that could lead to crucial breakdowns.
Negative testing is carried out to reveal data loss or security breaches.
A test engineer typically has the task of achieving the negative testing.
We will do negative testing to identify the software vulnerability and potential for exploitation.
Negative testing is used to ensure the stability of an application or software product after being exposed to input values that are outside of the acceptable range or that contain erroneous data.
It is used to identify the major flaws, defects, and weak points that led to its failure.

Why is it necessary for us to conduct negative testing?

Negative testing software is used to carry out any kind of testing activity is an expensive and time-consuming task. Therefore, we must decide wisely whether to incorporate negative testing into our system or not.

Here, we discuss why negative testing is necessary for the specific application by taking into account the following customer and organizational safeguards:

Customer’s point of view

In order to satisfy the customer’s expectations, implementation of negation testing makes sure to produce a solution that is bug-free and vulnerable in no way.

When an application is essential, like e-commerce or online stock, negative testing is required.
The client’s sole focus during the negative testing is on the expense. However, it is up to the customer to decide whether to do negative testing or not when the effect is assessed.

Company’s point of view

The firm is accountable for providing its customers with high-quality products. Negative testing is necessary in order to achieve this.
The negative testing is necessary from a business’s perspective in order to validate against a failure.
Because we can’t always promise to create a bug-free system, negative testing is necessary to make sure that everything is being done to prevent a failure.
Due to the fact that there are several hackers out there waiting for an opportunity to compromise the system, by carrying out the negative testing, we can also cover the crucial cases of hacking.

Negative testing cases:

1. Enter characters into an input field that are not permitted.

Unacceptable characters being entered into an input area is likely the most popular negative test. When a user types in an unsupported character, an error message ought to appear. A username field, for instance, might not support the @ symbol.

A warning message appears when a user attempts to submit a registration with an incorrect character, alerting them of the need. Testing this case enables us to confirm:

The field requirements message is displayed.
No processing of the registration is done.
No other errors are shown.
There is no app crash.

2. Submiting without adding text in a required field.

Another straightforward example is the lack of any text input in a mandatory field. You can do a negative test by leaving a necessary field blank and attempting to submit the form. In this scenario, we check the same three things:

The notice about field requirements appears.
The registration was not completed.
Other unanticipated errors are not displayed.

3. Make a button link with an incorrect URL.

Assume you’re testing a new feature that contains a button that redirects the visitor to another site or page. When you provide a valid URL for the selected button in the CMS (Content Management System), the user clicks the button, which opens the desired page. What if the URL contains an error? This is a textbook case of a negative test case. To test, enter an incorrect URL for that button in the CMS and save it. We can then learn a variety of things:

Does the CMS save the update with the incorrect URL?
What happens when you click the button if the CMS saves the incorrect URL?
Is the app crashing?
There are a few places where we might find an error in this situation. When we click the button, we may notice an error in the CMS or a 404 error message.

4. Make an attempt to leave a remark without first logging in.

We’ll test a number of positive situations after logging in to validate the functionality of a comment area. One negative test would be to try to leave a remark before logging in. If a user posts a remark and then clicks submit before authenticating, an error notice should appear advising them of the issue. While testing, we must ensure that the comment was not lost by validating the following:

An appropriate authentication error message appears.
The comment wording stays.
Any other unusual error is not displayed.
The application does not crash.

5. Check for the presence of a 404 message after removing a page.

When a user attempts to view a web page that has been purposely removed, a specific behavior should occur. In some circumstances, a redirect manages the expectations that the missing page has established. Alternatively, the anticipated behavior may be the display of a 404 error message beneath the website’s navigation bar. We must inform the user that the page has been removed on purpose, and we also want them to use the navbar to reach other pages on the site. The user may have attempted to reach this lost page by following an old link posted on social media or by bookmarking the URL. In any scenario, the expected behavior must be validated:

There are no unexpected errors displayed.
The expected 404 error message with the regular page layout, including the site menu, must be present.

The Benefits of Negative Testing

The following are some of the key advantages of negative testing:

It will boost the client’s confidence before going live.
It increases the likelihood of covering all bases and detecting all types of errors that can occur as a result of inconsistent human behavior.
As we all know, negative testing is highly important for ensuring a product’s quality because a good quality product or application is termed a zero-vulnerability product.
It also assures that all conceivable situations are covered during the execution of negative testing because, intentionally or unintentionally, negative test cases are possible. To guarantee that all test cases are covered, we must run one round of negative testing followed by positive testing.

Negative Testing’s Drawbacks

However, while negative testing is beneficial for application enhancement, there are some drawbacks to negative testing, which are discussed below:

Negative testing necessitates a waste of time, money, and effort.
It creates significant delays in the launching of a software product or an application for the customer.
Negative testing requires the development of negative test cases by a professional and experienced test engineer.
Negative testing can be a time-consuming process in software testing. Furthermore, there is no need to perform unnecessary negative testing in a variety of conditions.
If the software is just designed for single-person use, we don’t have to consider the possibility of 50-100 end users using the application at the same time. As a result, in critical circumstances, negative test cases are extremely important. There will be situations when we do not need to conduct negative testing on a certain software product.

All in all

After reviewing all of the relevant negative testing issues, we can conclude that negative testing ensures that the provided product is free of flaws and that the customer may use it responsibly.

A creative, skilled, perceptive, and clever test engineer is required to build extensive and powerful negative test scenarios.

As we all know, every software development firm wants to have capable and durable software that can withstand harsh negative testing.

People frequently believe that negative testing is just another way to increase costs without providing any benefits. This is an important consideration because it may jeopardize the quality of the final software product.

Finally, we can say that by utilizing Negative Testing, we can improve quality of the software and make it stronger.

AWS Lambda – Serverless Approach Framework overview | KoderShop

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 8, 2022 | blog

What is AWS Lambda?

Introduction to AWS Lambda Service

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the world’s most prevalent cloud platforms, providing over 200 full-featured services to data centers around the planet.

AWS Lambda is a serverless technology that allows you to run code without the need to administer servers. The code can be written in the AWS Management console, downloaded as a ZIP file, or as a container. The Lambda code can be executed after you manually run it, or automatically after some event.

Lamba Triggers:

The trigger for running AWS Lambda can be:

lifecycle events, such as with Amazon Simple Storage Service;
events like S3 bucket data change, DynamoDB update;
response to input HTTP requests, for example, using Lambda with API Gateway;
scheduled Lambda function AWS using Amazon EventBridge (CloudWatch);
trigger an event from an Amazon SQS queue. (can be used to process orders in online stores;
and etc.

Benefits of Amazon Lambda:

Everything is recorded in logs that you can review at any time.
Lambda languages are almost the complete modern technology stack. At the time of writing, the following languages were supported (.NET 6 (C#/PowerShell), .NET Core 3.1 (C#/PowerShell), Go 1.x; Java 11 (Corretto), Java 8 on Amazon Linux; Node.js 16 .x, 12.x, 14.x; Python 3.9, 3.8, 3.7; Ruby 2).
Payment for the use of only resources for the duration of the function.
Easy to set up. Prepare the necessary script, create a function, and select a trigger to run.

Payment for Using Lambda AWS Serverless Functions.

You are only billed for the resources you use. The cost is calculated depending on the number of feature requests and their duration (the time your code is used). The Lambda code usage time is calculated from the start of the code execution to the return of a value or termination of work for another reason, rounded to a multiple of 1 ms. The price depends on the amount of RAM allocated to the Amazon Lambda function.

In AWSLambda functions you can choose the amount of memory it will use. By this choice, CPU power and other resources are also assigned. So the memory can be selected from 128 MB to 10,240 MB in 1 MB increments. At 1769MB, the function is equivalent to one vCPU (one vCPU-second of credits per second).

The free tier includes 1 million free requests per month and 400,00 GB of computing seconds per month, which can be used on both x86 and Arm processors. There is also a multilevel pricing model (Savings Plans). Which provides for a reduction in payment for using the service, subject to the mandatory use of a constant amount of Lambda computing resources (measured in USD / hour) over one or three years. Savings are achieved through duration and Provisioned Concurrency.

If the Amazon Lambda function will use other AWS resources, then you need to create an IAM Role that the function will use. There is a separate Lambda@Edge service. It works as an add-on to the Amazon CloudFront service. As a result, you can run your code in AWS locations closer to your users. Which improves system performance and reduces latency and allows you to make your applications globally distributed. The cost of use is calculated for the number of requests and the resources used. The AWS website has pricing examples.

For example, if the Lambda@Edge function is executed 10 million times a month and each execution takes 10 ms, the cost would be:

Total Charges = Computing fees + Request fees = $0.63 + $6.00 = $6.63 per month.

How Do You Get Started Using Lambda in AWS?

If you do not have an AWS account, you can create one and use certain products and services for free within certain limits for 12 months. This allows you to test applications for free to understand the technology and choose the solution that is best for you.

When registering, be sure to provide your credit card details. You need to keep track of the resources used so as not to exceed the values provided by the free tier. You can do this by periodically reviewing the AWS Billing Dashboard.

You can also control costs using AWS Budget. Namely:

Monitor certain AWS services.
Control your expenses so that they do not exceed a certain threshold. If the amount exceeds the threshold, then you can set up notifications through the AWS SNS service to receive SMS to the phone, and E-mail notifications, using the AWS Chatbot service (communication service) send a message to Slack. You can also set up the automatic shutdown of instances (servers), etc.
Control of the percentage of resource use. If there is a fixed charge, for example for reserved resources, you can find out the usage percentage of those resources.

Before getting started with AWS services, I recommend setting up AWS Budget to control your spending. In a few clicks, you can set up an e-mail alert when spending exceeds the threshold you set.

AWS Lambda Example

I will provide an example of how to quickly deploy a simple web page in the AWS console. The page expands within two minutes. First, we go to the AWS console, look for the Lambda AWS service, and select the region we need.

The region should be chosen taking into account where most of your customers are located.I chose the region Europe(Frankfurt) eu-central-1. Click Create Function.

In “Advanced settings” check “Enable function URL”. If in “Auth type” select “NONE”, then all users, when they click on your URL, can run your Lambda function. Enabling Tags and adding it to an AWS resource allows you to quickly allocate resources that belong to a specific group later. Next, click “Create function”.

Here in the “Lambda_function” tab paste your code (in our case, in Python 3.9).

AWS Lambda function example

Short description of the Python code:

In source IP, we write the IP address from where the request came from .Checking rawQueryString – passing additional parameters in the request. If there is an additional parameter called Name, then the response will be “Hello <Name parameter value> Your public IP address is …….. “If there are no additional parameters, then the response will be “Hello from Lambda! Your public IP address is ……”. To write the code to our function, you need to click “Deploy”. Also, the code can be uploaded in a .zip file by clicking “Upload from”. There is a file upload size limit. For files larger than 10 MB, consider uploading using Amazon S3. Now when you click on the “Function URL” link https://<URL-ID>.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws We will go to our website, which will indicate your public IP address.

Also, the code can be uploaded in a .zip file by clicking “Upload from”. There is a limit on the size of the uploaded file. For files larger than 10 MB, consider uploading using Amazon S3.

Now when you click on the “Function URL” link https://<URL-ID>.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws/We will go to our website, which will indicate your public IP address.

If we pass an additional parameter with URL name=Robert

https:// <URL-ID>.lambda-url.eu-central-1.on.aws/?name=Robert

We get it in a web browser

We can always change the settings in the Function URL and change the “Auth type”. For example, by selecting “AWS_IAM”. Only authenticated IAM users and roles can make requests to your function URL

The deployment of your site is very fast. Within 2 minutes you get your simple website.

If you want to use Lambda to work with AWS services to get information about created AWS resources and manage them (create, delete, stop, start).

Then you need to grant additional permissions to the AWS Lambda function.

Conclusion

In this article, I briefly described what AWS Lambda is and gave an example of its use.The AWS Lambda function is a very powerful tool for working with AWS services. With it, you can better configure your systemIf you will be using AWS, be sure to try using AWS Lambda functions.

Shift Left Testing concept – Benefits and Why is it Necessary? | KoderShop

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 5, 2022 | blog

Shift Left Testing

The software development lifecycle must incorporate quicker and earlier testing due to the nearly universal use of agile methodologies (SDLC). ‘Shifting left’.is a term used to describe early integration of development and testing.

You might be asking what I mean when I say “Shift Left” while I’m talking about the program.

When I began my career as a software tester more than two decades ago, there was no such thing as a “Testing Phase” for software development, and the role of the tester didn’t even exist. Developers used to create software and test it.

When production errors began to affect the project’s budget, the idea of software testing was progressively introduced, and “Functional Testing” was implemented with a relatively small team of testers. We were only two Testers compared to a group of 20 Developers at that time.

Since the software development lifecycle is known to proceed sequentially in the sequence of, the IT industry has begun utilizing the waterfall model like Requirements => Design => Coding => Testing.

Traditional testing

The testing would have taken place right before the software was released into production in a conventional waterfall software development process. This implied that the release would be postponed until any bugs or usability problems were resolved.

In this scenario, testing turned into a bottleneck that substantially hampered projects’ ability to finish on schedule.

Introduction to the Shift Left Concept

Over time, individuals came to understand the value of software testing and the consequences of maintaining the “Testing Phase” at the very end or on the extreme right of the software development lifecycle. This epiphany was brought on by the fact that fixing the bugs at the very end and far right were exceedingly expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive.

There have been instances where, despite putting in a lot of time and effort, the mission-essential software was unable to be launched to the market because of a critical bug that was discovered only at the very end.

As a result, because the fault was discovered in the final stages of development, either the release was postponed or, in some cases, the software was abandoned because fixing the bug would have required too much work.

There is a great quote about testing: “Defects are less costly when caught early.”

This insight and the important lesson learnt sparked a significant change in the software industry and gave rise to the idea of “Shift Left,” which refers to moving the “Testing Phase” from the right to the left or incorporating testing at every stage and involving testers all the way through.

Shift Left testing also refers to the practice of conducting ongoing tests rather than final ones.

What is Shift Left Testing?

First off, the “Shift left” idea encourages early collaboration between the Testing team and all other stakeholders. As a result, they are able to easily comprehend the specifications and create test cases that will assist the program “Fail Fast” and provide the team the opportunity to address any issues as soon as possible.

The Shift Left approach entails including testers much earlier in the software development life cycle, allowing them to better comprehend requirements, software design, architecture, coding, and functionality. They would also be able to ask challenging questions of customers, business analysts, and developers, get clarifications, and offer feedback whenever it is helpful to the team.

This engagement and comprehension will encourage the testers to learn everything there is to know about the product, consider various scenarios, and create real-world scenarios based on software behavior, all of which will aid the team in finding bugs even before any coding has been done.

Why Shift Left testing?

The delivery and testing requirements are retained on the right side of the plan in the traditional software development paradigm, while the requirements are kept on the left. The issue is that these procedures can’t adapt to shifting standards and specifications, which has detrimental effects on the company’s operations, including:

Increased costs
longer time to market
Unexpected mistakes

Cost is a very powerful motivator for moving your testing to the left. According to estimates, less than 10% of software problems appear during the lifecycle’s development phase, and more than half of all defects could be found during the requirements phase. The cost of fixing these flaws works backwards:

The cost to find and fix a flaw after the product has been released will be roughly 100 times higher than during the requirements phase. According to research from the Ponemon Institute published in 2017, vulnerabilities may cost an average of $80 to fix if they are discovered during the early stages of development. But the same vulnerabilities may cost roughly $7,600 to repair if found after they have moved into production.

The Shifting Left methodology emphasizes the necessity for developers to focus on quality from the beginning of a software build rather than waiting until faults and issues are discovered toward the end of the SDLC. Product teams can complete routine tasks such as:

Testing
Feedback
Reviewing all of changes and the progress made

How Does Shift Left Influence Software Development?

The Shift Left method is centered on including testers in all, but especially in the crucial phases of the program. As a result, the testers may shift their attention from problem discovery to defect prevention and help the program achieve its business objectives.

The shift Left strategy gives testing a high priority, which greatly expands the duties and responsibilities of testers.

As the testing team’s responsibilities grow, the team actively collaborates with the team from the start to plan and develop a robust and effective testing strategy. This is done by offering the team excellent test leadership and guidance and focusing on the long-term vision of the product rather than just taking on the responsibility of the testing work. The Shift Left methodology allows the testers the chance to design the tests first, where the tests are entirely focused on the customer experience and their expectations, allowing the developers to build the software based on these tests and so satisfy the needs of the customers.

The Testers are not the only ones affected by the Shift Left strategy. The Developers will be able to take greater ownership of their code and assume more responsibility for testing by moving to the let and doing the testing activities consistently. The shift Left approach also encourages testers to use test-driven development (TDD) and behavioral driven development (BDD), which helps to stop software defects from being introduced. Agile Shift Left Testing: The Shift Left methodology encourages the creation of Agile Scrum Teams that must include testers along with all other roles. Testers are also included in regular stand-up calls, other interactions, and review meetings, which has given them access to additional program-related knowledge.

Is Shift Left approach in testing always appropriate?

It’s possible that a Shift Left testing strategy won’t always be able to produce the best performance and functioning in a real-world setting. In certain circumstances, a Shift Right testing approach may be used to:

Increase client satisfaction
Give direction for implementing test automation
Better test coverage is ensured

Testing is started by Shift Right from the right, i.e. post-production. To ensure performance and usability, you’ll test a fully developed and operational application in this Shift Right exercise. Reviews and comments from targeted users also contribute to improving the software’s quality.

An essential component of the Shift Right strategy is a readiness to:

Test a theory’ veracity by implementing fresh ideas
Work together with customers to figure out what is effective (instead of working from assumptions)

Users’ ongoing feedback could improve how we react to software faults.

Shift Left Techniques

You may shift left with your software testing by using a few important strategies:

Demand planning

With a forward-looking view of demand, test analysts will interact with business and operational stakeholders. With this perspective, you may plan and decide in advance:

Budget
Resourcing
Strategies on testing

Demand planning is a crucial component of the shift left strategy and serves as the foundation for all other test lifecycle tasks.

Static testing

Early on in the project’s lifecycles, requirements and designs are validated as part of static testing. Static testing’s goal is to identify flaws early in a product’s life cycle before they become highly expensive to fix in the project’s later stages.

Utilize the proper checklists to validate the requirements and design. Enter errors in a tool for defect management.

Unified test strategy

This is a comprehensive, high-level testing method that covers end-to-end testing from unit testing to operational readiness testing (ORT), user acceptance testing (UAT), and post-deployment testing. The plan will outline precise roles for each stage of quality control.

By analyzing dependencies on environments, stubs, automation, and test results, you can make sure that the various teams can meet the demands.

Analysis based on risk

For each test scenario, a risk-based analysis is done to estimate the consequences and chance of failure. Functional, non-functional, and regression testing all employ this methodology.

After the test cases are created, rank them in order of importance using the results of the analysis. With the business analyst or designer, go over the consequences of failure. From the development team, ascertain the risk of failure.

Shift Left Testing process is:

Early fault detection helps keep the project’s cost down.
Testing continually, repeatedly, and finally reduces defects
To accelerate time to market and automate everything.
To concentrate on customer needs and enhance the client experience.

Benefits of shift left approach

A shift left strategy has a number of advantages that can be attained. Some of the most crucial are listed below:

Automation

Testing can be automated more effectively by shifting to the left. These important advantages of test automation are offered:

Less human errors
more thorough test coverage (multiple tests can be conducted at the same time)
the capacity for testers to concentrate on more engaging and rewarding activities
less production problems

Accelerated delivery

Faster is earlier. Defects are much easier to rectify when discovered early in the production cycle. The result is:

The interval between releases may shorten dramatically.
The software gets better in quality.

Increased contentment

One of the main advantages of the shift-left strategy is faster delivery of software with fewer flaws.

The looks on your business associates’ faces should be enough to persuade you that this is a smart choice if nothing else.

To increase their velocity, quality, and efficiency, Humana chose a contemporary mainframe development environment for editing and debugging code.

Conclusion

The entire “Testing” job underwent a significant alteration as a result of the “Shift Left” concept. Up until that point, the main goal of testing was “Defect Detection,” but now the goal of the “Shift Left” is a trip from “Early Defect Detection to Static Testing.”

As a result, Shift Left represents a Big Leap in the Software Development technique for the software industry in terms of accelerating time to market, enhancing software quality, and decreasing “Time to Market.”

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – Complete Overview of the Process | KoderShop

by Liudmyla Shuvalova | Sep 5, 2022 | blog

What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

A studio will screen a film in advance for test audiences to gauge how well it will perform. Additionally, in some instances, the studios have changed the endings, added additional sequences, and had portions reshot as a result of fan input. People’s experiences and views matter and can have an impact on how a release turns out.

What does UAT stand for?

User acceptability testing, or UAT for short, is a type of test audience screening used in the software business. UAT testing, however, entails much more than just screening a film to test subjects. You will be introduced to the realm of user acceptance testing in this essay as a result. In this section, we’ll address issues like “What is user acceptance testing?” “What are the requirements for user acceptance testing?” “How can I become a user acceptance tester”and “How can we make user acceptance testing more efficient?” We’ll also talk about the difficulties with UATs and how those are different from system testing.

Starting off with a definition will help us understand better.

What Is User Acceptance Testing?

User acceptance testing, also known as end-user, user acceptability, or beta testing, is the practice of having customers or users evaluate software to determine whether or not it is ready for release. The testers can accurately assess the product’s readiness because they are familiar with the business requirements for the software.

When Is User Acceptance Test Performed?

UAT is the final stage of the software testing process, following the completion of functional, system, and regression tests. It is the final test run before the product is released to the public or the client accepts delivery. Consider the UAT to be the bow on top of the testing package; it is not performed until all other testing has been completed.

Acceptability testing includes alpha, beta, and user acceptance testing.

Who does UAT?

Either members of the target market of potential customers or a testing team of end users that includes stakeholders and representatives of every division within the firm make up the testers

What Is User Acceptance Testing and Why Is It Necessary?

Software is produced by technical individuals who follow the relevant specifications. That’s what they do. Even if they follow every instruction to the letter, there are still some aspects, such as business requirements or processes, that only end users would comprehend. Even the requirements for the application are occasionally not understood.

Before the product launches, testing is essential to ensuring that all business needs have been satisfied. Running user acceptance tests is less expensive in the long term than fixing defects and problems after the product has been released.

User acceptance testing enables the application’s provider to ensure that the product works as intended for paying customers and that it is functionally sound. If not, flaws can be fixed and features can be adjusted to match user expectations.

Is there a need for User Acceptance Testing?

After software has undergone Unit, Integration, and System testing, User Acceptance Testing becomes necessary because developers may have built software based on requirements documents according to their own understanding and further required changes during development may not have been effectively communicated to them. This makes it necessary to test whether the final product is accepted by the client or end-user.

Acceptance Testing and the V-Model

The V-Model, which has operations operate in a sequential order to resemble a “V,” includes acceptance testing. Verification and validation models are other names for V-models. User acceptability testing is the last stage, the end of one of the “V” branches.

What Is UAT: Prerequisites and Characteristics of User Acceptance Testing

A studio will screen a film in advance for test audiences to gauge how well it will perform.

Additionally, in some instances, the studios have changed the endings, added additional sequences, and had portions reshot as a result of fan input.
People’s experiences and views matter and can have an impact on how a release turns out.
User acceptability testing, or UAT for short, is a type of test audience screening used in the software business. UAT, however, entails much more than just screening a film to test subjects.
You will be introduced to the realm of user acceptance testing in this essay as a result.

Describe the main tasks for each phase of the UAT: At this level, the tasks are divided into the following steps:

UAT Test Initiation: Outline the strategy, who will conduct the test, the necessary data, and how other teams will assist in the test.
Validate business-related scenarios, find pertinent test data, upload scenarios, and give users access as part of the UAT test design.
UAT Test Execution: Run the test, look for errors, and perform regression testing and defect re-testing.
Test closure for UAT. Make the “go/no go” decision and the closing report.

Governance of UAT

The procedure’s excellent gates and clearly stated Entry and Exit criteria are guaranteed by user acceptance test governance.

Check that the tasks are finished at the entry gates.
User stories have been finished and approved.
Testing for regression is done.
There are specified access and environmental requirements.
Testing of the system and integration is complete.
There are validations of the user interface.
Testers from the business world have been selected.
A UAT sanity check has been done by the team.
The functional specifications have undergone validations.
Ensure that system testing is completely (100%) covered.
Verify that there are no serious flaws or unresolved show-stoppers.
The team should make sure that the objectives and end-to-end UAT validation are satisfied.
Every application is functional and stable.
Operating systems and browsers work together.
All applications have preserved the integrity and flow of data.
All crucial corporate operations are in place and running smoothly.
The business process has been properly integrated with each transaction.
Feedback/reviews from business users on the usability of the application’s features.
The program under test’s actual performance.
Exit criteria for the UAT must be met by resolving these two problems.
All flaws discovered during the UAT are fixed and approved.
Business flows have been acknowledged in accordance with the business requirements established by the system’s end users.

UAT Planning Test

The system and UAT are typically planned in tandem. Making a user acceptability test plan, which includes the test dates, environment, participants, roles and responsibilities, templates, communication protocols, findings and their analysis procedure, and entry-exit criteria, is the main task involved in this activity.

User Acceptance Testing Design

The user acceptability criteria that have been gathered are covered at this stage. A list of test cases, often based on a template with fields for the test number, acceptance criteria, test results, and user comments, frequently makes up this requirement.

Execution of Tests

When possible, the testing takes place in a “war room” or conference setting where everyone gathers for a day (or more) to go through the acceptance test cases. The authorities make an acceptance decision, sometimes referred to as the go/no-go decision, after the testing are finished and the results are finished. It’s “Go” if the users are pleased. It’s “prohibited” if not.

The Qualities of UAT Testers:

The UAT tester should be well-versed in the industry. He needs to be self-reliant and consider himself a system outsider. For the UAT to be successful, the tester needs to be analytical, lateral thinking, and able to mix many types of data.

The ability to generate tests and data that are realistic to the business is a skill that testers, business analysts, and subject matter experts possess.

UAT test cases example:

User Acceptance Testing Tools and Methodologies

These instruments resemble those employed in functional testing.

UAT testing Tools: Users depend on tools for defect and test management like JIRA or QC.

Fitness tool: Making tests and entering results in a table is simple. The tool’s users input prepared data, and tests are generated automatically. The tests are then run, and the user receives the results back.

Watir: It is a toolkit used for user acceptability testing to automate browser-based tests. For inter-process communication between Ruby and Internet Explorer, Ruby is utilized as the programming language.

Methodologies: A vendor must test a product with a wide range of users before expecting it to be released globally. Crowd testing is particularly effective since it enables consumers from around the globe to participate, confirm the product’s utility, and offer feedback.

User Acceptance Test procces

User Acceptance Test plan in details:

Step 1) Business requirements analysis

Finding and creating test scenarios is one of the UAT’s most crucial tasks.

Step 2) UAT creation plan

The technique to be utilized to confirm and guarantee that an application satisfies its business requirements is laid out in the UAT test plan. It outlines the entry and exit requirements for UAT, the methodology used for test scenarios and test cases, and testing schedules.

Step 3) Determine the Test Scenarios and Test Cases:

Create test cases with precise test procedures and identify the test scenarios in relation to high-level business processes. Most UAT scenarios should be adequately covered by test cases. The test cases are created using the business use cases as input.

Step 4) Preparation of Test Data:

For UAT, it is best to use live data. For the sake of security and privacy, data should be jumbled. The database flow should be familiar to the tester.

Step 5) Run and keep record of the results:

Execute tests and then report any issues. Test again after issues are fixed. Tools for test management can be employed throughout execution.

Step 6) Verify the business goals were achieved:

After the UAT testing, business analysts or UAT testers must submit a sign-off email. The product is ready for production after approval. Test Plan, UAT Scenarios and Test Cases, Test Results, and Defect Log are examples of deliverables for UAT testing.

User Acceptance Testing Template

Conclusion:

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the full version of UAT in software engineering.
One of the many types of testing that have evolved during the past 25 years is UAT.
Instead of guessing, the client can be certain of “What to expect” from the product thanks to UAT.
There won’t be any unpleasant surprises when the product is made available to the public thanks to UAT.