How Independent Testing Brings More Quality to Telecom Software

December 15 08:28 2020 by Yulia Lomanova Print This Article

The telecommunications industry has been striving to keep pace with the rapid tech evolution. These days, cutting-edge solutions such as the Internet of Things, the 5G network, and cloud computing fuel the development of telecom software and boost ever-increasing customer expectations. But in fact, the range of implemented functionality is not the only thing crucial for market success.

Quality issues may actually devalue any feature-packed product.

Given the complex nature of telecom software, developers have a lot on their plate as they have to enforce their products with modern solutions, consolidate management of diverse processes at one center, integrate multiple applications, and much more. They will obviously prioritize coding over testing. What is more, software of this kind is tricky and requires extensive functionality assessment, automation of repetitive tests, and a variety of testing devices. In-house QA is often not enough.

When heavy workloads slow down the development process, independent testing can become a safety cushion to ensure timely product release.

Quality threats to telecommunication software

Telecom software development enterprises need to keep the bar high to meet the continuous demands of their customers. Seamless operation of all functions, high performance, security, and intuitive design are among the aspects that define a quality product. The ultimate goal is to keep people connected.

Otherwise, we find the opposite. Outages, security breaches, and other tech issues can jeopardize customer trust and affect revenue. The list of major quality threats to telecom software involves the following:

Lack of platform reliability and performance issues
Challenges of big data storage and management
Inability to guarantee integration with mobile devices or PCs
Application crashes and errors on mobile devices
System security and communication privacy issues that cause the risk of fraud; weak intrusion detection and data encryption algorithms
Issues with operational and business support systems; integration problems of legacy OSS/BSS systems with SDN and NFV architectures

Software testing enables seamless communication

Securing the highest quality of the software product is the best way to boost brand loyalty. To achieve this goal, testing is critical. When it comes to telecom, the main focus points include functionality, system security, performance and load resistance, compatibility with various devices, usability, and localization.

Functional testing coverage includes assembly and product integration, user acceptance testing, and continuous QA support. In the meantime, the non-functional testing scope involves performance and load testing that guarantee system readiness, security assessment to detect vulnerabilities and protect customer data, compatibility testing to prevent fragmentation issues, and post-production QA activities.

Test automation also brings value to telecom software development. Tests that would take hours to run manually, can be performed much faster if automated. It means more tests in less time and earlier time-to-market. It is a vital part of agile software development.

Utmost quality is possible with a testing service provider

The common practice widely implemented by software developers is collaborating with providers of independent software testing services. Among the benefits they offer, there is superior proficiency of the team and a wider range of available testing devices, less management effort, flexible cooperation, and no extra expenditures on maintaining in-house team and test infrastructure. As a result, businesses benefit from cost reduction on the failure rates, faster turnaround, and reduced time to market.

Сhoosing a service provider can be a challenging task as businesses entrust them with quality, security, and the overall market success of the product.

To verify the competence of potential vendors, it is better to start the collaboration with a pilot project. It involves a test assignment with a time limit – for example, to test a software module. After the completion of the assignment, the client can assess the key aspects, such as quality of bug reports, quality of communication, and improvement recommendations.

QATestLab is ready to help in achieving the most ambitious software quality goals. We can handle the full testing coverage of the product or join the in-house QA department when the project requires specialized testing skills and diverse testing devices that are crucial for telecom software testing. Learn more about what we have to 0ffer on our website.