Companies developing software always have the pressure to deal with deadlines. With so much of effort put behind a particular product, the entire project sometimes fail due lack in time for software testing. Deadlines often lead to reduction in time for software quality assurance testing, thereby leaving some bugs behind, which later meddle with the smooth working of the program. While some companies have specific software testing groups, some do not. In order to maintain a good product quality, software quality assurance is a very important step in the product development. Big business companies have given much thought to the entire issue, and come up with a solution to deal with the deadline pressure, as well as ensure product testing. Software testing is nowadays outsourced to offshore Quality Assurance agencies, so that the process of product development is quickened. One may ask why the developer himself can’t test carry out the quality assurance testing, as he would be the person to know every minute detail of the software. It is true that the developer is the person with the maximum knowledge about the product; however, it should be noted that software development takes place in parts, and then the different parts are assembled together to come up with the final product. During the assembling, minor errors might occur which can be overlooked by the developer. Moreover, due to an abundance of Quality Assurance firms, outsourcing software testing makes product development faster. It should be noted that the entire purpose of software testing is not just the location of bugs. Software quality assurance testing also involves confirmatory tests and performance. After the test runs, the bugs are sometimes sent back to the developers for re-programming, and sometimes they are modified by the Quality Assurance team. After modification, the testers again check for bugs and the process repeats until the software is completely bug free. Software testing can be carried on in two different modes. One is the manual software testing, and the other is the automated software testing. The manual mode is a time consuming mode, and hence most companies nowadays prefer the automated mode. With a thorough check on location and removal of bugs, and assurance on the flawless running of a program, a product can achieve maximum customer satisfaction. The automated software testing is carried out with the help of a number of software testing tools which are developed by the Quality Assurance firms. With time, as the demand for software is increasing, consequently the demand for these automated software testing tools is also increasing. It is an effective way to software validation, and it saves a lot of time. While some companies outsource their application testing task to other companies, some companies prefer to keep their software to themselves. In cases like this, they prefer buying these automated software testing tools from Quality Assurance companies and run them with the help of their own group of software testers.

Black box testing: This is the testing in which the application or the ‘test object’ is tested for its reliability, robustness and performance to specifications. The person(s) testing the software program need not be conversant with programming in general or with the programming language used for the software development. Not only at the system and the unit levels of software, but this testing can also be done at the level of functional, integration and acceptance levels. Both functional and non functional coding is performed to assess the stability and the responsiveness of the program. Both valid and invalid bits of input are used to determine whether the output that is being generated is correct or not. The internal structure of the application is not the subject of the testing in the black box testing and the tester(s) need not be concerned with the internal structure or quality of the program. The black box testing takes on various forms like decision table testing, state transition tables, boundary value analysis well as equivalence partitioning.
White box testing: This kind of testing is also known as clear box testing or structural testing. Unlike the black box testing, the object of this testing is not concerned with the functional aspect of software. The main focus of white box testing is the quality of the software programming. It is frequently carried out at the unit level of software although it can also be carried out at the system and integration levels. This testing might take the form of path testing, data flow testing, branch testing and control flow testing. Programming standards and best practices need to be followed when developing software and white box testing tries to discover whether these aspects have been taken care of. It is usually carried out as part of SDLC.
Manual testing: This is a testing technique in which all aspects of the software interface need to be examined and checked for performance and stability by a person. It needs a human tester working without the aid of any testing tools. It is the most cumbersome and time consuming process, especially if the application is complex and involves checking of many buttons, tabs, links and windows. However, it is the best testing technique that gives an understanding of a software interface from the perspective of the end user. Different groups of individuals might manually test different modules of a program to check the quality of application development.
Regression Testing: This kind of testing checks whether the performance or other issues reported during one version of a software are resolved in a subsequent version. Although this testing technique can be carried out manually, it is recommended that testers choose an automated testing solution or package for easy and quick testing.
Stress Testing: Stress testing examines the performance of a system for its stability at or outside its limits or processing capacity. The primary objective of stress testing is to check whether the software development team has ensured that it will systematically and swiftly scale down its active state and preserve all vital links to its environment and cease; ready to be re-invoked afresh, without terminating unstably or collapsing.

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Software quality assurance is an important part of the software development cycle. Quality assurance acts as a professionally warranted fail-safe feature in a software product or application that vouches for the reliability of the performance of software and its professional standard and utility. An ideal software quality assurance program would take into consideration the following factors: Software design: The testing should involve a critical evaluation of the design of the software. Design here, refers to the approach taken by the software designers in creating a software interface that the user(s) depend(s) on for achieving the objectives of the software application or program. The testing team should make observations into whether the design is creative, effective and offers ease of operation. Coding: This is the substratum on which the software application functions on. Coding refers to the volume of commands and tasks written in computer programming languages as part of application development, based on which the various features of the software turn active and carry out their part of the software objective. The testing team should examine whether all the abilities of a programming language have been adequately harnessed so that the software application or program performs efficiently. This apart, the software must be examined as to whether programming standards and coding practices which are followed in the software industry have been followed while using or compiling it. Source code control: As most of the modern software tasks and applications being developed by the software industry, for businesses, governments, and organizations are complex, different people handle different part of the assignment. There are frequent testing operations and continuing feedbacks which require changes to be made to the source code every now and then. Each such change must be properly ‘logged’ or recorded with details like date and time of change, person effecting the change, need for the change to be made and authorization for change. A good software quality assurance exercise operation must delve into whether such standards were adhered to. Configuration management: During the course of software development, there emerge various issues, which, in order to be resolved effectively, require the user to configure the controls and access features of the software in a manner that is effective and does not compromise the quality or the safety of the data or resources of the usage environment. Software development and testing must Make sure that adequate controls and safeguards are in place to let users keep track of configuration values and changes made to the same. Release management: Release management refers to the phasing of the release o the software application or program from the development environment to the market. Various stages of the products release like pre alpha, alpha and beta are assigned to every time a working version of the software is offered for trial or sale in the market. The final release or version of the software is expected to be of a grade and quality that ensure performance of all issues or anomalies reported by developer networks, software critics and end users in general. The testing team must ensure that the right release management has preceded the software presence in the market.

Application development is the main sector of the software development industry. It is in fact application development that leads to industry-specific software solutions which cover nearly every type of industry in the world economy and which has made all companies and enterprises to computerize every part of their operations ranging from robotic production to intranet-based exclusive corporate communication. Needless to say, application development is a challenging task that requires the best brains of a software firm to plan, devise and develop an application that not only meets objectives and serves as a suitable solution but also triggers demand in industries for software solutions. The various pre requisites that must be defined before designing an application development model include understanding business processes, preparing an application feasibility study, describing the application architecture and describing the application roadmap. The first step is of course, business requirement analysis in which entails extracting the key needs of the user which the application needs to address. The requirements are understood by identifying the key users, the stakeholders and the operational frontlines of staff and receiving input from each of them on the nature of the business and the various data flows involved. After joint sessions, in which solution developers and customer-user groups participate, a consensus is arrived at as to the main requirements of the business and the same are documented according to standards. The next step is to conduct an application feasibility study in which the software experts, project managers and application developers report on the magnitude of the problem or the requirement needing solution, the estimated time, cost, resources and effort required for the solution and the prospects or payoffs involved in the bargain. Based on the report, the software development company offers to develop the application in part or fully for the user. The application architecture requires the development team to provide the management with information about the technologies needed for the development and how various technologies are going to be interlaced for the solution. The project manager, software analysts and the development team needs to be given an idea of how the solution is planned to be developed. The solution architecture involves the preparation of a draft outline of the software interface. Sometimes a solution needs to be developed at several levels and the solution architecture must illustrate how the levels are linked with each other and what controls and security features are provided with the application. The description of the application roadmap is concerned with how the application is going to be initiated with the business process and vice versa, how the various features of the solution are going to be connected to the user network, how the business is to be transited on to the software platform and what kind of ongoing support and user assistance are going to be provided. The solution roadmap is nothing but a framework of implementation of the application over a period of time and as a matter of business priority. All these aspects are pre requisites which, when taken into consideration, ensure that application development proceeds without hitches or hindrances.

A well established and evolved application development process that fully adheres to the Software development life cycle or SDLC, covering business requirement analysis, solution feasibility and development, application design, testing and implementation, ensures that applications that address evolving business needs are developed and implemented with standards and specifications while also guaranteeing support and assistance on a need-based schedule. Technological expertise and experience in mid-range and complex projects are the qualities in a software development enterprise that ensure that a solution is the best possible one for a business at a given moment as well the one to be able to keep pace with the future business scenarios. An ideal application development must be able to deliver to unique or non typical business requirements. While most of the standard business operations and tasks can be quickly automated by solution developers, real professionalism lies in being able to provide equally efficacious solutions to peculiar business problems. Application development is not a stock technique for automating a business operation and is indeed a professional exercise directed at the objective of making a business derive the benefits of information technology through a solution that is tailored to its environment and is built upon a scalable and flexible architecture for long-term utility and benefit. Migration or re-engineering is another challenge for application development and it is necessary that such solutions incorporate support for legacy, current as well as emergent software. Migration or re-engineering is of benefit to a business when it is not feasible, cost wise to have an in-house development team or when the required technical or other resources required for development are not available. Product development through collaboration is also offered as part of the services and this service mainly consists of professionals who team up with developers of the client’s organization. Coding and module development are the priority and by availing of such services, customers are ensured of an improvement in the overall efficiency and quality of the solution. Maintenance and enhancements to the solutions consist of support and fine tuning of applications, made necessary when the requirements from the solution need to be changed based on user feedback and there is little or no support available from the original supplier of the solution. This service is characteristic of agile development when the development team is hard pressed for time to prepare a formal specification or when there is urgent need to fix a solution issue which has arisen unforeseen. The products and services offered as a result of application development consist of network management toolkits, automation tools for testing purposes, bonding solutions for multiple data channels, virtual LAN client, embedded systems and web applications software quality assurance. App development like a BSP product based on BSP and satellite-based multicast solutions. A client-centric approach and high level of skill in development ensure that these solutions deliver to expectations and remain an asset for clients. Solutions need to be geared towards helping clients move more confidently and efficiently on the path towards realizing their business goal.