How Test Automation can be Helpful for IoT Applications?

July 12, 2018

The software testing industry has been leaning heavily on test automation for years now. But, how critical is automated testing within relatively new domains such as the Internet of Things?

IoT devices, since 2013 have proliferated to a great extent including edge devices and gateways. They are projected to increase to about 50 billion units by the year 2020, pushing QA and testing teams in software development companies to start revamping their testing strategies to fit into the IoT. The context in which the IoT functions requires a distinctive approach when it comes to testing strategies and methods. As IoT is considered as one of the most trending technologies nowadays, IoT testing plays a very crucial role as it opens the door for new business opportunities and helps companies benefit from new revenue streams, improved analytics, and reduction in human intervention, effort and manual labor.

Automation has developed as the most significant component of IoT and most testing methods are being developed to make the best of it. Software development companies have stepped up the rate at which they deliver software services along with the improvements and fixes, hence the need for automation testing turns out to be significantly more critical.

Why is Test Automation Considered to be at the Heart of IoT?

By 2019, around 66% of customers intend to buy connected technology for their homes. As the demand for connected devices & applications surges, the need of the hour is to build effective, robust apps quickly.

Automation testing develops as a helpful process in this scenario. Automation testing stands out among the most flexible and lightweight approaches to IoT application development.

Test automation contains a family of agile methodologies where the key principles are communication, integrity, teamwork as well as thinking to constantly adjust and enhance the process.

The developers need to roll out improvements on the existing application or interface the new application to an existing application where automation testing proves to be very important. It ensures that:

• The IoT application is multi-user and can be deployed in a dispersed environment
• The active application has a good response time
• Proper data validation occurs throughout the application
• The application can be expanded through the internet or locally
• Real-time data accuracy
• Access control through encryption-decryption

Let’s go through the Top 3 Benefits of IoT Testing:

1. Future-perspective about the Business: IoT Testing provides a combined approach to validate the functional and non-functional requirements of the IoT solutions. It likewise modernizes the business by assuring compatibility, performance and security testing
2. Better Engagement: IoT Testing ensures that end users get top-class user experience across multiple channels (device, web, mobile)
3. Speedy Time-to-Market: IoT Testing assures speedy time-to-market by leveraging early automation.

Major Challenges in IoT Testing:

• The growing number of applications that are being developed continuously extends to the IoT ecosystem. With such fast development, organizations need to ensure that these applications are thoroughly and constantly tested before being deployed in this connected world of IoT devices.
• Therefore, the role of a software tester becomes crucial as such a set up includes testing hardware and software, and the connectivity which helps in transmitting IoT data in real time and large amounts of intelligence.
• It becomes important to think about the challenges associated with IoT Testing before we think of an IoT Testing framework that would prove to be effective.

Automation Testing - An Intuitive and Reliable Match for IoT Applications

The primary goal of automation testing in IoT applications is to plan and promote a standard industry framework for agile software delivery without IoT. The dynamic system development method along with automation testing offers complete support for planning, managing, implementing and balancing agile methods and continuous software development projects. The testing methods and methodology are based on some key principles that include market value, authorized teams, effective user involvement, rapid delivery, integrated testing and stakeholder association.  In this agile development methodology, specifications are defined initially in the project and rework is built into the process.

IoT set ups comprise of a varied blend of components such as Applications, Sensors, Gateways, Networks and Datacenters. Hence, it turns out to be crucial for QA teams to manage different types of testing that need to be carried out on these different IOT elements. Needless to say, not all types of testing are suitable for various IoT elements.

As the IoT trend emerges rapidly along with various IoT components, automated testing has emerged as more of a need rather than an alternative. QA teams will require time and expertise to deal with the presence of moving parts in the subtle IoT environment. Instead of simply focusing on whether a system is functional or not, software testers need to verify if a device is secure and active in usual or unusual situations.

IoT is set to play an essential role in the business world as organizations frequently search for innovative ways to enhance their competitive edge.

Read More: Test Automation is Challenged by the Internet of Things

What is your opinion on test automation in IoT applications? If you are a large organization trying to implement this strategy, then connect with our TestingWhiz team of test automation experts.