E-commerce initiatives and business models which directly depend on the interent ecosystem, need comprehensive Software Testing. While online transactioning is the primary business process for some of the most successful corporations, it is a critical service offerred by the Enterprises in the global economy. Exponential adoption of Smart Phones and mobile devices which are now as good as point of contact/sale devices, are further fuelling the growth of e-commerce.
However, e-commerce is much more than enabling an online portal for selection, service, sale and transaction. The e-commerce infrastructure needs to be robust enough to support the peaks in the holiday season, transactions need to be secure, and the online portals need to offer a consistent experience across a wide matrix of devices, platforms, operating systems and browsers.
A research report by Forrester says that Optimizing an eCommerce site for performance on a global scale requires additional oversight, budget, dedicated technical resources, local expertise, and specialized vendor solutions to ensure that international shoppers get the same optimal online shopping experience that domestic ones are used to.
Considering the complexity and scale of the impact of failure, it is more important than ever for software testing life cycle to shadow e-commerce software development cycle from start to end. Business leaders have quickly realized that interface is just one of the primary drivers, the real value lies in leveraging wealth of knowledge gained from analytics embedded into / derived from the applications/portals and websites. Hence, the e-tail experience has to be strengthened, which again begins with ensuring quality software.
Research shows that a 1 second delay on the page load time results in 7% loss in conversion, leads to 11% drop of page views and most importantly results in 16% lesser customer satisfaction
With so many Enterprises touting customer friendly UI as their differentiator, a single defect is likley to compel even loyal customers to explore alternative options leading to significant drop in the customer base. Some of the high impact and critical defects include database compromise, unauthorized access, duplicate transactions, flawed input options and unsupported feature upgrades.
Research shows that Consumers like the immediacy of shopping on a mobile device. But, customers are wary of changing their shopping habits due to security concerns. 64% of top US e-retailers have highly questionable password policies, resulting in poor security of their users personal data. 51% make no attempt to block entry after 10 incorrect login attempts, leaving the door open for automated password cracking.
Some of the defects might be dormant until they are triggered by a sequence of planned or unplanned interactions with the external components in the ecosystem, and/or when the application is LIVE in the wild. In addition to the disruption of the IT processes and the delays in resumption of business cycles, the consequences include accountability to financial institutions, non-confirmation remarks by auditors and hefty compensations to the customers.
It is clear that e-commerce application validation requires comprehensive types of testing based on the scope & and context and can include Browser Compatibility, Accessibility Testing, Usability Testing, Database Testing, Big Data Analytic Validation, Web Services Testing, Responsive Web Application Testing, Mobile Web Browser testing, Performance Testing, Security Testing, Globalization Testing, and more. An Enterprise in-house QA department would need significant test infrastructure (which allows test environment to mimim production setup), time and costs to support comprehnesive testing. In addition to above, test team needs to have been trained in industry best practices, tools and techniques. They also need to keep up with demand for constant infrastructure upgrades, new tools, and licenses.
The ideal solution would be a strategic partnership with independent testing services providers who can ensure cloud capabilities, testing specialists with access to test frameworks which are tool agnostic, and technology agnostic. Cloud Testing capability will help Enterprises setup test environments that mimic realistic conditions, generate load from diverse geographies, provides access to on-demand device labs and more. In addition, a partnership with an independent testing provider will also ensure the availability of test consultants with diverse testing skills on-demand, who can provide visibility and unbiased opinion on quality, bring shift-left processes for finding defect early in the test life cycle.
The business assumption of an e-commerce initiative is that the internet is omnipresent. In markets with substantial adoption of smart phones, it is now granted that the customers are now ‘mobile’ more than ever, further fuelling e-commerce and m-commerce adoption. For comprehensive QA of the IT systems that support the e-commerce ecosystem to ensure user friendly interfaces and flawless transaction systems, testing is more than just a solution, Software Testing & QA is now a mandatory e-commerce driver.
About the author- Sai Chintala is Sr. Vp- Enterprise Solutions and Global Pre-Sales, Cigniti Technologies Limited.
