import test blog

Software is becoming increasingly interactive and more concerned with rendering service than just keeping records. This increase in service oriented, customer interactive software means that businesses can no longer be satisfied with one or two updates a year in critical customer facing applications, but must be continuously aware of and responsive to customer feedback and changes in the marketplace.

Businesses now rely on software to build customer loyalty through enhanced interaction in the same way they once relied on direct person to person customer service. Applications have become the most important customer interface for many businesses. This requires faster build times, more detailed engagement with stakeholders, especially end users, and A/B testing in a continuously evolving environment. These are all requirements that devops can meet through the principles of integrated communication and agile development.

Devops’ lean approach enhances innovation, reduces waste and concentrates resources on high value targets. However, the corporate mindset can sometimes be entrenched and slow moving. Devops requires the integration of job functions that have not traditionally operated together. It may take some time and effort to get everyone involved to sit down and work out the requirements involved. The nice thing is that once people start communicating across former barriers, the efficiency, speed and overall quality of software development greatly increases.

There are some important questions that need to be asked before you make any purchase. The first step is to make a list of the things you would want software to do. Next, separate these functions out between what you absolutely need and what it would be nice to have. This is important because separating out nice and need will save money and reduce the temptation to over buy. It also enables you to have a greater understanding of the functions that any software you buy will be required to perform.

The next step is to determine what you are willing to spend. Then look over your needs and budget accordingly. While any money left over may be budgeted for items in the nice column, it is also prudent to set some funds aside until you know the actual cost of the software you need. Once you have a reasonable budget it then becomes fairly easy to eliminate those software packages that either don't deliver enough for the money or are too expensive to begin with. Remember that packages should fit your company and should not be too complex or too simple for what you want to do. They should also, as much as possible, deliver those functions you need without unnecessary additives.

Pick half a dozen packages that fit your criteria from companies that have demonstrated experience in writing software in your field and also have a good reputation for support. Any software package you buy should integrate well with any other, so it's vital that your potential suppliers also have a good reputation for writing software that integrates well with different applications. They should also use established and well proven technology.

You may not be able to buy everything you need and certainly not everything you want, so it's a good idea to purchase software that can be upgraded with add-ons in the future, if necessary. It then comes down to how user friendly the various candidates are. Regardless of what you’re buying the application for, it should not force users into a strict input and output regime that makes it difficult or impossible to handle unusual situations.

There are many other elements in choosing the right software, such as the type of vendor support offered. However, choosing the right software is based on knowing what software you need. Determining what you need isn't all that difficult, it's simply a matter of separating needs from desires and budgeting for needs first.

There are certain unique priorities in mobile application testing.  These priorities greatly affect the usability of the program and the quality of user experience and as such must be tested for.  The first is font size, mobile devices have far less screen space than laptops or desktops.  This makes font size of critical importance.  The fonts should not be so big that a large amount of scrolling is required, nor should they be so small that they're hard to read.  Mobile applications have a restricted number of useful fonts, while desk or laptop applications can use pretty much any font. Mobile applications should use the simplest and easiest to read font possible.

Another important aspect is to test for information presentation.  Small screen size makes reading a large amount of information difficult and slow.  Consequently, information should be tiered with the most important information up front, this is especially true of information that helps the user make a decision. In fact, all information should be graded for importance and presented accordingly.

Quality of presentation is another important aspect for testing.  Mobile devices are often used on the run, with the user's attention divided by multitasking.  This means that users do not always have a large amount of attention to spend, combine this with the small size of the screen and it's very easy to miss information.  Consequently, presentation should be designed so that information can be read in quick bites and screen contrast should be such that the screen can be read in different lighting situations with relative ease.

Data entry is also another important area for testing.  No mobile application should require a large amount of data entry, it simply isn't practical with the device in hand.  There are a number of ways to minimize data entry, such as presenting predetermined lists of actions.  While navigation should be simple and easy to understand. Mobile applications should also be tested to ensure that there is always a way for the user to exit from any mistake without difficulty.  A back button must be easily visible on every page and no user should be required to go down a path from which he or she cannot escape.

Mobile app usability is at its best when it focuses on key functionality and clear and concise content.  So it's important to test for consistent user experience throughout the application, regardless of screen orientation or what page of the application the user may be on.  Ideally, each page of the application should concentrate on a single action with drop down menus placed discreetly but with easy access.

Finally, the application should function smoothly across all target devices.  It's up to the designers and developers to make certain that the application runs well across different platforms and the user interface is easily understood, attractive and usable on every device that the application is intended to run on.

Simulate testing with emulators

iOS Emulators provide a simulated test environment without the overhead of purchasing and managing multiple devices and you’ve likely been using them for several years, but are they effective enough to be useful? Do they find defects that affect the end users experience?

Emulators are useful for testing application behavior that is not device or carrier specific early in the development cycle. However, their effectiveness for testing beyond the basics is suspect. Relying too much on emulators for testing is risky. It’s difficult to execute all the testing types needed for a new iOS release. Consider doing a risk analysis on your testing types - basic emulation (smoke testing), performance, functional, load and then decide on the method used for each.  

Automating functional testing

The advantage of automated testing tools is speed and regression testing repeatability.

A few disadvantages are their dependency on the platform so duplicate tests may be needed for each device or platform type. Additionally, automated tests need tuning to get timings correct. Most importantly, automated test maintenance is significant when application code changes frequently. The maintenance effort involved is the leading killer of automated testing projects. 

Another consideration is ensuring automated tests have valid verification points included.  Otherwise, you may be running the exact same test multiple times which wastes valuable time and fails to discover defects.

Automated testing is stronger and less frail when built at the unit testing level rather than the GUI level. GUI level automated tests frequently produce false failures when a software application changes frequently as they require constant maintenance.  If your mobile apps change frequently, plan on how to handle test maintenance. Both emulators and automated tests are useful as complements to manual and device testing, but not as a total replacements even when testing time is limited.

Daylight savings time threw Australian owners of the new Apple Watch Series 4 for a loop—literally. Some Apple Watch users were dismayed to discover that the time change had sent their device into an endless loop of crashing and rebooting.

The Apple Watch Series 4 was released last month. Apple Watches feature different watch face options with display features called "complications" that allow the Watch to show information other than just the time and date.

The bug seems to have originated with the Series 4's Infograph Modular face, specifically in the Activity complication that displays a timeline that shows the user's hourly data for walking, standing, exercising, and burning calories. Faced with a 23-hour day, the Activity complication was unable to display its graphs properly, which causes the Watch to crash, reboot, encounter the same bug, and repeat the cycle until the battery runs out of power.

This isn't the first time an Apple device has been stymied by daylight savings time. In 2010, a bug in iOS 4.1 caused recurring alarms to go off an hour early after daylight savings time went into effect.

This latest bug sorted itself out the following day, which lasted for the usual 24 hours and ended the Apple Watch's confusion. Some users were able to break out of the crash and reboot loop ahead of time by using the Watch app on their iPhones to switch away from the Infograph Modular face.

So far, Apple has not released any updates or patches to fix this bug. Although it appears to be self-correcting once the day of the time change passes, Apple Watch users in countries like the United States—whose own daylight savings time ends in November—may need to watch out. It's not known at this point if the bug is triggered by a day with an extra hour, but unless Apple puts out a fix, we'll soon find out if that's the case or not.

Hosted in conjunction with River City Labs, the CUA hackathon is dedicated to finding unique financial solutions that will raise their customer’s quality of life. CUA's general manager of of business transformation and technology Sue Coulter said, “This initiative is an exciting opportunity for CUA members, employees and non-members to work together for mutual benefit. It is also an excellent avenue to hear from our employees who are familiar with the CUA business and gain some fresh ideas and new perspectives from outside CUA on how we can better cater for our members’ financial needs.”

The purpose is to present new ideas. Various teams will create and refine ideas that they will then present to a panel of judges that include Credit Union Australia CEO Rob Goudswaard and Shark Tank mentor entrepreneur Steve Baxter. The winning team will receive a mentoring session with Steve Baxter and five-thousand dollars.

The disruption caused by digital technology has inspired CUA to address the need for innovation in the increasingly competitive fintech space by reaching out to startups over the last twelve months in order to incorporate diversified thinking into the financial ecosystem. By creating its own event, CUA is engaging entrepreneurs as well as their own employees in order to bring out the best entrepreneurial and front line ideas that will create value in the future.

The CUA hackathon will take place August 4th through 6th. You can register for the event here.

 An application under test should function well on at least the four most popular browsers, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari and Firefox. It should also function well on any of the less popular browsers that the end user is likely to employ, as well as testing on mobile devices. The standard multi-browser test is run on a single computer employing one browser at a time using the same test script.

Testing then moves on to determining application functionality on different versions of the same browser. Different versions of different browsers are tested. These tests are limited to those versions of the different browsers that the application is intended to support, for example Internet Explorer version eight and onward.

Compatibility testing is important because HTML is rendered differently in different browsers and JavaScript isn’t always interpreted in the same way. Differences can range from minor variations in display, such as changing the position of a button, to genuine problems such as drop down menus not functioning, or failure to accept properly configured input, or even fields not allowing required input.

Checking that the application works correctly when run concurrently on more than one browser is useful in determining functionality when multiple users are logged is using different browsers. Concurrent testing looks for glitches such as updates not being communicated between browsers, and users being logged in on more than one browser at a time. It also looks for any odd browser interactions.

Usually, a single test script is usable on multiple browsers. Writing different test scripts for different browsers isn’t recommended unless absolutely necessary and it’s never wise to write a different script for each browser. This can cause confusion and make script maintenance difficult as the application is updated. You can get around this by writing a script that can run with manual testing on most browsers.

There are many other cross browser tests that look for everything from software incompatibility to the quality of fonts, size and position of elements and variations in colours. Cross browser functional tests are an important part of readying an application for release.

A recent Cisco report has demonstrated how banks must drive their own disruption. This isn’t just a matter of the way transactions are processed, it’s a matter of putting a human face on banking services.

Ironically, digital technology has accomplished the exact opposite of what was predicted at the dawn of the computer age, in the middle of the last century. Back then, it was predicted that digital technology would dehumanize the world. In fact, it is in the process of doing the opposite. Digital tech has facilitated communication  to the degree that no government, no business and certainly no financial institution can ignore.

The financial services industry has already moved ahead of many other industries when it comes to digital technology. The key challenge today is to turn digital capability into profitability by using fintech in ways that are advantageous both to the customer and the financial institution. This includes developing multiple channels of communication with customers by driving connectivity across multiple devices.

The quality of that communication is also important.  Banks will need to connect customers with experts, either in person or over the phone, to offer advice, answer questions and provide counseling regarding banking products.  

In short, the foundation of future profitability will be built on personal service with a personal touch. Digital technology has spread the ability to communicate to such a degree that no financial institution can rely simply on its reputation for expertise and knowledgeability. It must now demonstrate that expertise and communicate that knowledge on a person to person basis.

This year's judges were looking for CIOs who demonstrated true innovation and leadership.

The winners for this year included 31 executives new to the CIO50 list, representing a wide range of business, non-profit, and government sectors. Over the past year, these executives have been changing their companies for the better with cutting-edge tech including artificial intelligence, machine learning, the blockchain, virtual reality, data analytics, cybersecurity, and more.

1. George Hunt, CIO of Sydney Water

Using the latest technology to conserve water and prevent service interruptions, George Hunt has helped turn Sydney Water into a hyper-connected utility provider. Projects launched under his leadership include the Spatial Hub, a tool that creates visualisations of customer issues, using data collected from over 400 IoT devices. Hunt also created #mBrace, an inclusive, staff-driven movement that promotes diversity of thought and culture in the workplace.

2. Dr Steve Hodgkinson, CIO of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services

Dr Hodgkinson has brought an agile, platform-based approach to technology-driven initiatives at Victorian DDHS, bringing more than 35 new business systems online within the past 3 years. Key projects have included cybersecurity enhancements, the housing register online application system, a family violence referral portal and the cloud-based, API-enabled Victorian Health Incident Management System.

3. Aidan Coleman, CTO of Charter Hall

Aidan Coleman placed at #23 on last year's CIO50 list and rose twenty spots this year largely on the merits of an initiative he led, the Charter Hall PropTech Accelerator program. This program was created to address Charter Hall's sustainability and growth prospects, partnering with four startups to develop technology for use in the real estate sector.

4. Dr Zoran Bolevich, CIO of NSW Health

Dr Bolevich has taken on the tremendous task of bringing the 140,000 staffers and 7.8 million individuals covered under NSW Health into the digital age, shifting away from paper-based records and bringing health data and medication management onto secure digital platforms. The goal for NSW Health's eHealth Strategy has been to reduce errors, improve patient experiences, and produce better health outcomes.

5. Rebbecca Kerr, General Manager, Technology for Roy Hill

Kerr has led the way in delivering Roy Hill's Smart Mine program, which provides  advanced data analytics about ore deposits and suggests operational improvements to increase mining efficiency. She has also launched an initiative that uses IoT devices to keep mining equipment like lighting towers online and operational when needed while conserving fuel whenever possible.

The complete 2018 CIO50 list can be found at CIO Australia's website.

Internet retail giant Amazon is about to change the game in Australian Retail. While Amazon already has a portal into the Australian market place, it doesn't have the infrastructure to compete head to head with Australian retailers. This is a problem that Amazon is about to correct, and that correction has the potential to considerably disrupt Australia's three hundred billion dollar retail market.

How Will The Australian Retail Landscape Be Affected?

Up until now, the Australian market has been dominated by major local players on a relatively even playing field. Amazon's intention to build an operational infrastructure in Australia means that even larger local retailers such as JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman will see a considerable drop in retail sales.

Big retailers will not be the only ones affected by Amazon’s local presence. Lower prices, faster delivery times and lower shipping costs will make them a genuine threat to small and mid size retailers who once counted convenience among their key selling points.

One Of The World’s Biggest Retailers

Amazon began by selling books online and has grown to become the largest single Internet Retail outlet in the United States, receiving 50% of the American dollars spent online.  This is due to the philosophy of its founder and chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos.  It is a philosophy of internal cutthroat competitiveness between employees, some would call it employee abuse, married to an obsession with keeping prices low for consumers.  It is also a philosophy that values expansion over profits and has resulted in staggering growth over the last decade.

Amazon has taken full advantage of its low overhead in relation to brick and mortar stores.  Its warehouses and third party vendor affiliates provide a high degree of choice for consumers while the "maintain low overhead and keep prices low" approach often enables Amazon to undercut other retailers in a number of different markets.  

For example, Amazon carries some 343,000 items of clothing and accessories, which is almost 50,000 items more than Wal-Mart.  Amazon seems set to disrupt the clothing market, in the way that it has already disrupted and pretty much closed down the brick and mortar bookstore.  In fact, it is aggressively expanding into the apparel business. And Cowen and Company's estimate that Amazon's cut of the American retail clothing market will rise to 50 billion dollars by 2020 is probably accurate.

Amazon's continuous expansion into an increasing number of retail markets means that it has the potential to disrupt the retail space of any country.

Sights Set On Australia’s Supermarkets

Amazon is also poised to enter the grocery retail market in Australia through AmazonFresh. This is a very competitive market with traditionally high overhead, and the sheer investment required to build and operate a traditional grocery store are major reasons why the retail grocery market is a slow growth industry. This may change with the introduction of AmazonFresh; and when coupled with Prime Now, which offers two hour delivery, could seriously disrupt the rather insular Australian grocery market.

However, it won't be all that easy for Amazon to establish itself in the grocery business. Grocery shopping is traditionally based on customer loyalty and established retailers have considerably more experience with the needs of Australian consumers.  Amazon will no doubt look to carve out market share through technology and innovation.

Take for example, Amazon Go, Amazon’s walk-in-walk-out checkout technology. Using Amazon Go, customers can simply walk into a physical Amazon location, pick what they want off the shelves and walk out. The cards they have pre-registered with Amazon are debited for the amount of purchase and they receive a text or email receipt.

The novelty of Amazon Go alone will surely win them countless early adopters and tens of millions of dollars in publicity. Customers seeking greater convenience will also be drawn toward newcomer. But the most impressive arrow in Amazon’s quiver is the technology customers don’t see. Deep integration between point of sales, inventory and supply chains provides efficiencies and savings that many retailers can’t even fathom.

Easier Said Than Done?

Of course, Amazon Go does present reason for concern. What is the cost of deploying such technology? How secure will it be? Does Amazon plan on directly competing with the established street level retailers? Apparently, it does. CIOs of established retail firms will need to update how their companies interface with consumers in order to compete. This won't be cheap or easy.

On a more fundamental level, Amazon will need to find adequate real estate to enter the market, which is easier said than done. Given that a Coles or Woolworths is never too far away, it remains to be seen how far would-be customers will travel out of their way to save a couple of minutes shopping at an Amazon Go.

At the moment, we do not know how deeply Amazon will penetrate the Australian retail landscape, but we can assume that all of Amazon's technical "advances" will probably be offered at some time in the future. If history is anything to go by, we can expect Amazon to move one step at a time. The very first step will be to establish an infrastructure strong enough to enable future expansion. And so, we can monitor Amazon's intentions by observing the type of infrastructure they build.

Traditional Retailers To Join Forces

Jeff Bezos has built an empire based on customer convenience. Australian retailers must place customer service and convenience as the highest priorities if they are to compete. This means expansion of online presence and the development of dedicated customer service applications. Perhaps it may even require a, formerly unthinkable, cooperation between Australian based retailers in order to present a unified alternative to Amazon's encroachment on their retail space. Regardless of what happens, it won't be business as usual. Even so, there are no guarantees.

Oddly enough, much of the technology that backs up Amazon has been around for a while but has not been picked up by established retailers.  This is probably due to the desire to please stockholders with high dividends, rather than to reinvest profit into building future infrastructure.

When it comes to innovation, Amazon is now the clear leader in brick and mortar retail. The next step is to make that innovation a reality. Amazon is poised to turn leadership in ideas into actual leadership on the ground. Australian retailers must keep this in mind and take the steps necessary to lead their retail space. If they don't, then Amazon certainly will.