How To Test IOT Application? | QAble

Smart technologies have changed the perspective of the world by offering quick communication and easier convenience. It would not be possible without the participation of IoT (Internet of Things).

The devices through which the connectivity of the present era so fast comes under the category of IoT. Basically, IoT is a communicating network comprised of vehicles, electronic gadgets, servers, etc. The concept of IoT revolves around the exchange and accumulation of information.

With the passage of time, now, life is not limited to Food, Cloth, and Shelter. IoT has captured the world, and now it acts as an integral part of life.

People may live without Shelter, but not without IoT. It seems wrong, but this the truth of the time. We can not imagine a world without IoT. Let’s understand the components of IoT, its significance, and it’s testing methods.

Elements of IoT are

There was a time when we use switches to control Television or other electronic gadgets, but now people use remotes to manage their TV or any other electronic appliance.

Even we are checking our health status on applications and other equipment even without visiting any doctor. IoT has made this possible for the world.

IoT plays an essential role even in day to day communication, and hence prior to launch any application in the public domain, its testing becomes mandatory.

Here we will elaborate on the concept of the Testing of IoT Application because, without assurance of quality, the launch may lead towards disaster.

To give tough competition and sustain their product, now devices should have maximum accuracy and speed. All networking companies give focus to offer services better than their competitors. Also, the public becomes crazy when they hear something more innovative and faster technology.

Sometimes, in the pace of competition, organizations forget to give proper attention to the quality of an application. By keeping this in mind, we are sharing the right approaches to test the IoT applications.

Testing of IoT Applications:

Testing is, carried out to maintain the smooth performance of an application by ensuring the behavior of the network, analytics, security and operating systems, etc. Below mentioned are the types of testing that guarantee the right release of IoT applications.

• Usability Testing: Whenever any new release takes place, the QA team ensures the performance of the application as an end-user. The comfort of users is always a priority, and by keeping this in mind, the quality team performs usability testing. As various devices take part in such applications and hence end to end testing of each participating device is a must.
• Compatibility Testing: With the growth of technology, applications are building with the integration of the IoT system. Hence to increase the horizon of the IoT system, testers try their best to make it compatible with most of the systems. The ultimate intention of the team is to accommodate maximum feasible combinations of attachments, and hence compatibility of the IoT system is checked.
• Data Integrity Testing: As we all know, the role of IoT revolves around the collection and exchange of data, and it generates the need to perform data integrity testing. It is the base of a system, and the QA team validates it with the maximum possible accuracy.
• Security Testing: IoT applications and devices deal with user’s data, and misuse of data may create trouble for the users. So, to maintain the privacy of users, the QA team takes care of Security Testing because no one wants to compromise the privacy of end-user’s data.
• Pilot Testing: In some cases, the product performs well in the testing environment but backfires when it is released in the public domain hence to avoid mistakes or issues, the team performs Pilot testing. Under this type of testing, the application is, checked in the public domain with a restricted number of users. It gives a real-time performance of the IoT system. By working on the feedback, the application becomes more accurate, accessible, interactive, and robust.
• Performance Testing: QA team handles the verification of IoT applications in various testing environments by keeping the electronic devices, servers, and communicating networks into consideration. Here they ensure the response time of the system and its compatibility with external applications.
• Categories of Testing: There are categories and conditions considered during the testing of IoT applications.

We are mentioning a few of them for reference and proper understanding.

Validation of components:

As mentioned earlier, the concept of an IoT system revolves around integrating hardware and software applications.

Below mentioned elements are validated:

• Connectivity of Network
• Integrated Sensors
• Hardware Devices
• Software Applications
• Server or Cloud Infrastructure
• Security Systems

Validation of Functionalities:

The IoT system should respond and function based on the requirement only. Each participating device should communicate in a proper way.

Conditions tested during function validation are:

• Exception and Error Handling
• Communication between devices
• Response of system
• Result of calculations

Testing of Conditions:

The team conducts testing under maximum possible conditions. The response of the IoT system is checked based on the below-mentioned conditions:

• Automated Conditions
• Manual Conditions

Performance Validation:

To ensure the accurate working of the IoT system its performance is calculated based on the following components:

• Performance of devices
• Performance of the system while an interruption occurs
• Synchronization
• Frequency of data transmission

Tools used for testing of IoT applications:

• Wireshark: Tester uses this tool to test the embedded software at the IoT system. It is an open-source that keeps the record of traffic visited the interface along with their source and destination details.
• Tcpdump: The testing tool does not have GUI otherwise it acts the same as Wireshark. Command line-based system through which TCP/IP is, displayed.
• JTAG Dongle: The worth of JTAG Dongle is to test Hardware components, and its use is quite similar to a debugger. It displays the variable by debugging the targeted platform.

Originally published at https://www.qable.io on November 27, 2020.