Our expert on IoT testing Igor Sharinsky shares his thoughts on Top 5 Challenges in IoT testing in the article below.
There Are No Evident Results of Testing
Since the Internet of Things is one of the lately emerged industries, it still doesn’t have well-established practices, rules, and methodologies of IoT testing. The absence of a conventional approach to testing IoT applications leads to a poor level of testing specialists’ professionality. This is directly related to the quality of testing performed and results received.
Conventional IoT Protocols Aren’t Only Applicable
There are a lot of sensors and actuators on the market, which are usually provided by different producers. Each of such companies has its own suite of protocols and standards obligatory to be used within the testing process. Aside from existing conventional IoT protocols, the presence of additional ones significantly complicates the work of QA specialists.
Automated Testing Doesn’t Have Long-established Approaches
Compared to traditional web solutions, it is almost impossible to apply automated testing tools for IoT Applications. It depends on a number of specific factors:
- Automated testing solutions in the lately emerged market are yet immature and incomplete;
- Testing protocols and standards are numerable and diverse;
- Automated testing appears to be more of an R&D process for testing specialists rather than the established series of activities.
Ethics Makes a Difference
It’s the first time in the IT industry that an ethical aspect of work truly plays a far bigger role than a technological one. It comes from the specific nature of IoT solutions. Quality of IoT applications makes a great impact on human life and wellbeing. So QA specialists should take on a far bigger responsibility than anyone can imagine. The errors are crucial.
50/50. Testers Stand in Line with Developers
Regarding testing, IoT solutions have little in common with the web or any other solutions. So the approaches that have proven their success multiple times earlier stop working here. It’s told about the proportion of testers’ and developers’ presence within the process of project assessment and execution. Forget about the traditional 30/50% correlation for resources and task allocation between testers and developers. Give them the full 50% to bring true value to the project.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/testing-iot-applications-vague-results-complex-ethics-igor-sharinsky/
