Testing in the Cloud: Strategies, Risks and Benefits

Abstract

Testing in the cloud, commonly referred to as cloud testing, has revolutionised the approach adopted in traditional software testing. In the literal terms, it refers to testing Web applications in the “cloud” – leveraging a service provider’s ready-made testing resources. The customer boycotts the hassle and expense of procurement, setup and maintenance of test environment setup on premise. Previously, accustomed solely with non-functional testing such as performance and load testing, recent advancements have made it possible to write test scripts and modify and automate test suites – all in the cloud environment. This chapter provides an in-depth overview of contemporary cloud testing, the types and its best practices. The benefits and risks are fully discussed with recommended methods to abate these risks. A methodological approach to govern an organisation migrating to cloud testing is also presented. A unique model, which shows the complex and dynamic interrelationship among active factors and their effect on the major project success factors in a cloud testing environment, is designed and presented. These project success factors include productivity, quality and cost. This model will help management to make strategic decisions on the adoption of cloud testing and the impact of their policy adoption on the productivity, quality and cost of software development projects.