Strategy and Need for Compliance Testing - rayparker56/softwaretesting GitHub Wiki

To ensure that the Compliance Management System (CMS) is working perfectly well in your organization, you need to perform compliance testing. Basically, this is a non-functional testing technique and it is also known as Conformance Testing. It understands and validates whether the requirements set by the organization are being met or not.

How does non-functional testing work?

This testing type helps to test the non-functional requirements which include performance, operations, load, volume, and compliance of the software. This is no less than the audit of the entire system which highlights the areas where a system might feel if unnecessary external pressure is exerted on it. A successful company always ensures that its compliance standards are being met for which meetings are conducted in which all senior authorities sit together and discuss if development practices are being followed as per set standards or not.

Not only behaviors of the system are verified but also all those areas are covered which were left during functional testing. Initially, the performance of the system is not given much consideration but once the application hits the market, the major concern is regarding its performance and the way it handles the load. If an application crashes repeatedly then it will soon go down the drain. With time, the security of the application is also considered as it is the most important aspect and effective measures are being taken from the initial phase so that sensitive data can not be breached.

Why is Compliance Testing required?

This testing verifies if the application meets the internal and external standards before the final release. With functional testing all use case requirements and issues are being fixed, for that purpose testers use various defect management tools, software testing tools, tracking tools, etc but at this point, each deliverable needs to comply with the discussed policies. Below mentioned are few steps which ensure effective testing practice.

  • Requirements should be discussed and build a library for it
  • Assess the risk
  • Develop an effective testing strategy
  • Creation and implementation of a testing schedule
  • Perform the testing process

Advantages of Compliance Testing

  • All areas are covered which were not touched through functional testing.
  • Ensures the reliability of the application.
  • Validates the whole testing process, whether testing meets set - - standards and specifications or not.
  • Allows you to check if the developed application is efficient enough to be released
  • All security parameters of the application are checked thoroughly.
  • Test cases do not change frequently so time can be saved.
  • The load performance of the system is ensured and one can get the idea that how many people can simultaneously use the system.
  • System requirements and completely validated.
  • This testing helps to understand documentation in accordance with the system being developed.
  • Validates interoperability and portability of the system.

When and how to perform Compliance Testing?

Generally, management initiates this testing process to verify whether the program developed meets the set standards or not. It can be done by the in-house development and testing team or one can deploy a team of experts to carry out the assigned job. Management takes care of all sorts of rules and regulations along with specifications and guidelines. To ensure that a job is being performed as per expectations it is better to mention all requirements and guidelines so that all sorts of misunderstandings and ambiguities can be avoided. All the aspects which are legally related to your industry should be considered to verify if all sort of regulatory requirements is fulfilled through this testing. This aspect is really important as breaking the legal laws or entities can create long-term repercussions and the company would be exposed to numerous risks.

An established process is followed in compliance testing which incorporates a risk-based approach and all sorts of violations are identified to mitigate the issues and legal limitations.

Wrap up

Testing is a vast domain and is divided into different areas and types. To ensure that the final product is developed as per company standards and free from all sorts of issues while meeting the listed requirements, testers need to go through a detailed testing process. They need to incorporate defect management tools, effective testing strategies, need to understand the legalities associated with their industry, and have to be fully equipped with the latest software to carry out their job in the best manner.