Three Ways To Evolve Your Approach To Testing in the IoT Era

Three Ways To Evolve Your Approach To Testing in the IoT Era

By Atman Rathod

Key Testing Approaches You Need to Embrace in the IOT Era

IOT Testing: Key Approaches and Considerations

Internet of Things (IoT) through the past decade has evolved as the most popular technology offering us a robust connected ecosystem of devices, sensors, and applications across all niches and categories. It remained to be the leading buzzword for techies consecutively for several years in a row. The promise of a smarter home thanks to the ecosystem of interconnected devices has now become a reality. Smart workplaces and smart transportation are also fast becoming commonplace realities thanks to this connected reality.

From Google to Gartner to Business Insider, all experts and professional bodies around the world are revealing data and statistics that only showcase the ever-growing dominance of IoT devices and a connected ecosystem of gadgets. But with the pace of IoT adoption across multiple niches, the security risks are also increasing at a rapid speed. Moreover, performance and streamlined user experience are two key concerns that IoT testing needs to address all the time.

While the dominance of IoT is never going to reduce, the developers need to consider the evolving factors like app testing coverage, the scope of security testing, test automation plans, component handling, and other elements. Let us briefly explain each of these factors one by one.

IoT Test Landscape

With the evolution of the connected devices, sensors, and applications, the IoT landscape has only become more multifaceted and demanding. No longer, it is just the security testing that does it all for IoT devices, there are so many other testing needs that need to be covered. From carrying out virtual testing for devices and sensors required in smart city environments to remote testing of the wireless connectivity to testing a variety of interfaces, a variety of testing needs need to be addressed through IoT test coverage.

The IoT testing coverage and scope face an array of challenges in regard to the application testing needs. Moreover, several tests are required to be repeated or reciprocated in different test scenarios throughout the application. This is precisely why in IoT testing test automation has a key role to play. Let us have a look at the different types of tests performed on IoT devices and systems.

• Security Testing
• Performance Testing
• Services Testing
• Functional Testing
• Network Testing
• Operational Testing
• Compatibility Testing
• Usability Testing
• Machine learning testing

Addressing the Continuous Security Testing Needs

IoT devices by their very nature are prone to all types of security attacks and vulnerabilities. Just because the IoT ecosystem of devices stays connected on various network points, they are more exposed to all the security risks pertaining to those connections. Because of this multiplicity and multiple dimensions, it is easier to lose sight of the emerging security risks and the perpetuating factors behind the risks and attacks. This is precisely why continuous security testing became imperative in the IoT testing landscape.

Generally across the most web and mobile app development projects, security and load testing are carried out at the end of the development process. After completing the unit testing and functional testing, security testing at the very end is carried out. This funneled approach makes it more customary than something really needful. In the era of IoT, this approach has changed to a great extent. Now, security testing is incorporated throughout the development process to mitigate the risk factors concurrently while going through the process of development.

Let us understand the grave implications of cybersecurity threats and risks. As the transformation of the IoT software has been pretty fast and overwhelmingly complex, the security concerns are steadily increasing. A vast majority of IT security concerns are now originated through the connected device ecosystem that are taking part in the organisational network from outside. This is why security strategists and IT experts across companies are trying to come up with stronger protocols and processes to minimise these security vulnerabilities and risks for better and secure online experience. One of these key measures is to ensure concurrent or continuous testing throughout IoT development process.

Test Automation Powered By Service Virtualizations

Test automation is already popular for its time-saving impact on development projects. But test automation in the present IOT landscape largely remained limited to automation tools. Besides, easy to access and ready to implement tools, test automation also ensures delivering an ambiance similar to production. This newly interconnected testing environment that pulls together several different processes also creates bigger security challenges.

Such challenges are largely mitigated by creating a virtual production-like environment with virtual services. Though virtual services may not be as impactful as the actual environment but at least the developers can have a better grasp over the roadblocks on each turn of the road and their corresponding protocols.

Handling the Components

Internet of Things brings together a variety of elements ultimately to make the network and networked devices work in a coherent manner. The testing also needs to cover all the participating components including the embedded systems and hardware, design hardware and design APIs, cloud infrastructure, third party software solutions, network connectivity, and information flow between devices, data-driven insights, analytics, and reports.

Handling the Exceptions

Every connected device in the IoT landscape offers some standalone functionalities that in the context of the smart connected interaction make sense. The testing process actually needs to evaluate the deviations and fluctuations from this expected device behaviour and functions. From evaluating the expected communication between devices to testing devices as per the user manuals to handling the errors, IOT testing needs to take care of every aspect.

Evaluating Device and Network Performance

Finally, the IoT testing must give utmost importance to the network performance and overall output of the connected devices. From evaluating the accuracy and precision of data transmission to monitoring the communication quality involving different network points to checking device-level performance, compatibility, and consistency, IOT testing should take into account every aspect.

Conclusion

So, testing in the IoT era is more multifaceted, multi-dimensional and diversified than any other digital applications and gadgets earlier. IoT testing in the time to come will benefit from new protocols and practices and become more streamlined as well as standardised.

Author Bio: Atman Rathod is the Co-founder at CMARIX TechnoLabs Pvt. Ltd., a leading Android app development company with 13+ years of experience. He loves to write about technology, startups, entrepreneurship and business. His creative abilities, academic track record and leadership skills made him one of the key industry influencers as well.

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