One of the first practical steps in testing any application is defining a QA strategy. A modern tester has many different tools, methods, and algorithms in his arsenal. This includes user focus groups and manual and automated testing (including the active use of artificial intelligence). At the same time, for different groups of applications, the names of testing stages may sound the same. However – don’t be fooled by the name! — the approaches indicated by these labels can be very different from each other in every exact case.
Everybody knows that banking applications have a bunch of particular requirements – increased security, speed of transactions, protection against errors when sending funds, saving data when the connection is broken, etc. Nevertheless, a simple enumeration of QA stages will not outwardly differ from, for example, methods for testing a program for counting calories.
Therefore, since we are talking about financial app testing stages, we should analyze in detail what kind of content the points of a typical QA strategy in such cases are filled with.
Financial applications: no room for error
Although bugs are annoying in any application (and testing is done precisely to find and fix them promptly), financial programs belong to the group where any failure can be fatal. Therefore, only the most experienced and reliable mobile application testing company on the IT market can afford to take on a set of such specific QA activities.
- Scenario writing.
As you know, functional testing includes forming a set of tests and their repeated run on the application.
However, in the case of an embedded financial services application, everything is complicated many times over by the presence of all kinds of regulatory acts, laws, specific banking requirements, restrictions, and or additional conditions for certain transactions, etc. Obviously, even the most experienced mobile app testing company’s engineer cannot fully possess all the necessary knowledge in this area.
The only practical solution, in this case, would be to involve specialists – lawyers, business analysts, banking experts – at the earliest app testing stages. Only in the process of thorough consultation with them and expert evaluation of the test scenario is adequate Quality Assurance possible.
- Comprehending the specifics of a particular banking domain.
It is generally accepted that the banking industry is divided into two sectors:
- Traditional (includes all primary banking operations and services and corporate banking).
- Service (this includes the issuance of loans, operations in the financial market in the interests of private and corporate clients, consumer finance, personal banking).
Each of these sectors and each direction of banking activity within it has its own specifics. Of course, no one requires a tester to become a comprehensive expert in banking. However, he needs an understanding of the subject of his research and expert advice in compiling a test plan for a banking application at this stage.
- A thorough study of financial application protection systems.
Protecting personal data is relevant for any application. However, in banking applications, this aspect is one of the key aspects. Moreover, it is also controlled at the legislative level in some cases. Tests at this level of QA require profound knowledge and responsibility from the specialist conducting them.
- User testing.
Banking programs are complex in nature and in terms of the set of functions they perform. However, at the same time, they need to maintain a transparent and intuitive interface that excludes the erroneous execution of any operations. Therefore, UI/UX testing, including in focus groups, is one of the most essential app testing stages, UI UX designer course in pre-release research of a financial application.
- Broad compatibility check.
It goes without saying that any financial application has a front end and a back end. Even if the application is not cross-platform, it is evident that the front-end component should work flawlessly on any device, regardless of screen aspect ratio, resolution, refresh rate, etc. All elements should be equally accessible and easy to read. The scalability must be seamless, and the performance must be sufficient to perform all the functions embedded in the applications.
Standards to guard the interests of the user
In addition to the legislation governing banking activities in different countries, internationally recognized standards for financial applications are ISO 12812 and GDPR.
Failure to comply with the requirements outlined there to protect the user’s personal data can permanently bury the application and create serious legal problems for the developer. In this section, a mobile application testing firm should go very deep into the contract with the customer.
Summing up
Testing financial applications is a high-tech and profitable business that can take a company with the necessary specialists and equipment to become the undisputed leader in the industry. However, a prerequisite for success is the presence of consultants – both lawyers and experts in the banking business.