Remote Testing Challenges & How to Overcome Them
Some software developers may remain productive working remotely while others may not. This is because of the various challenges that come with teams working from different locations. This article looks into some of these challenges and how remote working teams can overcome them.
Working remotely is almost like a lifestyle today. The growing portion of remote workers worldwide also consists of a massive number of software developers. The biggest challenge that employees working remotely have is ensuring that they deliver to the expected standards regardless of their locations.
Some software developers may remain productive working remotely while others may not. This is because of the various challenges that come with teams working from different locations. This article looks into some of these challenges and how remote working teams can overcome them.
Let’s dive into them.
Communication Issues
One of the most common issues remote testing teams face is a lack of proper communication. It is easy for teams to consult among themselves when working from an office setup. This, however, becomes a challenge when working from remote locations as they have to rely on various tools to communicate efficiently.
The best solution to communication issues is to use video calls. Unlike texting, tools that allow you to communicate through video, make it efficient to communicate. With video calls, you can illustrate the tone of your message so that the recipient understands the urgency of your message.
Cross-cultural Differences
Remote testing teams may also not function correctly because of cultural differences. For instance, people in India have different cultures from people in the United States. The culture of both affects their working behaviors and may make it difficult for them to collaborate well with others.
This challenge can get solved by every team player understanding another’s culture. Besides, accepting that every member of a team has different beliefs can help. Thus, a company should ensure that they educate their employees about these distinctions before joining the company.
Teaming Up
Another big challenge that a remote testing team may face is difficulty in teaming up. In an office setting, seniors can easily monitor what their juniors are doing and correct them when they make mistakes. But then, providing a team with the right resources such as tutorials may help with this.
For instance, you can share more about automation testing tutorials with beginners working remotely. This can help them learn everything from the language used in the process, test automation infrastructure, standards and best practices, etc. In the end, this will help them know how the team works and will make it easy for them to team up with the rest.
Coordinating Release Timelines
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It is the responsibility of software testers to determine if a product is ready for public release. This is after they have confirmed that it is bug-free and works optimally. Working remotely can be challenging as reaching a consensus that software is ready for release to the market can take some time.
One way to overcome this challenge is to create timelines for every team player. You can do this by coming up with a checklist that testers can use to declare every step complete. This will make it easy for the whole team to meet timelines and helps promote transparency and visibility in a remote team.
Multitasking
Software developers do more than testing software. Many things require their attention as they moderate testing sessions remotely. For instance, they need to communicate with users, respond to questions, check onscreen behavior and many other things, making it vital to multitask.
Doing this without a task management tool can be tricky for anyone. Such a tool can help you schedule all the tasks you want to do and execute them. Another solution that can help here is ensuring that you focus on one task at a time to reduce confusion and increase productivity.
Technical Snags
Remote testing requires the use of different technological components – hardware and software. Tech can be helpful when working remotely, but you also never know when it will fail you. For instance, software on your computer may not run properly at the most crucial moment, or the internet could fail.
Such issues may cause delays and can severely affect your productivity. This makes it vital for you to ensure that you test everything before you start testing software. You can check the internet connection, screen sharing, video and audio recordings, etc., to ensure everything is running well.
Data Inaccuracy
The accuracy of data collected from remote setting setups has been a concern for a long time. However, data inaccuracy is a problem that people can face even when working in an office setup. It is mainly caused by improper documentation and could confuse testers leading to delays in the testing process.
One way to ensure data accuracy is by putting everything in one document and sharing it with your team. It should include screenshots, videos, numbers, stats and anything that can contain factual information. This can help reduce confusion and will make it easy to test and release software.
Unreliable Privacy and Security
Source: Pixabay
One of the most significant risks of working remotely is online insecurity. Teams working from different locations majorly work with personal internet connections. This, from a security point of view, can be a threat to the entire company network. This is mainly because some employees may use public WIFI and expose the company to attacks.
Every company that allows employees to work remotely needs to set security guidelines for them. It also needs to train remote workers on cybersecurity, especially on the threats they may face online. If possible, the company should provide secure security tools that employees can use remotely.
Conclusion
Many people preferred working online, especially when the pandemic was at its peak. That has, however, not changed for some. This is because employers have allowed them to work from home even after opening their premises. But then the condition across the board is always the same – do not compromise on quality.
Remote testing teams experience a few challenges that can affect their productivity. We have explored most of these challenges in this article. Besides, we have looked into ways that they can use to avoid these challenges and remain productive. These can be helpful insights for anyone looking to work remotely.