6.9 KiB
Testing
Overview
The following section provides an overview of the testing approach adopted to ensure the quality and reliability of openDesk. This concept balances leveraging existing quality assurance (QA) processes with targeted testing efforts tailored to the specific needs of openDesk. The outlined strategy focuses on three key areas:
- Relying on application QA: Utilizing the existing QA processes of the applications to ensure baseline functionality and quality standards.
- Minimal functional QA: Executing end-to-end tests to validate critical workflows and ensure that key functionalities operate as expected.
- Extensive load and performance testing: Conducting comprehensive load and performance tests to assess openDesk's scalability and response under varying usage conditions.
These efforts are designed to complement each other, minimizing redundancy while ensuring robust testing coverage.
Test Concept
Rely on upstream applications QA
As a software suite, openDesk contains different applications from different vendors (suppliers). So as a general approach, we rely on the testing of the applications itself. To ensure a reliable and sufficient QA of the underlying applications, we stay in contact with the application manufacturers and regularly review the QA measures done by the vendors.
We receive the release notes early before a new application release is integrated into openDesk, so we are able to check the existence of a sufficient set of test scases. The vendors should create a set of test cases for each new functionality.
Run minimal functional QA (end-to-end tests)
To ensure the functioning of all applications, we run a minimal set of testcases to check the basic functionality of openDesk and all integrated applications.
Furthermore, we analyze all features/usecases which are implemented by a set of more than one applications. All these features are not testable naturally by the manufacturers itself, so we develop testcases for such features.
The openDesk application owners prioritize then this list of end-to-end-testcases, and we implement these testcases in the test automation framework.
Run extensive load- and performance tests
We want to deliver openDesk as a applicationion-grade software with the ability to serve a large user base. We create and perform extensive load- and performance tests for every release of openDesk.
Our approach consists of different layers of load testing.
Base performance testing
For thse tests we define a set of "normal", not to complicated user-interactions with openDes. For each testcase in this set, we measure the duration of the whole testcase (and steps inside the testcase) on a given, unloaded environment, installed with a predefined setup and predefined releases of all relevant software components.
As a result, we receive the total runtime of one iteration of the given testcase, the runtime of each step inside the testcase, the error rate and min/max/median runtimes.
Most importantly, the environment should not be used by other users or background tasks, so it should be an environment being mostly in idle state.
The results can be compared with the results of the previous release, so we can see whether changes in software components improve or decrease the performance of one testcase.
Load testing to saturation point
These tests are performed to ensure the correct processing and user interactions even in high-load scenarios.
Here we use the same testcases as in the base performance tests.
Now we measure the duration on a well-defined environment while the system is being used by a defined number of test users in parallel. This number will be scaled up.
Our goal is to see constant runtimes of each testcase iteration, while the total throughput of requests increases consistently with the number of users in parallel usage of the system.
At a distinct point, a further increase of the number of users leads to no more increase of the total throughput, but instead leads to an increase in the runtime of each testcase iteration.
This point, the saturation point, is the load limit of the environment. Up to this point the environment and the installed software packages can handle the load. More load over this point leads to increased response times and increased error rates.
Load testing up to a defined user count
For interested partners we offer a load testing scenario up to a defined count of parallel users in one or more defined use cases. This way, we can ensure to our partners that the planned sizing and user numbers are reachable and stable with openDesk.
For these tests the suppliers should get in touch with us, then a workshop will be planned and all relevant data will be discussed.
Overload/recovery-tests
If necessary, we perform overload tests, which will saturate the system with multiple test cases until no further increase in throughput is visible. Then we add even more load until the first HTTP requests run into timeouts. After a few minutes, we reduce the load below the saturation point. Now we can checkwhether the system is able to recover from the overload status.
Reporting and test results
We perform testruns every night on every of our environments.
For each environment, we define so called profiles, these contains the features enabled per environment. For example: Testing the email features in an environment without deployment of Open-Xchange makes no sense at all.
Also we test the whole system via a browser with language=DE and another browser with language=EN.
The test results will be saved in an Allure TestOps server, so interested persons are able to view the test results in detail.
Allure TestOps
The Allure TestOps server is currently only accessible to project members.
The relevant project is called opendesk.
To get an overview, click in the left symbol list onto the symbol "Rocket" to check all relevant launches.
Now you can, e.g., see the launch #1733, and directly check for the success of this launch.