Hardware and Software Testing
National Technical Systems (NTS)
Are you preparing to release a new computer product? NTS can exercise your product’s functionality throughout the entire development cycle – alpha, beta and/or golden master phases of development. NTS can start by developing comprehensive test plans and detailed test methodologies or you can supply us with a specific test plan to execute on your behalf.
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product
Compatibility / Interoperability Testing
Compatibility and interoperability testing focuses on exercising the product-under-test under an array of software and hardware variables (e.g., different operating systems, additional software applications, such as web browsers, and hardware, such as graphics adapters, processors, chipsets, etc.). With almost three decades of growth and refinement, NTS’s test methodologies are unparalleled in the area of compatibility and interoperability testing. With our extensive in-house library of up-to-date software and hardware, NTS can simulate a wide variety of real-world environment in which your product may be utilized. Test failures are routinely regressed using industry standard methodologies, and known functional hardware and software. Compatibility testing seeks to verify the compatibility of a vendor’s product specifically with particular hardware or software (e.g., with the operating system, a word processor with a printer, etc.). Interoperability testing, on the other hand, typically focuses on validating “coexistence” (e.g., a word processor and spreadsheet program can both be installed on the same platform without causing problems with the other).
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product
Competitive Analysis
As a manufacturer of computer hardware and/or software, its import to know how well you stack up to your competitors. That’s going to be the first question that your customer are going to want to know about your product – Is it easier to use? Is it faster? Is it better? Do you know? NTS can develop a detailed competitive analysis test plan to help you find out.
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product
Functionality Testing
Are you releasing a new product or revising an existing product? NTS can exercise your product’s functionality throughout the development lifecycle – alpha, beta and/or golden master phases of development. NTS can start by developing comprehensive test plans, detailing test methodologies or you can supply us with a test plan to execute. Functionality testing can be performed on hardware or software products to verify that your product functions as designed.
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product
Localization Testing
NTS’s extensive software library includes a large selection of international applications and operating systems for testing your product (e.g., localized versions of Microsoft Windows 2012 Server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, Linux Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, SuSE, Solaris, etc.). From simple verification that the text in your product is the correct language and does not clip in dialog boxes to translation verification by native language speakers, we can support all of your localization testing needs.
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product
Performance Testing
NTS can perform testing to evaluate the performance of your product. Benchmarking, load/stress testing and scalability all fall under the umbrella of performance testing. Performance and benchmark testing typically includes evaluating a hardware or software product to determine how effective it is at performing its functionality, whatever that may be. For example, a graphics adapter can be measured in frames per second in a popular game, number of smooth shaded triangles per second or similar measures. Comparing the performance of multiple products against each other typically falls under the heading of “competitive analysis testing.”
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product
Quality Assurance Testing
During difficult economic times, one of the first things that seems to get cut back is the quality assurance testing. Although quality assurance is often listed in the unimportant category, it can make a huge impact in your product and your company’s overall revenue and success. The fewer bugs your product ships with, the more your savings. In fact, the cost of fixing anomalies during the design and implementation phase of your development will be less than a quarter of what it will cost once your product has been released. It’s not the job of your customers to identify and test your products for you – unless you’d really like to alienate them and lose their future business. All it takes is one other vendor with a more stable, better designed product to cause your market share to drop like a rock (see WordPerfect vs. Word).
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product
Usability Testing | Look & Feel Testing
NTS can assist you in determining the usability of your product by providing end-user analysis with various user experience (e.g., novice, intermediate, expert, etc.). NTS coined the phrase “Look and Feel” from the term, “User-Centered Design” or (UCD) by Wesley E. Woodson. Woodson defined UCD, “As the practice of designing products so that the user can perform required use, operation, service and supportive tasks with minimum stress and maximum efficiency.” UCD is an in-depth process of analysis of usability both qualitatively and quantitatively that requires a large amount of time and money. And in today’s competitive market, most developers can’t afford this approach.
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product
Website Testing
According to statistics, there are over 2.4 billion people around the world on the Internet today, and there are more than a trillion web pages. As with any other piece of software or hardware, it’s important to evaluate your website before it’s released. Even if it has been released, an independent third-party evaluation may help you determine the issues that your customers/users may be seeing that should be addressed to keep them coming back.
-
product
Compatibility / Interoperability Testing
Compatibility and interoperability testing focuses on exercising the product-under-test under an array of software and hardware variables (e.g., different operating systems, additional software applications, such as web browsers, and hardware, such as graphics adapters, processors, chipsets, etc.). With almost three decades of growth and refinement, NTS’s test methodologies are unparalleled in the area of compatibility and interoperability testing. With our extensive in-house library of up-to-date software and hardware, NTS can simulate a wide variety of real-world environment in which your product may be utilized. Test failures are routinely regressed using industry standard methodologies, and known functional hardware and software. Compatibility testing seeks to verify the compatibility of a vendor’s product specifically with particular hardware or software (e.g., with the operating system, a word processor with a printer, etc.). Interoperability testing, on the other hand, typically focuses on validating “coexistence” (e.g., a word processor and spreadsheet program can both be installed on the same platform without causing problems with the other).
-
product
Competitive Analysis
As a manufacturer of computer hardware and/or software, its import to know how well you stack up to your competitors. That’s going to be the first question that your customer are going to want to know about your product – Is it easier to use? Is it faster? Is it better? Do you know? NTS can develop a detailed competitive analysis test plan to help you find out.
-
product
Functionality Testing
Are you releasing a new product or revising an existing product? NTS can exercise your product’s functionality throughout the development lifecycle – alpha, beta and/or golden master phases of development. NTS can start by developing comprehensive test plans, detailing test methodologies or you can supply us with a test plan to execute. Functionality testing can be performed on hardware or software products to verify that your product functions as designed.
-
product
Localization Testing
NTS’s extensive software library includes a large selection of international applications and operating systems for testing your product (e.g., localized versions of Microsoft Windows 2012 Server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, Linux Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, SuSE, Solaris, etc.). From simple verification that the text in your product is the correct language and does not clip in dialog boxes to translation verification by native language speakers, we can support all of your localization testing needs.
-
product
Performance Testing
NTS can perform testing to evaluate the performance of your product. Benchmarking, load/stress testing and scalability all fall under the umbrella of performance testing. Performance and benchmark testing typically includes evaluating a hardware or software product to determine how effective it is at performing its functionality, whatever that may be. For example, a graphics adapter can be measured in frames per second in a popular game, number of smooth shaded triangles per second or similar measures. Comparing the performance of multiple products against each other typically falls under the heading of “competitive analysis testing.”
-
product
Quality Assurance Testing
During difficult economic times, one of the first things that seems to get cut back is the quality assurance testing. Although quality assurance is often listed in the unimportant category, it can make a huge impact in your product and your company’s overall revenue and success. The fewer bugs your product ships with, the more your savings. In fact, the cost of fixing anomalies during the design and implementation phase of your development will be less than a quarter of what it will cost once your product has been released. It’s not the job of your customers to identify and test your products for you – unless you’d really like to alienate them and lose their future business. All it takes is one other vendor with a more stable, better designed product to cause your market share to drop like a rock (see WordPerfect vs. Word).
-
product
Usability Testing | Look & Feel Testing
NTS can assist you in determining the usability of your product by providing end-user analysis with various user experience (e.g., novice, intermediate, expert, etc.). NTS coined the phrase “Look and Feel” from the term, “User-Centered Design” or (UCD) by Wesley E. Woodson. Woodson defined UCD, “As the practice of designing products so that the user can perform required use, operation, service and supportive tasks with minimum stress and maximum efficiency.” UCD is an in-depth process of analysis of usability both qualitatively and quantitatively that requires a large amount of time and money. And in today’s competitive market, most developers can’t afford this approach.
-
product
Website Testing
According to statistics, there are over 2.4 billion people around the world on the Internet today, and there are more than a trillion web pages. As with any other piece of software or hardware, it’s important to evaluate your website before it’s released. Even if it has been released, an independent third-party evaluation may help you determine the issues that your customers/users may be seeing that should be addressed to keep them coming back.