Why Embedded Software Testing Is Important for Your Business

As the market grows in size, embedded software becomes more complex, sometimes requiring millions of lines of code to be written. Oftentimes, embedded software performs mission-critical functions – keeping people safe or even saving lives.

Even minor defects can affect the reliability of the entire system and endanger people’s lives and health so it is hard to overstate the importance of embedded software testing. In today’s post, we’re going to tell you why embedded software testing is important for your business.

And if you want to learn how to partner up with the best embedded software testers, go on to https://sirinsoftware.com/services/embedded-software-development-services/ and check out the website that knows everything about embedded software solutions.

Software testing can require lots of resources like time and money, and for managing that, we recommend you to use resource management software. 

Software Testing Methods

There are a huge variety of testing methods and techniques, but it is important to understand which ones work best when testing embedded software. According to research conducted by Sirinsoftware, the reproduction of a bug in the case of firmware is usually associated with the interaction of several devices.

Nearly 40% of respondents noted that complex scenarios involving the interaction of various devices are more common than large databases and scenarios consisting of long sequences of events.

The most commonly used testing methods that can turn a Challenger or Follower into a Leader include an automated test environment (3rd party or in-house), a remotely accessible test lab with the necessary hardware, and continuous integration with automated tests and reports for each build.

Interestingly, on average, the least used methods also include continuous integration and remote test labs, as well as smoke test automation for each build of the source code.

This is why continuous testing is important. It not only enables the production of quality software solutions, but also helps to raise awareness of quality and build a quality culture within the company.

Why Embedded Software Testing is Important

Compliance with industry standards is not something you can neglect or do later; it is an integral part of the embedded software development process. For some industries, such as avionics, automotive, and healthcare, strict adherence to quality standards in the development of complex and trouble-free embedded systems is becoming a vital condition for bringing a product to market.

Traditionally, testing has played an important role in the development of embedded systems for standards-driven industries. However, in recent years, established practices and testing processes, their place and role in such projects have changed significantly.

It has dramatically changed all the rules of the game, and when the rules of the game change, you have to change with them in order to win.

With the constant development of new, cutting-edge technologies, companies need to quickly bring products to market that are reliable, secure, easy-to-use, and compatible with other systems – just so they don’t get lost in the rapidly changing technological world.

In such a situation, the traditional waterfall model, where the software development process is strictly sequential and testing is performed at the very end of it, is becoming a thing of the past. DevOps and Agile methods are gaining popularity because they allow engineers to perform tasks that used to follow each other at the same time.

Research conducted by Sirinsoftware shows that this evolution of the role of testing in the software development cycle is of great importance. With a constant shortage of time, manufacturers still cannot sacrifice the quality, reliability, and safety of their products.

For example, unmanned vehicles, which are widely discussed today, are a source of increased danger, which means they require strict adherence to standards. Embedded testing is a must as well, as almost all IoT and Connectivity solutions are based on embedded technologies.

All industries strive for innovation, rapid development, and parallelization of processes, and this makes firmware testing even more important. Healthcare, where standards are traditionally very high, is characterized by a huge demand for complex and ultra-precise algorithms – such as the automatic heart rate recognition algorithm for an innovative defibrillator.

New smart hospital systems, smart medical equipment, and wearable devices that appear almost every day also need to be safe and reliable.

That’s why the medical staff is required to take up ACLS certification courses to tackle the challenge of advanced first-aid using the latest tools available.

Speaking of security, one cannot fail to mention the sphere of finance and the growing interest in biometrics. Fingerprint and retinal scanning, voice, and face recognition are what will be used to identify users instead of the usual passwords that we are so used to.

But before allowing firmware to scan your retina, manufacturers need to make sure it’s up to standard and resilient to cyber threats that are getting bigger and more sophisticated these days.

That’s why you need to make sure to partner with reliable embedded software developers that can help you in building, testing, implementing, maintaining your software and thus helping your business grow and thrive.