COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of work throughout the world. Now, more
and more employees are working remotely. Even companies have updated their
infrastructure accordingly to support this new way of work. This trend will continue after the
pandemic as well. So, software testing companies need to have an infrastructure along with proper
policies for the workforce to follow uniformly.
An industry that has suffered the most as a result of working remotely is Software Testing.
This issue is deeper than just a change of physical space. The most obvious challenge that
remote work presents is the lack of deliverable at everyone’s disposal. It is very probable
that the employees of this industry may not have the necessary equipment at home that they
need for their jobs. This includes specialized hardware, specific machines, and a special
software environment.
The second challenge is proper access to fast and reliable internet. This can pose a
challenge too, especially when all the people are working from different geographical
regions.
There is also a large number of employees who prefer working from home. However, one
cannot deny the fact that it requires a combination of both effort and coordination, from the
employers as well as the employees. Teamwork like communication, accessibility to
resources, and brainstorming ideas is easy to do in person. However, it might not be the
same in an online space. It becomes difficult to make sure that everyone is on the same
page.
The factors to deal with working remotely are discussed below, along with possible solutions
to combat them.
1. Connectivity: the survey above makes it clear that connectivity is an issue among
employees. Every Software Testing company should be active to help their
employees with their network system’s connectivity. This is the first step to ensure a
fully functional remote working environment. The amount and nature of help that the
employees need may differ. Some might need help installing networks, while others
may require assistance setting up and maintaining the entire infrastructure.
Nevertheless, the company should make sure no one is facing any problem.
2. Security: Setting up a virtual environment on Microsoft or any Cloud infrastructure is
very important. Doing so will ensure that every engineer can log in securely and
access the company’s central system from their home computer. To address the
issue of security, speed and efficiency on behalf of the IT departments is needed .
They should add or renew licenses for all the employees who are working from
home. Even using a commercial-grade VPN can manage any remote access
requirements that the employees need.
Also, Zoom’s enterprise version should be used as it has better security as sessions
and channels can be password protected.
3. Test Environments: Cloud services have become popular, and helpful. This is
because they mould the entire testing process into something easier and simpler.
They make it more streamlined for the business. Companies use cloud-based
software testing tools to instill a collaborative environment which is easier to
navigate. However, they have their own disadvantages. For instance, still test
environments that are machine-specific cannot be run through cloud services. This
means that the team would either need a device for testing or may have to visit the
office if their local laws permit.
Despite all this, cloud-based solutions are still more feasible in testing. Implementing
these software testing tools can benefit businesses to a large extent if they are
working remote.
