For the banking sector, where software reliability is paramount, the stakes are even higher. Banking applications handle sensitive financial data and high volumes of transactions, making them prone to critical bugs and performance issues that can lead to significant financial and reputational losses.
Manual testing alone is no longer sufficient to detect and mitigate these issues. As the demand for reliability and efficiency grows, banking app developers are turning to automation testing to enhance the quality and accelerate their testing processes. Yet, one critical question remains: how much of the application’s code needs to be tested? Is striving for 100% test coverage always feasible, or should financial institutions focus on testing the most critical areas likely to cause significant problems?
The test coverage metrics measure how much of an application has been tested, providing a clear indicator of testing scope and thoroughness. In this article, we delve into essential test coverage techniques tailored for banking apps, helping businesses strike the right balance between comprehensive testing and efficiency.
What is Test Coverage in Banking App?
Test coverage refers to the measurement and evaluation of the extent to which the banking app’s codebase, features, and functionalities are tested during the software development lifecycle (SDLC). It serves as a critical metric to ensure the app performs reliably, securely, and efficiently, meeting both user expectations and regulatory requirements.
Given the complexity of banking applications—which often involve integrations with multiple systems, APIs, and third-party services—comprehensive test coverage helps identify gaps in testing and mitigate risks. It answers essential questions like:
- How much of the app’s code has been executed during tests?
- Are all critical workflows, such as fund transfers, account balance checks, or transaction history queries, thoroughly tested?
- Have edge cases and potential vulnerabilities been addressed?
Test Coverage vs. Code Coverage
Test coverage | Code coverage | |
Definition | A broad metric that evaluates the extent to which the software’s functionalities and scenarios are covered by tests. It ensures that all use cases and features of the app are adequately tested. | A narrower metric measures the proportion of the app’s source code that is executed during testing. It identifies untested code areas to ensure the software’s internal logic is fully validated. |
Key Aspects | – Functional Testing – Cross-Browser Testing – End-to-End Scenarios | – Line Coverage – Branch Coverage – Path Coverage |
Importance in Banking Apps | Test coverage ensures critical workflows (e.g., fund transfers, loan applications) are tested for user functionality and compliance. | Code coverage ensures every code segment, including edge cases like interest calculation formulas, is executed to avoid logical errors. |
Key Test Coverage Techniques for Banks to Consider
Effective test coverage techniques help identify potential risks and gaps in the app, ensuring smooth operation under all conditions. Below are various test coverage techniques that can be used to ensure banking apps meet the required quality standards.
1. Product Coverage
Product coverage measures various parts or modules of a product have been tested.
Let’s consider a loan application feature in banking software. The core functionality of this feature would involve submitting a loan request, checking eligibility, and receiving approval. However, there could be additional factors that require testing, such as:
- How does the banking app handle different loan amounts?
- Does the app correctly display varying interest rates?
- Can it calculate monthly payments accurately based on the loan type?
To enhance product coverage, developers can prioritize testing based on the most critical user interactions, create a checklist of testing requirements, and use effective test automation to streamline the process.
2. Risk Coverage
Since banking apps handle sensitive data and transactions, mitigating risks in critical areas is essential. This test coverage technique helps allocate testing resources and tests them thoroughly by focusing on high-priority areas.
In banking software, a critical risk area often involves the payment gateway integration, as it directly impacts the ability to process payments securely and accurately. The risk coverage for this feature can be categorized into four zones based on their likelihood and potential impact:
- Very Likely Scenario with High Impact—It Must Be Tested
Example: A user initiates a payment, but the transaction fails to complete, leading to duplicate charges or incorrect deductions.
Test focus: Transaction integrity—ensure correct amounts are debited and credited without discrepancies.
- Unlikely Scenario with High Impact—It Should Be Tested
Example: Cross-border payments where the gateway incorrectly calculates exchange rates or fails to comply with country-specific regulations.
Test focus: Cross-border transactions—validate the handling of multi-currency payments and exchange rate calculations.
- Very Likely Scenario with Low Impact—It Could Be Tested if There is Time
Example: Minor delays in updating transaction status in the user’s app after payment completion.
Test focus: UI/UX testing—ensure the app communicates transaction statuses clearly, even with slight delays.
- Unlikely Scenario with Low Impact—Testing is Not Required
Example: The gateway temporarily rejects an uncommon payment method that is rarely used.
No test focus, as testing these scenarios would require disproportionate effort for minimal value.
3. Compatibility Coverage
Device fragmentation presents a significant challenge for firms, especially in the banking sector, as compatibility issues can severely impact the user experience and the banking app’s performance.
The compatibility test coverage technique addresses this challenge by ensuring that the banking app functions seamlessly across diverse environments and delivers a consistent user experience.
Different categories of compatibility testing in banking apps include:
- Browser Testing: Ensures the banking app performs consistently across various web browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
- Hardware Testing: Verifies that the banking app operates effectively on devices with varying hardware configurations, such as differences in CPU, memory, or screen resolution.
- Software Testing: Tests the banking app’s interoperability with other software applications and systems, such as integration with financial tools or payment gateways.
- Network Testing: Assesses the app’s performance under different network conditions, including 3G, 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi.
Mobile Testing: Validates the app’s performance and functionality across various mobile devices and operating systems, such as Android and iOS.
4. Requirements Coverage
Requirements coverage is arguably the most essential of the techniques that banks are covering today due to the high number of regulatory and functional requirements that need to be met. This technique ensures that the app’s functional requirements are fully tested.
Test cases are created based on the app’s functional requirements (e.g., transferring funds, checking account balance). Each requirement should have corresponding test cases that verify its functionality. This technique ensures all key business functions of the banking app work as expected. Helps verify compliance with regulations such as KYC (Know Your Customer), GDPR, PCI DSS, and more.
5. Branch Coverage
Branch coverage is a critical test coverage technique used to measure the percentage of decision points or branches in an application’s code that have been executed during testing. In the context of a banking app, branches represent points in the code where the app can take different actions based on conditions or decisions, such as approving or rejecting a loan application, executing a transaction, or displaying error messages.
Achieving high branch coverage improves confidence in the app’s reliability, especially in a domain as critical as banking, where precision and correctness are paramount. Branch coverage is expressed as a percentage, calculated as:
Branch Coverage = (Total number of branches/Number of branches executed) × 100
6. Boundary Value Coverage
Boundary Value Coverage is a crucial testing technique for banking applications, focusing on validating the app’s behavior at the edges of input ranges. This method is particularly significant for financial systems where precise calculations and data handling are essential. The technique operates on the premise that errors are more likely to occur at boundary values than within the standard operating range.
This technique involves creating test cases that focus on values at or near the boundaries of input ranges. It typically includes four categories:
- Lower Boundaries: Test cases with inputs at the minimum valid value or just below it.
Example: Testing a minimum transfer amount of $10 by entering $9.99 and $10.
Purpose: To detect issues in handling lower limit conditions.
- Upper Boundaries: Test cases with inputs at the maximum valid value or just above it.
Example: Testing a maximum daily withdrawal limit of $5,000 by entering $5,000 and $5,001.
Purpose: To identify problems related to exceeding upper limits.
- Within Boundaries: Test cases with inputs well within the valid range.
Example: Testing a loan eligibility age range of 18 to 65 by entering 30.
Purpose: To ensure the app performs correctly for typical inputs and scenarios.
- Invalid Boundaries: Test cases with inputs just outside the valid range or completely invalid values.
Example: Entering -$1 or $5,001 in fields with valid input ranges.
Purpose: To verify the banking app’s ability to handle invalid inputs through error messages or validation mechanisms.
Applying boundary value coverage in banking app testing increases the chances of detecting edge-case issues, thereby improving the overall quality, reliability, and user experience of the application.
How to Measure Test Coverage in a Banking App?
Test coverage in a banking application is crucial to ensure the app’s functionality, security, and compliance with regulatory standards. Given the critical nature of banking operations, achieving comprehensive test coverage involves evaluating various aspects of the app, such as transactional processes, user authentication, and data validation.
Test Coverage Formula
Test Coverage = (Number of Tested Items / Total Items to Test) × 100%
Items to test in a banking application may include lines of code, features, user stories, or requirements. For example, if there are 1,000 testable requirements and 800 of them are tested, the test coverage would be 80%.
Leverage Automation Tools
Test automation plays a critical role in enhancing test coverage during the banking app testing process, enabling software development teams to evaluate a broader range of product features more efficiently. By automating test cases, QA engineers can focus on designing high-quality test scenarios while ensuring comprehensive test coverage throughout the entire development lifecycle.
Automated testing tools can help measure test coverage by tracking which parts of the code, features, or requirements are exercised during testing. Banking apps often use tools like:
- Code Coverage Tools: These tools, such as JaCoCo or Cobertura, track which parts of the codebase are executed during testing.
- Requirement Traceability Tools: Tools like JIRA or Zephyr ensure all specified banking requirements are linked to test cases and covered.
Making the Most Out of Test Coverage Techniques
Banks operate in a high-stakes environment where reliability, security, and compliance are non-negotiable. Ensuring top-notch performance of banking applications is critical, and this requires comprehensive test coverage to identify and address potential issues.
By partnering with KMS Solutions, banks can leverage expert testing services and advanced tools to make the most of test coverage techniques. The company can collaborate closely with banks to design customized test coverage strategies that align with their unique needs. Moreover, with KMS advanced automation testing frameworks, we can help BFSI businesses execute large volumes of test cases across complex systems and address issues early in the development lifecycle; hence, reducing risks and costs.
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