GUI testing and what it is all about

It is by nature that all products undergo a series of quality checks before they are released for public use or consumption. The same is true for software products and the process is called GUI testing. GUI means graphical user interface. It refers to the graphical components of a specific software program. Examples of these are the textboxes, menus, scrollbars, and many others.You might wonder why both developers and users need to check GUI. The reason behind this is simple. Mistakes are something that cannot be avoided, thus it pays to review any piece of work. It must be noted that software applications are also subject to flaws. There might be complex codes there that would result to some unexpected conflicts within the application. Remember that one absence of the GUI could be a disaster. Just imagine an application without an open button. Hence, testing the GUI would prove beneficial to the user and most especially to the developer. Software companies would be very careful on this matter, as they would not want to displease their clients.There are five major purposes of testing the GUI – user-friendliness, consistency, functionality, effectiveness, and relevance. Consistency is very important. The placement of the GUI elements in your software program must be consistent all throughout the running status of the application. Checking the functionality of all the GUI elements present in your program is also a must do. This means that you need to test all buttons and menus whether they are in working state. The three other purposes – user-friendliness, relevance, and effectiveness – these all work together. The explanation here is that whenever a menu is by itself effective, then naturally it is good for the user. Reviewing relevance would likewise reduce the presence of unnecessary or redundant GUIs in your application.Meanwhile, the whole process of testing GUI can be very tedious and it usually takes so much time before it is completed. This is where automation of the test process comes in. It has been said that automation cuts down the long process of the typical testing period. However, separate software is needed for this to materialize. An independent body must be created to check on every aspect of the application. This means from start, error handling, file saving, and database access. The automated GUI test program would resemble real usage of the application. This kind of GUI test will check all cases. The process verifies the consistency and wholeness of the program. It must be noted though that automated GUI tests cannot run independently as they need the blueprint of the software for them to work. This blueprint refers to the application manual, which contains all information on why the application exists and even what the user wants. It also contains data on how to run and maintain the application.In summary, there is a great need for software applications to undergo GUI testing. Regardless if it is automated or not, developers are still responsible in ensuring the effectiveness of their products. Users, on the other hand, must make it a habit to check the quality of the software products they purchase. Nobody, either a user or developer, wants a low-quality application to begin with.