What is a parallel database and explain how it works?

What is Parallel Testing? (Definition, Approach, Example)

Most companies, especially the one who develops small-sized applications are still ignorant to parallel testing. However, what these companies don't comprehend is the future is changing dynamically. Nowadays, users want an extensive range of functions in a single application. To cater to users' demands, you are bound to expand your applications in the coming times. When the stakes are high, and time-in-hand is low, then parallel testing is the answer.
This article attempts to give you a fair idea about the importance of parallel testing, its implementation, and how it can change the landscape of testing solutions.

What is Parallel Testing?

Parallel testing is a semi-automated testing process that focuses on cloud technology and virtualization. It allows you to test several configurations of an app at the same time. The primary goal is to build a robust and budget-friendly product at a small time frame without compromising in quality.
You can run parallel testing on a single application or several components on multiple platforms. It allows you to test the app, subcomponents such as OS, browsers, or even both.
You can use both real and virtual testing machines for this test. However, parallel testing is commonly used on separate virtual machines within the cloud. Regardless of what testing medium you choose, parallel testing allows you to run more tests than sequential testing.
It is considered a semi-automated testing process because you may execute it using manual and automation techniques. For example, you need a dedicated tester for the manual part, whose work is to interact with the application through the main computer. In the automation phase, the software under test connected is set to run automatically and test several test environments without any human interaction.

Example of Parallel Testing

Let's give you an idea of sequential testing before moving to parallel testing.
Let's assume you have written an automation test script to check the functionality of the sign-in form of your web application or site. You want to execute this test on more than fifty browsers and various OS combinations.
Assuming each test runs for 2 minutes, it would take 120 minutes to complete the whole test process. Now, remember that it takes up to 2 hours to test only one module. Imagine how much time it will take if you perform the test on all modules such as pricing, contact form, transaction, and other site functionalities.
Even if you automate the process, it will take a lot of time to complete the test in sequential testing as you have to run them one after the other.
Now, with parallel testing, you can run 'n' numbers of parallel tests simultaneously. For example, if you decide to run three tests, the execution time will be cut down to 40 minutes from 120 minutes. Similarly, it will reduce to 30 minutes if you run four tests simultaneously and so on.