University of Illinois System

Quality Assurance Testing

Service Description

The AITS Quality Assurance team provides a variety of software testing services for website, mobile-based, and tablet-based software applications. Below are the different types of testing the AITS Quality Assurance team can provide:

  • Accessibility Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team tests applications for accessibility as mandated by Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA). The IITAA requires Illinois agencies and universities to ensure that their web sites, mobile applications, tablet applications, systems, and other information technology services are accessible to people with disabilities. AITS has developed a suite of tests that combine both manual and automated testing to ensure that a system is accessible. The manual testing process includes a visual review of the application or site for usability and accessibility while also using manual keyboard navigation and page navigation using different screen readers. The following tools may be utilized in the testing process: JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, AInspector, ANDI, aXe, W3C HTML NuValidator, WebAIM Color Contrast Checker, Keyboard only testing, and Manual Code checking.

  • Automated Regression Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team develops automated test scripts when the development of the application is almost complete. These test scripts will be utilized in the future for regression testing. They are based on detailed test cases that were developed as part of the manual functional testing. They automatically test the product to validate and verify the application behaves as specified in the requirements. These tests can be run repeatedly. They can also be used after the project is done in case tests are needed to be run due to software upgrades, system upgrades, hardware upgrades, etc. Testing is done using software tools such as MicroFocus Group (MFG) Unified Functional Tester (UFT) and in-house developed tools.

  • Compatibility Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team tests the application on different browsers and devices. This is different from manual functional testing in that they are checking to make sure the application works correctly and renders correctly. The Types of Devices Tested include: Laptop/Desktop Browsers (Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari), Tablets (iPad and Android), and Phones (iPhone and Android).

  • Manual Functional Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team provides an independent evaluation of the application to ensure it adheres to the system specifications and requirements for the project. Test cases and scenarios are developed to execute complete units of work and actual results are measured against expected results. Other areas also reviewed include screen navigation, and both positive and negative testing (testing for failures and incorrect data). Testing is done manually, and using in-house developed tools. 

  • Performance Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team can run software performance tests to measure software response times, transaction rates, and other time sensitive requirements associated with an application. The goal of Performance testing is to verify that the performance requirements of the application or system have been achieved. Testing is done by using automated testing tools such as IBM Rational Performance Tester, and in-house developed tools.

  • Vulnerability Testing:

The AITS Quality Assurance team uses the HCL AppScan software which is an industry leading tool to navigate through web applications to search for security vulnerabilities found in both application coding as well as application infrastructure. The HCL tool receives feeds from the top security organizations in the industry which provide definitions and tests for the latest vulnerabilities that have been uncovered. Applications are scanned both on a recurring basis as well as when software updates or enhancements are made to an application to maintain security standards. The vulnerabilities identified are rated by the industry based upon their potential to allow data loss, denial of service, or other malicious activities.

Hours of Availability

This service is available to customers during normal business hours. Site-specific and service-specific needs may be coordinated with customers outside of business hours.

Customer Responsibilities

  • A primary point of contact must be identified to work with AITS to coordinate the testing, reporting, and feedback of the activities performed.
  • Support requests related to the use of the service should be initiated by opening an incident or request ticket with the AITS Service Desk.

How Do We Charge?

This service is offered as part of the AITS testing set of services. A base Service Level Agreement for this service is available.