Testing: Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT) is an environment in which objects (Humans or Machines ) communicate & transfer /exchange data  over a  network.  Growing use of mobile devices has been making   IoT concept  an essential need for humans. Gartner study suggests that by 2020 around 26 B devices will be connected and other similar studies suggest that these numbers could be much higher.

Few Examples for IoT could be :

• ON/OFF Home AC from Remote location
• Home security systems.
• Car operations(theft lock, tracking lock, unlock etc) through Mobile.
• Personalise In Flight using Mobile
• Controlling all house hold devices(TV, washing machine, security cams, switching on/off electricity etc) through mobile via Bluetooth or WIFI.
• POS payment via mobile wallet .
• Smart cities could be a great potential utilizes of IoT (A dream Project of Indian Govt )

And Lot more....... :-)

Technology platforms are moving towards open sources and vendors are willing to exposing APIs for third party usage making IoT concepts feasible. Regulatory organizations are willing working to standardise communication protocol so more and more devices can communicate over network without hassles. 

Testing IoT:

Test Gurus feel that IoT will cause a radical shift from traditional way of testing.  It will require a completely different kind of test bed and strategical thinking.  Majorly, mobile devices will be backbone for IoT . Following points should make it to the list for effective IoT testing :

• Magnitude of Devices : Due to increase in number of mobile devices manufacturers across the globe, it forms the IoT backbone to be able to work with combination of devices. Solutions have to work with or in combination of mobile devices from various manufactures & models. It's not always possible to acquire all different types of devices so one has to look for cloud testing infrastructure like DeviceAnyWhere or perfecto mobile. 
• Communication Protocol Interoperability : IoT has been adopting RFID, Bluetooth, WIFI etc as a communication medium. Testing IOT has to make sure predictive results are produced in combination of correct protocols used by connected devices.
• Security : Billions of devices are connected and hence security becomes a major concern for end users. Testing has to make sure data passes through connected devices remains extremely secure. Backend network should be secure and out of reach of Hackers. When things start get processing the sensitive data like financial & personal data should be fully secured .
• IoT is all about Humans : All connected devices directly or indirectly impact humans ,so the test team has to make sure IoT solutions are real trustworthy and robust. Following facts should be mindfully considered :
• Safety: Make sure systems should be able to operate without any harm to intended users
• Reliability: Systems should be able to deliver services as specified.
•  Availability: systems should be able to deliver services when required.
• Resilience : Systems should have ability to transform ,restart , strong fault tolerance and quick recovery time.

Following standards should make it to the test approach for IoT: 

• IEC61508: Functional Safety of Elctrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety related Systems
• DO178B: Software considerations in airborne systems and equipment certification
• EN50128: Software for railway control and protection systems
• IEC60880: Software aspects for computer-based systems performing category A functions
• IEC62304: Medical device software -- Software life cycle processes
• ISO26262: Road vehicles – Functional safety