What is software testing?
Software testing is essentially examining the functionality of a particular software to identify any possible bugs. This process checks whether the software is up to standard and detects any issues or flaws in the application before it is executed. In other words, software testing allows developers to understand the quality of a software product.
It is necessary to test a software product as it is cost effective in the long run, makes the application much more secure for the end-users, ensures that the software product is of high quality and provides an optimal customer experience. Identifying the flaws and the risks beforehand makes it easier for developers to fix them and ensure that the software runs seamlessly.
Types of Software Testing:
For completing any software project successfully it is important to carry out tests. To pick the appropriate software testing type there are many factors that need to be considered such as requirements of the project, budget, expertise available and most importantly the amount of time you can spend on software testing.
There are four broad types of software testing, which are:
- Manual Testing:
- Automation Testing:
- Functional testing:
- Non-functional testing
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Manual Testing:
Manual testing is that software testing process wherein it is manually verified whether the software product is functioning efficiently without any defects. Documents containing all the vital information about how the software is supposed to work, helps manual testers know what classifies as a defect in the software, as the main aim is to make the software bug free. For carrying out manual testing, the software testers need to write detailed test cases to ensure the test execution is smooth. This type of testing is great when the software needs to be tested only once.
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Automation Testing:
Automated testing is that software testing process wherein specific software tools are utilised to manage the execution of tests and compare the test results with the expected results from a software product. Automation testing is known for improving test accuracy and increasing test coverage. It also enables parallel testing, wherein it tests multiple software applications or parts of an application at once. This type of software testing is great when you need to test a software product repeatedly.
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Functional Testing:
Functional Testing is that type of software testing which validates whether all functions of a particular software product are operating in accordance with the specified requirement. This type of testing includes black box testing and is not concerned with the application’s source code. Functional testing checks User Interface (UI), Security, Database, APIs, Communication with Client / Server and other Application features Under Review. The test may either be performed manually or by automation.
The various types of Functional Testing Include:
- Unit Testing: This type of testing involves evaluation of individual components or units of a software product. The aim is to ensure that all the components of a software are performing accurately. Unit testing helps make the code reusable and quickens the development process by finding and fixing defects in every single component of the application.
- Integration Testing: This type of testing involves combining the individual units of a software and evaluating them as a group. The aim of integration testing is to find the defects caused by the interaction between these integrated components.
- System Testing: This type of software testing involves multiple test methods and is used with respect to software, hardware, and networks to assess the program as a whole. It normally checks the completely integrated software application to analyze exclusively from end to end system specifications.
- Interface Testing: The term interface refers to a connection between two different components. In an application this interface includes APIs, servers, web services, database and so on. Interface testing focuses on checking the communication between various components and systems of an application. This type of testing ensures that the servers are executed properly so that the application is user-friendly.
- Regression Testing: This type of testing evaluates the stability of a software application when the requirements are modified. It is done to ensure that a change in code within the program does not affect the product ‘s current features. In regression testing, the test cases are re-executed to check that the original code of the application is functioning properly, and that no new bugs have been introduced by the added alterations.
- User Acceptance Testing: This type of testing is carried out by the client to check whether the software product is in alignment with their requirements. This test will determine whether the end-users will use this software product and if the product will be accepted or rejected by the client.
- Non-Functional Testing:
Going by its name, non-functional testing tests the non-functional aspects of a software product such as its reliability, integrity, efficiency, flexibility, interoperability, performance, scalability and usability. The aim of carrying out non-functional software testing is to lower the risks and costs related to the non-functional aspects of an application and to improve customer satisfaction. Non-functional testing allows developers to improve how an application is installed, executed, set-up, managed and tracked. Non-functional testing needs to be carried out after functional testing.
The various types of Non-Functional Testing Include:
- Performance Testing: This type of software testing examines the response time, reliability, speed, resource usage and the scalability of a software application under their expected workload. Performance Testing is not aimed at identifying functional flaws but at removing performance bottlenecks in the software product.
- Installation Testing: Installation testing helps the software development team to ensure that there are no issues during the installation process. This type of testing is carried out to check whether the application is installed along with all of its vital features and that the end user will be able to install the software application without any hassle.
- Documentation Testing: Usually software documentation encompasses a test plan, the test cases, test logs, test procedures and a requirements section. This type of software testing helps developers to estimate test coverage and the testing efforts required for a particular software product.
- Security Testing: Security testing verifies whether the software product or application of an organisation is loophole free. This type of software testing is all about finding all the weaknesses a software product can possibly have that may lead to loss of information. Security guarantees that the software applications are safe from any security risks or complications that could cause failure.
- Reliability Testing: Reliability testing analyses whether the software can perform a fault-free operation in a given environment for a specified period of time. This type of testing helps developers check if there are any issues in software’s functionality or design.
The software testing types mentioned in this guide are simply a fraction of all the testing types. Though there are over hundreds of software testing types, not all software projects need all these tests. These types are the core of software testing and are much more versatile in comparison to other processes.
