The Different Software Testing Types Explained

With the advent of new technology and new applications being released daily, applications testing is gaining more strength and accolades. Today, testing is imperative and there’s no way we can skip it. Testing and growth will be going hand in hand for a quicker release within this Agile world.

Everybody wants a stable, high-quality and functionally correct software which meets all the requirements it had been intended to fulfill. And this can be accomplished with proper Software Testing which finds any concealed and possible error that might be problematic after the software and then to the customers or the company.

So, let us first discuss testing methods before we proceed to software testing kinds.

Testing Approaches

On a wider level, testing techniques can be divided into two kinds, based on the condition of the application(static or dynamic).

Static Testing (Verification): Verification suggests,”Are we building the product right?”

In Static Testing, code is not executed. Documents such as requirements documents, design documents, code are reviewed and inspection comments are supplied at early stages of Software Lifecycle. It’s a preventative step, which eliminates defects at early phases and hence, the ROI is high.

The program is run and inputs are provided, the actual results are validated against expected outcomes. Defects are found and fixed, it is performed at later phases of the Software Lifecycle. Therefore, the ROI is reduced. If the defect is fixed, it entails more time and is significantly more costly.         

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Examples of Dynamic Testing- Unit testing, System testing, Integration testing, Performance testing, Security testing.

Depending on the methodology or approach, testing techniques can be categorized as below:

Black Box Testing

The Software Program is considered as a black box, and the consumer is not interested in the internal arrangement of this box. The output in the black box is validated from the input provided irrespective of the internal code structure.

Examples

· Boundary Value Evaluation

· Equivalence Partitioning

· Decision Table

· Exploratory Testing

· Error guessing

· White Box Testing

The internal structure and design of this code are known to the consumer; hence all of the logical paths are tested under White Box testing. It is also referred to as Glass Box or Clear Box testing because the consumer understands the inner logic and structure of this code within the box.

Examples

Contains features of Black Box in addition to White Box testing, where the programmer has limited knowledge of the inner structure of the program e.g. data structures and algorithms. Unlike, White Box testing, testers do not have to have full programming understanding.

Grey Box Testing proves to be effective while performing Penetration Testing and Integration Testing. Since both, Penetration and Integration require partial knowledge of the internal structure.

Testing Forms

On a wider level, testing types can be divided into two forms, based on the simple fact that Functional testing deals with the functional specifications or company needs and Non-Functional testing addresses the performance of the program.

But, Non-Functional testing is equally important as useful testing is clearly, nobody is going to want to utilize an application which is not scalable or secure, or let’s say can’t deal with a load of many DB surgeries at an case. Hence, the performance of the application in a variety of areas is tested during Non-Functional testing.

Let’s dig deeper and find out more.

It’s a type of Black Box testing; therefore the inner arrangement and design of code aren’t checked.

Test cases are made, then run on the system and the actual results are confirmed against the anticipated effects.

Types of functional Testing or you may like types of software testing

Unit Testing- Even the most basic unit or part of a program is tested usually by the developer to make sure the smallest testable code is working fine. It is a White Box testing procedure and appears at the bottom of this V-Model, i.e. it’s the first testing type to be completed in SDLC.

Organizing Testing- When a couple of parts or units of the applications are integrated together, they need to interact with each other in the kind of commands, data exchange or DB calls. Integration testing is performed on them as one audience to check that the interaction between them is happening, as expected.

Interface Testing- It comes beneath Integration testing, the correctness of data exchange or transfer between two parts is analyzed in Interface testing.

For e.g.. 1 component creates a .csv file as output, the other associated component procedures the .csv file into XML and sends to the third element. Through this information transfer, the data needs to stay intact and all the elements need to be able to process the document and send the file to the next component successfully.

System Testing- Each of the modules of the application are combined and the entire system is tested as one unit for correctness against the requirement specification.

Regression Testing- Whenever there are several code fixes, or any operation enhancement, the code has been altered. Regression testing ensures that these code changes haven’t injected any new defects in the code and that the previously working functionality is also intact and functioning. 

If any of the significant functionality is broken due to a new build, the construct is rejected and sent again to programmers. This is done to make sure that new code changes haven’t broken any major performance and the build could be taken forward to your next level of testing.

Sanity Testing- it’s normally a subset of Regression evaluations; it’s performed whenever there is a new build released for a secure program. Just after conducting the Sanity test package, the construct is taken forward to your next level of testing. Difference between Smoke and Sanity is- Smoke testing is performed on an initial shaky program, whereas Sanity is performed on a stable program.

User Acceptance Testing- It is the last degree of testing at a V-Model, parallel to this requirement analysis phase. It defines how well the program is approved by the real end-users. The fulfilment of business requirements, by real users, is checked, at a real environment.

During Non-Functional testing, important non-functional facets of the program are analyzed like Security, Scalability, Performance etc..

How well the application will perform under stressful conditions of Database, Users, Data Load etc..

From a user’s perspective, is the application usable, maintainable, scalable and secure to acquire consumer’s confidence and confidence. In this testing, performance parameters like reaction timing, scalability, stability and efficiency of resource use etc. are monitored; hence it’s useful in finding out as soon as the application will degrade. This will help in boosting the program design or architecture in a way that reliability and quick response time is ensured.

Anxiety Testing- Application is exposed to anomalous conditions, which will not occur under normal conditions. Load on the application is increased to the point that it breaks along with the program behaviour is listed. Few questions which are answered through this testing are — How the system behaves under stressful conditions? If it crashed will it be able to recover itself and restart?

Volume Testing- Aim of the testing is to determine how well the system acts when a massive volume of information or information operations are handled by Database. Will the database be able to store and process a huge volume of data? Will there be a problem due to the huge data volume?

Load Testing- The performance of the program under anticipated load as in the actual world is measured. All probable loads on the program are simulated as well as the operation is checked.

For instance, on a standard day, 1000 users are expected to visit a web site, the performance of the website is measured by simulating concurrent 1000 users, this is a normal load during real-world usage. But when a promotion is running, the number of consumers may increase to 2000, in this case, the application is analyzed for a load of 2000 users also because this is anticipated load.

Unlike Anxiety Testing, strange conditions aren’t tested, only the expected load i.e. the load that application is expected to face in the actual world is analyzed on the computer system. If the program dissipates under load, then changes in the architecture could be forced to prevent such bottleneck.

Security Testing- Safety of this application from the point of view of the network, data, system and the application is analyzed. Any non-authorized individual should not be able to access the program and shouldn’t have the ability to get any confidential information. This testing ensures client reliability and assurance in the application. Penetration testing is a good example of Security testing.

Scalability Testing- in the event the application needs to be scalable in future, will the architecture and design allow? For example, if we add more servers, then have more database transactions, increase the consumer load in the future, will our program allow that? This is analyzed under Scalability testing of this application.

Usability Testing- Deals with the usability of the system from an individual’s perspective. Is the consumer able to navigate through the program without any help? The next time, when the user visits the program, is he able to remember the application without any help or difficulty? How effectively a user is able to use the system? These questions are answered through endurance testing.

Maintainability Testing- Designing a program is one thing, and maintaining the program for future growth and requirements is another and equally significant. How well the application accommodates the changes and updates done on the code or system, comes beneath maintainability testing. The program ought to have the ability to execute well on the prioritized environments by the customer.

Manual and Automation Testing

If we categorise the testing services based on the endeavor (machine or human ) we have two broad categories.

Manual Testing

As the name suggests, manual testing is carried out manually by actual men and women. Testers perform manual testing by following the test steps in the evaluation case; clicking, supplying inputs on the application and finally validating the test results. Because humans are directly involved in this procedure, there might be chances of error and it’s going to be time consuming. However, manual testing becomes critical for scenarios where automation testing is not possible.

E.g. Usability Testing — at which the tester is testing the application from the user’s view, or its own user-friendliness.

Automation Testing

Automation testing entails the use of automation programs and scripts to run the test cases automatically, without manual intervention. These tools operate the test cases, record the evaluation results and sometimes log the flaws in the defect tracking tool. Time-consuming and repetitive test cases like regression testing cases are an ideal match for testing.