Software testing is an activity that checks the quality of software and makes it better by finding bugs and fixing them. It is one of the most important parts of the software testing life cycle (STLC). The goal is not just to fix errors or bugs but also to ensure that the software meets the client’s needs and lives up to their expectations. This article will tell you everything you need to know about software testing, such as what is software testing, the types of Software Testing, the life cycle of software testing, what is a test case in software testing and so on.
What Is Software Testing?
Testing software is the act of discovering errors in a manufactured product. It also checks to see if the real results match the expected results and help find bugs, missing requirements, or gaps.
Testing is the second-to-last step before a product goes on sale. It involves looking at, thinking about, observing, and rating different product parts.
Professional software testers use both manual testing and tools that do the testing for them automatically. After running tests, the testers tell the development team what they found. The end goal is to give the customer a good product, which is why testing software is so important.
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The Fundamentals of Software Testing
The pillars of software testing are the software testing principles, which every tester should know. These rules help every tester keep in mind the testing goals. Seven testing principles help testing teams understand their goals and use their time and energy best. The 7 rules are talked about in detail.
- Testing Confirms The Presence of Faults – Tests are done on every piece of software before it goes into production. Depending on what needs to be tested, there are many different tests. The goal of testing is not just to say that the application is bug-free but also to find as many hidden bugs as possible by using different testing methods. Finding mistakes and fixing them will help make an application that meets the client’s needs.
- Initial Testing – Testing should start early in the SDLC because it cuts down on how much it costs to fix mistakes that don’t need to be fixed. It should start with determining what has to be done.
- Exhaustive Testing is A Fallacy – Exhaustive testing is testing a programme or software with all valid and invalid inputs and all preconditions. No application can be tested in every possible way. Extensive testing requires a lot of time and effort and rarely works.
The tester can only test a few cases before deciding that the application meets the client’s needs and is ready to use.
- Clustering of Defects – When there is defect clustering, there are a lot of bugs in a small number of modules. During testing, errors, bugs, or defects are usually found in a certain function. There may be less wrong with the rest of the functions. This means that the problems in an application are not spread out in the same way. Errors may be grouped or grouped around a few functions. The term for this is “defect clustering.” The 80-20 rule, also called the Pareto rule, says this.This suggests that 80% of the issues are contained in 20% of the modules. If the testers classify the bugs, they can figure out where they might be in certain functions.
- Testing in Relation To Context – On the market, there are several applications. Every app fits into a certain domain. Each application in that area may have more than one function, feature, user interface, etc. The testing process will be based on how the application was built.
- Pesticide Dilemma – Over time, the same test cases are used over and over again when testing software. These test cases stop finding new bugs after a specified length of time. So, testers should review these test cases and keep them up to date to find new bugs.
- Fallacy: Absence of Error – Testers shouldn’t be obsessed with ensuring an app is 99% error-free and should use different testing methods and test cases. The work will be pointless because it might not meet the customer’s needs. They should ensure that the application fits the requirements of the customer.
Software Testing Types
In general, testing is divided into two categories: functional testing and non-functional testing.
- Functional Testing
Functional testing in software testing examines the functional features of an application. You must test every functionality when executing functional tests.You need to assess whether you are getting the desired results. There are numerous functional testing types, including:
- Unit Testing – Unit testing is testing each part or module of your software project. To do this testing, you need to know how to write code. So testers don’t do these kinds of tests; only programmers do. Unit testing is something you have to do a lot because you should test every single piece of code in your project.
- Integration Testing – After assembling the modules, you must test them to ensure they function properly. This is referred to as integration testing. Unit tests are more crucial than integration tests. Jasmine, Mocha, and other similar tools are excellent for unit and integration testing.
- End-to-End Testing – End-to-end testing makes sure that the whole software system works right. End-to-end testing involves examining the entire software application.End-to-end tests need to be done less often than integration tests.
- Regression Testing -If you must alter a component, module, or function, ensure that the entire system continues to function after the modifications. Regression testing refers to testing the entire system following these modifications.
- Black Box Testing – A company’s quality assurance (QA) team can evaluate an app’s functionality using black box testing without needing to understand the app’s internal structure, the reasoning behind the app’s code, or anything else that could require technical knowledge.
- White Box Testing – White box testing is a way to test an application requiring the development team to know much about the code. It demands a thorough comprehension of how the app operates.
- Sanity Testing – When the testers receive a new build, they conduct a sanity test as a preliminary examination. Unscripted and a subset of regression testing. This testing employs a focused and comprehensive strategy.
- Smoke Testing – A smoke test determines whether the application or build is sufficiently stable for further testing. This test is also known as a “confidence test” or “build verification test.”
- Interface Testing – Interface testing checks the user interface and ensures that customers won’t have any problems using the app.
- Acceptance Testing – The client does the acceptance and beta testing to ensure the software application is ready to market.The beta testing is conducted in the actual world. Acceptance testing ensures the product doesn’t fail and all business requirements have been met.
- Non- Functional Testing
Non-functional testing checks how well the application works, how safe it is, and how easy it is to use. Testing like this helps to make the application better. Non-functional testing is performed with the assistance of tools, not manually. Non-functional testing comes in many forms, such as:
- Performance Testing – The purpose of performance testing in software testing is to determine whether the software’s performance is satisfactory. Some performance testing tools examine your app’s performance and identify performance concerns. By fixing these issues, you will be able to enhance the efficiency of your software programme.
- Compatibility Testing – Compatibility testing aims to verify that a program runs smoothly on a wide range of computers and in various software and network configurations.It verifies that the developed software programme is compatible with various configurations.
- Load Testing – A performance test called load testing determines how much stress a system can handle before the performance starts to suffer. We can ascertain a system’s load-bearing capacity by doing load tests.
- Usability Testing – Usability testing is the evaluation of an application’s user-friendliness. It entails analysing the usability or user-friendliness of the application. It is determined whether any user can operate your software without stumbling.Inviting a few people to test your programme’s usability is one of the most effective techniques. Determine if they can accomplish particular tasks in your app without your assistance.
- Scalability Testing – The scalability test determines whether the software can be upgraded. In other words, it checks to see if your app works well when there are a lot of users, a lot of data, or transactions. Software that is not scalable could cost a company a lot of money.
- Reliability Testing –The software testing that looks at reliability is known as reliability testing. In other words, it ensures that the software doesn’t have any bugs and can be relied on.
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Life Cycle of Software Testing
When testing software, it’s important to follow a specific sequence of steps known as the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) to ensure that quality goals are met. STLC also incorporates validation and verification processes. Contrary to popular belief, testing software is comprised of multiple distinct phases. It’s a set of tasks that must be completed in specific order to prove that your app is legitimate. The term “Software Testing Life Cycle” is abbreviated as STLC.” The following are the six stages that make up every Software Testing Life Cycle Model (STLC Model):
- Requirement Analysis
- Test Planning
- Test Case Development
- Test Environment Setup
- Test Execution
- Test Cycle Closure
- Requirement Analysis – Requirements analysis is one of the most crucial parts of a project because problems can be fixed almost for free. During the requirements analysis phase, it is also possible to find out if automated testing is needed and to make cost-effective calculations of labour costs based on an estimate of the project. At this time, the Entry and Exit Criteria are also discussed and written down.
Entry and exit criteria are needed at all stages of the STLC when testing software. Entry Criteria tell you what to do before starting the testing, and Exit Criteria tell you what to do to finish it. In an ideal situation, you shouldn’t move on to the next testing stage until all of the Exit Criteria for the previous stage have been met.
- Test Planning – At this stage, a plan for testing is made. This step is where all the testing details, such as timing, participants, and responsibilities, are written down. Because of this, we get information about the following:
- Who is testing, and what are their roles
- The testing tools they need
- The test environment is needed
- Test Case Development – During test development, human and automated testing are used to cover all of the software’s features and functions, depending on the requirements set.Typically, cheat sheets are used to specify the scenarios for manual testing. However, the test cases for testing automation are typically created separately. Each goes through a unique creation, verification, and revision process called the “Test Case Life Cycle.”
- Test Environment Setup – The testing environment is specified in the test plan.During this STLC phase, operating systems and virtual machines are set up, testing tools such as Selenium and Katalon Studio are installed, and a test environment and database are made. We also submit DevOps and Admin requests for assistance.
- Test Execution – Tests are done using test documentation already made and a test environment set up correctly. Every test’s results are kept track of by the Test Management System. Negatively passed tests—those where the outcome was not anticipated—are flagged as errors and forwarded to the development team so the script can be modified and retested.
- Test Cycle Closure – The final step of the STLC is creating the client’s final test reports. These should contain the amount of time spent, the number of errors identified and corrected, and the ratio of identified errors to positive test results. As far as the testing unit is concerned, now is the time to go over its work, sum up its results, look at how productive it has been, and come up with ways to improve testing quality.
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The Bottom Line
I hope you gained valuable software testing knowledge. You also understand all software testing. Thus, no single testing method meets all needs. The greatest companies use many testing methods throughout the development cycle. Software testing follows a life cycle. It contains six steps with entry and exit criteria determining when software testers can advance. Software testing is crucial to modern software development because it may save money, boost profit, improve customer happiness, ensure reliability, reduce maintenance costs, and inspire confidence. For more details visit 3RI Technologies
