What is Software Testing & Different Types of Software Testing?

Introduction

We live in an era where technology has become a part and parcel of our lives. We are so dependent on technology that if one of its components is not working fine, we start having troubles. Software is a program or operating information that is used by a computer. When a software is created it is not simply released. There is a series of steps that it follows before it is released for the purpose it has been developed for. There are different types of QA testing in software engineering that can be used based on the nature of the project. The objective of this blog is to give the software testing introduction and to discuss different types of software testing.

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Software Testing Introduction

The purpose of this section is to give a quick software testing introduction. The process of validating and verifying software is called software testing. The purpose of it is to ensure that the software meets the required business as well as technical requirements that led to its design and development. It is also to see that the software works as anticipated. The tester sees that the software can be applied with the same characteristic.

It is a huge process that is carried out to see if the estimated result for which the software was developed meets the actual results that it is yielding or there needs to be a modification. The additional benefit of software testing is that it helps in identifying errors, gaps or missing requirements in opposing the actual requirements. It can be either done by yourself manually or by using programmed tools developed for the same.

Software testing is an essential part of software development because without this process your software is no good to be released for the purpose it was developed for.

Below you can have a look at the various software testing roles:

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What are the benefits of software testing?

You must be wondering as to why you need software testing when you are already done developing software and it has been done keeping in mind the instructions. Well, we have an answer to that. 

• Reliability- It ensures that your software is reliable and is doing what it has been developed for.
• Root cause analysis- If your software fails to meet the designated results it helps you to locate that bug which is causing the malfunction.
• Integrate and function with other existing legacy systems- Any software can not essentially work alone. Every now and then it has to integrate and function with other existing legacy systems, as and when required to be. For such cases, software testing gives a much-wanted reassurance that it will work appropriately and its enactment won’t get affected due to the amalgamation
• It helps the end user- Keeping the end user in mind tests are carried outand any discrepancy is taken care of, which helps you to get a happy and satisfied end user.
• It helps in identifying and fixing bugs- You can identify the problems beforehand and the risk of failure is considerably reduced.

What are the different software testing type?

In this section, we will discuss various software testing categories under which different types of QA testing are discussed.

• Black Box Software Testing

Black box testing is a software testing technique that disregards the internal mechanism of your system and simply focuses on the output which is generated against any input and execution which is given. It is also known as functional testing.

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• White Box Software Testing

White box testing is a software testing technique that takes into consideration the internal functioning of a system. It is also known as structural testing and glass box testing.

Black box testing is often used for validation and white box testing is often used for verification.

Read: What is Software Testing? Type of Software Testing & Why Do We Need It?

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• Functional Software Testing Type

It can be defined as a special type of testing that is used to check different functions of an application as per the requirement specifications. The functional testing focuses on manual and automation testing both. Functional testing is a type of testing that ensures that the definite functionality which is required in the system necessities works. It is a type of black-box testing.

Different types of Functional Testing are given below.

• Non-Functional Software Testing Type 

It is a special type of testing to measure the performance of a system to measure, validate, and verify the attributes of a system. Different types of non-functional testing are given below.

More Different Types of Software Testing

In this section, we will discuss all possible types of software testing either white box, black box, functional, or non-functional.

1. Acceptance Testing: Acceptance testing is the type of testing often conducted by the customer to safeguard that the delivered product meets the requests and works as the customer had expected. It is a type of black- box testing.

2. Accessibility Testing: This type of testing is used to check products that are specifically designed for people having disabilities. It is usually checked by people who are disabled.

3. Active Testing: It is used to check the test data and its execution results. This testing is generally performed by the software testing team.

4. Agile Testing:  This testing is done from the customers’ point of view who are going to use the product in the future. It is done by the testing team.

5. Age Testing: This testing evaluates the performance of a system in the future. The testing process is usually carried by the testing team.

6. Ad-hoc Testing: It is an informal style to detect errors within a software project and it can be done by anyone in the team. Defects identified using ad-hoc testing are not identified by existing test cases.

7. Beta Testing: Beta testing is the type of testing, which is mostly done by end-users, a team outside of development, or publicly releasing the full pre-version of the product which is called the beta version.  The aim of beta testing is to cover up unexpected errors. It is a type of black-box testing.

8. Back-end Testing: For back-end testing, GUI is not involved. Test cases are directly connected with the database and testing can be performed by using a few test queries.

9. Browser Compatibility Testing: This type of testing is usually for web apps to check that software can work well on possible browsers.

Read: What is Unit Testing? Unit Testing Tutorial Guide for Beginners

10. Backward Compatibility Testing: It is a common type of testing where testers have to check whether newly developed software can work with older versions of browsers or not.

11. Boundary Value Testing: This type of testing is used to check if defects occur at boundary values or not. Here, testing is done on the basis of numbers.

12. Branch Testing: This testing is done at the time of unit testing. It makes sure that testing is done deeply by traversing through each of the branches.

13. Comparison Testing: It is used to compare the strengths and weaknesses of newly developed versions with existing versions.

14. Compatibility Testing: It is used to check how a system can behave in a particular environment. This testing makes sure that one software is compatible with different browsers, platforms, network environments, hardware, and more.

15. End-to-End Testing: It is used to check the application in the real world like the interaction of an application with the database, component behavior, and more.

16. Equivalence Testing: It is a type of black-box testing that is used to delete redundant test cases for a particular application that generates the same output but not any defects.

17. Example Testing: It includes real-time scenarios based on the experience of testers.

18. Exploratory Testing: It is used to explore the behavior of an application and to find defects if there is anything. Sometimes, a major defect in the application can cause system failure too.

19. GUI Testing: As the name suggests, this type of testing is used to check the GUI of an application. It checks everything like the alignment of buttons on the screen, color, content, etc.

20. Gorilla Testing: It is used to check the functionality of a module and the overall robustness of an application. It can be done by testers or developers both.

21. Happy Path Testing: It is used to check the positive flow of an application. It does not look for errors or any other negative conditions.

22. Incremental Integration Testing: It is a bottom-up testing approach where continuous testing is performed every time a new module is added.

23. Install/Uninstall Testing: It is used to check the installation or uninstallation process of software for different operating systems or working environments.

Read: Test Case Design Techniques with Examples

24. Integration Testing: Integration testing is a type of testing in which an assemblage of components is combined to produce an output. Also, the interaction between software and hardware is also tested in integration testing.

25. Load Testing: It is used to check the maximum capacity of an application or the maximum load that can be managed by an application.

26. Monkey Testing: It is used to check if an application can accept random inputs or not. Sometimes, applications crash in the case of random inputs/outputs.

27. Mutation Testing: It is a special type of white box testing where a minimal part of the source code is edited without impacting the entire working of an application.

28. Negative Testing: This type of testing is used to check invalid content, data types, or invalid inputs. 

29. Performance Testing: Performance testing is the type of testing, which is done to evaluate the speed and efficiency of the system and to make sure it is producing results within a definite time as in performance requirements. It is a type of black- box testing.

30. Regression Testing: Regression testing is the type of testing done after the alteration of a system, component, or a group of similarly related units to guarantee that the alteration is working appropriately and is not detrimental or imposing further modules to produce bewildering results. It is a type of black- box testing.

31. System Testing: System testing is the type of testing, which is conducted to ensure that by putting the software in altered environments (e.g., Operating Systems) it still works efficiently. It is a type of black box testing.

32. Stress Testing: Stress testing is the type of testing done to assess how a particular system behaves under negative conditions. Testing is conducted at points way beyond the limits of the specifications given. It is a type of black- box testing.

33. Unit Testing: Unit testing of software is the testing of an individual unit or a group of related units of that software. It is a type of white box testing. It is frequently done by the systems analyst to test that the unit he/she has executed is producing a predictable output against the given input.

34. Usability Testing: Usability testing is performed from the viewpoint of the client or end- user, to assess how the GUI is user-friendly? How effortlessly can the client learn from it? After learning how to use it, how expertly can the client accomplish using it? How agreeable is it to use its specific design? It is a type of black- box testing.

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Conclusion

The above-mentioned testing types are only a part of the vast list of testing that exists in the software engineering. They are the few basic ones that are widely and majorly used. You should now have a fair idea as to what testing is and why is it necessary to conduct it. Read the benefits, read the types of testing and decide which one suits your program the best.

Read: Software Testing Tutorial - Study Guide for Every Beginner in 2020