What is Software Testing?- Definition, Types with details.

When a chef works on a fresh menu, he samples every new product to ensure it is perfect. When the crew prepares the airplane for departure, the airport management takes out a jog around the terminal, whilst the pilots check the cockpit before takeoff. Likewise, every business process relies heavily on Quality Assurance, to ensure that everything works well. Similarly, when it comes to the software industry, software testing plays an important role as it helps organizations across the world to test its software/application for errors/bugs and fix them. 

So, what is software testing?

Testing is a vital part of software development. Software testing is a way of checking whether the actual software product satisfies the required specifications and guarantees a fault-free product. It involves the process of implementing a program with an intention to find a flaw. I must also add that the program should be bugs/error-free for the software or application to work perfectly. When checks are successfully carried out, bugs are eliminated. Various forms of software testing are conducted to achieve specific aims when evaluating an application or a software product.

 Types of software testing

There are different types of software testing and each type has its characteristics and objective. The purpose of having different types of testing is to approve the application for the specified test objective. Here, we explain some major types of software testing that are implemented in the software development lifecycle.

• Functional testing

Functional testing is a type of software testing that validates the system against functional requirements. The functional tests are intended to test the functions of the software program by supplying the correct input and verifying the output to review the performance for functional requirements. Functional testing requires mostly black box testing. This test examines the user interface, APIs, database, protection, communication between client and server, as well as any other functionality of the application. Functional testing can be performed manually or automated.

• Unit testing

Unit testing is one of the main forms of software testing where a single unit or set of associated units is tested. A unit may be a function, operation, module, or entity by itself. Unit testing is also known as a white-box test. The developer often checks the unit that has been modified generates an anticipated result from the given data. Today, Unit testing is conducted commonly in an automated manner, but it can still be performed manually.

• Acceptance testing

The customer conducts the acceptance test which determines whether or not the end of the stream of a system corresponds to business needs and in one case it refers to the needs of the end customer. Only if all processes are run as planned will the customer approve the software product. This is the last testing period after which the software product is made. It is also known as user acceptance testing.

• Performance or load testing

The process of measuring reliability, scalability, speed, and responsiveness in different load environments is known as performance testing or load testing. It is a test conducted to find bottlenecks or user response times and their specific reasons. Quality monitoring in this type of testing helps to maintain the quality and produce an exact result depending on your business needs.

• Stress testing

Stressing something beyond a point leads to severe consequences in humans, computers, or any program. It causes significant damage. Stress testing is defined as the process of checking the stability of the hardware or software under a heavy load. This check determines the numerical point where the device fails (in terms of several users and application requests etc.) and the corresponding error handling.

E.g., If you try to copy a 7-8GB file, MS Word shows you a dialogue box that says, ‘Not Responding’. This is an error message. Here, MS Word couldn’t process such a huge file and as a result, it crashes under stress.

• Regression testing.

Regression Testing is a form of testing to check the code update does not affect the software product’s current features. This ensures that new features, bug fixing, or improvements to the current feature does not affect the product and makes sure the product works perfectly. To verify the effect of transition, previously conducted experiments are re-performed.

• Security testing

Security testing is a form of testing that guarantees protection for your applications and systems. It ensures that the systems are free of any bugs or threats that could cause a major loss. Security testing allows us to detect bugs, hazards, and risks in software systems and stops intruders from malicious attacks. Security tests are designed to detect any potential software vulnerabilities and flaws that could lead to loss of knowledge, profit, and the credibility of the employees and/or external personnel of the Company.

Conclusion

The software testing types listed above are just a small part of the study. Nevertheless, there are more than 100 forms of software engineering testing, but all types of software testing techniques do not form part of a broad spectrum of operations. The basic principle, however, is the same throughout. However, such kinds of tests are constantly altered depending on the purpose, necessities, and the degree of implementation of software test tools.

AFour Technologies offer you the best-in-class software testing services. With a team of cross-skilled professionals having deep insight into the latest testing methodologies and technologies, we help make the products better.

Let our QA team solve your software problems with top-notch service, while you focus your time and energy on running your business