As a software developer, it’s crucial to ensure that your software solution functions correctly. This requires performing software testing, which can be a daunting task if you’re unsure which testing types are essential for your software. It’s essential to know the various testing types, whether you’re new to software testing or an experienced tester, as the business software market is rapidly growing. According to a report, the market is expected to reach USD 1,153.07 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 11.7%. Without knowledge of essential testing types, you risk hindering your career in software testing. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of understanding the two main methods of software testing in detail.
Which are the Two Main Methods of Software Testing?
Software testing is generally categorized into two main methods that dictate the testing infrastructure and tools needed.
1. Manual Testing
In manual testing, the software solution is evaluated for bugs and issues by a tester who performs the assessment manually, without relying on any automated tools or infrastructure.
How Does Manual Testing Work?
In manual testing, the QA (Quality Assurance) team uses defined test objectives to create test scripts for each specific scenario. These test cases are designed to assess the software’s behavior against the expected outcome, and the testing process involves a test engineer manually verifying the software’s performance to detect any bugs or errors.
Manual testing typically involves five stages:
- Unit Testing: In this stage, the testing team verifies the individual units of the source code.
- Integration Testing: Multiple units are integrated and tested together in this stage.
- System Testing: This stage tests the software to verify if it meets the desired requirements.
- UI Testing: GUI testing is performed to ensure that the software interacts with the user in the intended way.
- Acceptance Testing: This stage assesses whether the whole system functions as intended in the real world.
2. Automated Testing
Automated Testing is a testing approach that utilizes automation tools to evaluate the quality and performance of software. Instead of manual testing, the test cases are executed by a software testing team or a QA engineer using automation tools to identify any potential issues or defects in the software solution.
How Does Automation Testing Work?
Automation testing works by first creating a software testing suite and inputting it into the automation testing tool by the QA engineer. After the test suite is automated, multiple tests can be run on it. The developer can then replay, check, and make necessary improvements to the software based on the results obtained.
Below are the five stages involved in the process of automation testing:
- Test tool selection: The development team selects an appropriate testing tool for automating the process.
- Project Scope: Identify the end objectives and goals of the testing process, and determine suitable outcomes.
- Design and Development: Create test cases, plan the automation’s in/out scope, and determine the deliverables.
- Execution: Input data is added to the test scripts and executed.
- Maintenance: It is important to continually assess the test suite to determine if new functionalities need to be added for testing.
Manual testing can be divided into two main categories, which are functional and non-functional testing. These categories are based on our experience of delivering bug-free software solutions.
Which are the Two Main Categories of Manual Testing?
We, as a reputable software company, conduct manual testing to create and deliver high-quality software solutions that are free of defects. Drawing on our expertise in building error-free applications, we have classified manual testing into two distinct categories for your enhanced comprehension.
There are two categories of manual testing:
- Functional
- Non-functional
Functional manual testing focuses on testing the user interactions, interface components, and communication between the front-end and back-end of the application. On the other hand, non-functional manual testing is concerned with evaluating the speed and performance of the application.
1. Functional Testing
Functional testing is a type of software testing that involves evaluating the software solution against its predetermined requirements. In this testing process, each function is thoroughly tested by providing relevant inputs to verify the expected outcomes.
The following factors are tested during functional testing:
- Main functions
- Accessibility
- Interface usability
- Error conditions
2. Non-functional Testing
Non-functional testing is a type of software testing that evaluates the non-functional aspects of the software product, including its performance, usability, reliability, and speed, using automation testing tools. The primary goal of this testing is to ensure that the system is ready for launch.
The software product is tested for various non-functional factors:
- Security
- Availability
- Reliability
- Usability
- Scalability
- Interoperability
- Efficiency
- Reusability
Which are the Different Types of Functional Testing?
The following are 8 types of functional tests that should be conducted to ensure that the software is free of bugs and risks.
1. Unit Testing
Unit Testing is a white box testing technique that assesses the smallest units of a software solution against a software requirements specification document. It divides the whole testing process into smaller phases, enabling proper testing of each individual component.
What are the Benefits of Unit Testing?
- Early detection of code defects
- Simplified debugging process
- Improved interface usability
2. Integration Testing
Integration testing is a method in which the developer integrates individual software components to evaluate their behavior. This involves allowing data to flow between modules to identify any flaws in the data flow.
What are the Advantages of Integration Testing?
Integration testing offers various advantages, including
- Improving the test coverage of the software application,
- Identifying code integration issues early on,
- Preventing any disruption of existing functionalities due to new code changes.
3. User Interface Testing
User interface testing is a testing method designed to identify issues in the graphical user interface of a software application. This type of testing involves evaluating the layout, formatting, and navigation of the application to ensure it is user-friendly and easy to use.
What are the Advantages of User Interface Testing?
User interface testing offers several benefits, including
- Enhancing the overall user interface of the software application,
- Detecting any graphical user interface (GUI) issues early in the development process, and
- Ensuring that the code of the application is perfectly synchronized with the UI.
4. System Testing
System testing involves the combination of all modules into an entire system and is typically conducted after unit, integration, and UI testing. The testing team assesses the system in a test environment against pre-established requirements and objectives to determine whether the application is ready for deployment.
What are the Advantages of System Testing?
- Verify that the software application can effectively manage unexpected high volumes of data.
- Ensure that the entire system is constructed with high quality standards.
- Provide a comprehensive view of the complete software product.
5. Regression Testing
This testing approach focuses on ensuring that a stable software product is released despite the frequent changes and updates made by developers. The purpose of this testing is to evaluate whether the system can function properly after modifications have been made to the code.
What are the Advantages of Regression Testing?
- Helps to ensure that changes to the code do not negatively impact the functionality of the software.
- Serves as an effective strategy for mitigating potential risks associated with code changes.
- Prevents the recurrence of previously fixed issues.
6. User Acceptance Testing
User acceptance testing is a crucial testing process that helps you determine whether your software application fulfills the requirements or needs of end-users. By conducting these tests, you can evaluate the application’s performance from the end-user perspective and determine whether it is user-friendly and meets the specified requirements.
What are the Advantages of User Acceptance Testing?
- Helps to ensure that the testing team and management are aligned and in agreement regarding the software testing process.
- Identifies potential issues that could result in financial losses if not addressed.
7. Smoke Testing
Smoke testing is a software testing method that enables a rapid assessment of the essential functionality of the software product. By performing smoke testing, you can quickly determine whether the application is stable and functioning correctly.
What are the Advantages of Smoke Testing?
- Helps to identify and eliminate up to 80% of the issues in your software solution before proceeding with detailed testing.
- Enhances troubleshooting capabilities and increases the efficiency of the software product.
What are the Different Types of Non-functional Testing?
Non-functional testing solutions are designed to assess the security, performance, and usability of software applications. These tests are crucial in determining whether the software meets the necessary non-functional requirements. In this context, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the various types of non-functional testing.
1. Performance Testing
Performance testing is a set of evaluations conducted to determine the efficacy of a software product. It includes stress testing, load testing, scalability testing, as well as spike and soak tests, among others. These assessments aim to evaluate how well the software performs under different conditions and scenarios.
What are the Advantages of Performance Testing?
- Verifies the ability of the software solution to scale to its maximum potential.
- Enables the release of a flexible and scalable software product.
2. Reliability Testing
Reliability testing is carried out to determine if the software can function reliably in real-world scenarios. It aims to assess the software’s ability to operate without crashing under the expected load conditions.
What are the Advantages of Reliability Testing?
- Evaluates whether the system can operate continuously under predefined load conditions for a specified duration.
- Helps to determine the software’s reliability and whether it can withstand expected load conditions without failure.
3. Security Testing
This type of software testing is designed to identify vulnerabilities, malware, and other security risks in the software product. By conducting this test, you can determine potential threats to the security of the software. It involves various techniques such as vulnerability testing, penetration testing, and security audits.
What are the Advantages of Security Testing?
- Helps assess and improve your cybersecurity measures
- Identifying and addressing any unknown software issues and bugs.
4. Load Testing
As part of the performance testing process, your team verifies the software’s ability to handle a predetermined level of load. If any irregularities are detected, the development team rectifies them to ensure optimal availability, latency, and minimal crashes.
What are the Advantages of Load Testing?
- Enhances the software’s scalability in general
- Guarantees minimal losses resulting from failures
- Identifies any inefficient code sections.
Conclusion
This blog has provided insights into various types of software testing, their functionalities, and the advantages they offer. It is crucial to determine the appropriate testing types for your software product, define the testing scenarios, identify the environment, and choose the methodologies during the development phase.
SatGuru Technology, a reputable software development company, specializes in designing bespoke software solutions for both startups and established businesses. If you intend to create a custom software solution or launch a new software product, feel free to contact us.