Software Testing Types

Software testing plays a vital role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and performance of software applications. It covers a diverse range of testing types, each designed to address specific aspects of a software system.

Broadly classified into 3 categories:

1. Based on actions:

a.????? Manual Testing: Manual testing is the process of executing test cases and scenarios without the assistance of automated testing tools. It involves human interaction with the software to ensure its functionality, usability, and to identify any defects or issues.

b.???? Automated Testing: Automated testing involves the use of scripts or tools to execute and validate predefined test cases, replicating human testing steps. It enables the automatic identification and reporting of bugs or issues in the software, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in the testing process

2. Based on Approach:

a.????? Static Testing: Static testing is a software testing technique that involves reviewing and evaluating the software documentation, code, or other project artifacts without executing the code. Its primary goal is to identify defects, issues, or discrepancies early in the development process, ensuring higher quality by addressing problems at their source.

b.???? Dynamic Testing: Dynamic testing is a software testing technique that involves the execution of the code to validate its functional behavior and performance. It includes running test cases against the software to assess its functionality, identify defects, and ensure that it meets specified requirements.

3. Based on Techniques:

a.????? Blackbox: Black-box testing is when testers evaluate software functionality without knowing its internal code. It simulates user interactions to check if the software behaves as expected from an end-user perspective.

b.???? Whitebox: White-box testing, also known as structural or clear-box testing, is a software testing approach where the tester has knowledge of the internal code, structure, and implementation details of the application. This method involves creating test cases based on the understanding of the code logic to ensure all paths and conditions are tested, aiming to validate the correctness of the software's internal workings.

c.????? Experienced based: Experienced-based testing uses the knowledge and intuition of skilled testers to design and execute test cases, relying on their expertise to find potential software defects. Techniques like exploratory testing and error guessing are commonly applied to ensure comprehensive testing.

Dynamic Testing has 2 types:

1.???? Functional Testing: Functional testing is a software testing type that verifies that the application's functions work as intended. It involves testing the software's features, user interfaces, APIs, databases, and other components to ensure they meet the specified requirements and perform their functions correctly.

2.???? Non-Functional Testing: Non-functional testing is a type of software testing that assesses aspects of a system that are not related to specific behaviors or functions. It focuses on qualities such as performance, scalability, reliability, usability, and security, ensuring that the software meets requirements related to these non-functional aspects.

Functional Testing has 4 levels:

1.???? Unit Testing: Unit testing is a software testing technique in which individual units or components of a software application are tested in isolation. The purpose is to validate that each unit functions as designed by checking its coding logic and behavior, typically through automated tests.

2. Integration Testing

a. Component integration testing: Component integration testing checks that different parts of a software system, called components, work well together. It ensures that data is exchanged correctly between these components before moving to more comprehensive testing.

b.?System integration testing: System integration testing, in the context of different systems, involves validating the proper flow of data between integrated systems. This testing phase ensures that data exchange and communication between distinct systems occur accurately and according to specified requirements.

3.???? System Testing: System testing is a phase of software testing where the entire integrated software system is tested to ensure that it meets the specified requirements. The goal of system testing is to assess the system's functionality, performance, reliability, and other attributes in a comprehensive manner.

a.????? Feature testing: Feature testing is a software testing process that specifically focuses on verifying the functionality and behavior of individual features or functionalities within a software application. It aims to ensure that each feature works as intended, meeting the specified requirements, and providing the expected outcomes.

b.????? Smoke testing: A smoke test is an initial, basic test performed on a software build to check if the essential functionalities of the application work as expected. It aims to identify critical issues early in the testing process, often ensuring that the software build is stable enough for more in-depth testing.

c.????? Sanity testing: Sanity testing is a brief and focused check performed on related modules of a software application to ensure that recent changes or fixes haven't adversely affected specific functionalities. It helps quickly verify the stability of the software in key areas after modifications.

d.????? Regression testing: Regression testing is a type of software testing that verifies whether recent changes to the code, such as new features or bug fixes, have adversely affected the existing functionalities of the software. It involves re-executing previously executed test cases to ensure that the changes haven't introduced new defects or caused unexpected issues in other parts of the application.

e.????? Monkey testing: Monkey testing, also known as random testing, is a software testing approach where the application is tested using random inputs without any specific test cases. The goal is to uncover unexpected issues or vulnerabilities that might not be identified through traditional testing methods.

f.?????? Gorilla testing: Gorilla testing is like giving special attention to one part of the software, testing it thoroughly to make sure it works well under different situations. It's a focused effort to make that specific part strong and reliable.

g.????? Exploratory testing: Exploratory testing is an approach to software testing that is?often described as simultaneous learning, test design, and execution.

h.????? Adhoc testing: Ad hoc testing is an informal and unplanned approach to software testing, where testers spontaneously and randomly test the application without following any predefined test cases or scripts. The goal is to explore the software in a free-form manner, trying different inputs and interactions to identify unexpected issues or defects. Ad hoc testing is often unstructured and relies on the tester's experience and intuition to uncover potential problems.

4.???? Acceptance Testing: Acceptance testing is a type of software testing that verifies whether a system meets the specified requirements and is acceptable to end-users or stakeholders

a.????? Alpha testing: Alpha testing is the initial phase of software testing conducted by the internal development team. It aims to identify and fix issues before releasing the software to a larger audience or to beta testers

b.????? Beta testing: ?Beta testing is a phase of software testing where a pre-release version of the software is made available to a selected group of users or the public. The purpose is to gather feedback from real users and identify potential issues or areas for improvement before the official release.

c.????? Regulatory testing: Regulatory testing refers to the process of testing software applications to ensure compliance with industry regulations, standards, or legal requirements. This type of testing is crucial in sectors where adherence to specific rules and regulations is mandatory, such as finance, healthcare, or government. Regulatory testing ensures that the software meets the prescribed standards and follows the guidelines set forth by the relevant regulatory bodies.

Non functional testing has many types such as:

1.????? Performance testing: Performance testing is a non-functional software testing technique that determines how the stability, speed, scalability, and responsiveness of an application holds up under a given workload. It’s a key step in ensuring software quality, but unfortunately, is often seen as an afterthought, in isolation, and to begin once functional testing is completed, and in most cases, after the code is ready to release.

a.????? Capacity test: Capacity testing is a type of performance testing that focuses on evaluating a system's ability to handle a specific amount of load or data. The goal is to determine the system's capacity limits and identify potential bottlenecks under both normal and peak conditions.

b.????? Load test: Load testing is a type of performance testing that assesses how a system performs under a specific load or demand. The purpose is to evaluate the system's response, behavior, and performance characteristics when subjected to a particular level of concurrent users or transactions.

c.????? Stress test: Stress testing is a type of performance testing that assesses a system's resilience and stability under extreme conditions or beyond its normal capacity. The goal is to identify how the software behaves under intense pressure, such as high user traffic, heavy data loads, or resource limitations. Stress testing helps uncover potential weaknesses,

d.????? Soak test: Soak testing, also known as endurance testing, is a type of performance testing that checks how well a system holds up under continuous use over an extended time. It helps find issues like memory leaks or performance problems that may arise during prolonged operation.

e.????? Scalability testing: Scalability testing is a type of performance testing that assesses how well a software application can scale or handle increased workloads and user loads. The objective is to evaluate the system's ability to accommodate growing demands by measuring its performance under various levels of load, users, or data

f.?????? Spike test: A spike test is a type of performance testing that involves rapidly and significantly increasing or decreasing the load on a system to observe its behavior under sudden and extreme changes in usage. The purpose is to assess how well the system can handle abrupt spikes in traffic or workload.

g.????? Volume test: Volume testing is a type of performance testing that evaluates how well a system can handle a large amount of data. The focus is on assessing the system's scalability and performance as the volume of data increases. The goal is to ensure that the software can manage, process, and store the expected volume of data without degradation in performance or functionality.

2. Security testing

a.????? Vulnerability test: Vulnerability assessment is a process of identifying and evaluating potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in a system, network, or application. The goal is to assess the security posture and determine areas that could be exploited by attackers.

b.????? Penetration test: Penetration testing, commonly known as pen testing, is a cybersecurity practice where security experts simulate a real-world attack on a system, network, or application. The objective is to identify vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and potential entry points that malicious attackers could exploit.

3. Usability testing: Usability testing is a type of testing that evaluates how user-friendly a software application is by assessing the user interface and overall user experience. The primary goal is to ensure that the application is intuitive, easy to navigate, and meets the needs of its intended users.

4. Compatibility testing: Compatibility testing is a type of software testing that ensures a software application functions correctly across different environments, devices, browsers, and operating systems. The goal is to verify that the application remains consistent and performs well regardless of the variations in platforms and configurations.

5. Reliability testing: Reliability testing is a type of nonfunctional testing that assesses the stability and dependability of a system under various conditions over an extended period. The primary goal is to ensure that the software consistently performs its functions without failure.

6. ????? Maintainability testing: Maintainability testing is not a specific test but an ongoing effort to make sure that the software can be easily understood, updated, and improved over time. It involves assessing factors like code clarity and documentation to ensure the software remains manageable and adaptable

7.????? Cross browser test: Cross-browser testing is a type of software testing that ensures a web application functions correctly across different web browsers. The goal is to verify that the application provides a consistent and reliable user experience regardless of the browser being used, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer. Cross-browser testing helps identify and address compatibility issues, ensuring that the website or web application behaves as intended and looks similar across various browsers and their different versions.

8.????? Benchmark test: Benchmark testing is a method of testing that is used to measure a product or system’s performance against established standards or benchmarks. The primary purpose of benchmark testing is to evaluate the performance of a product or system against established standards or benchmarks. It can allow you to determine the strengths and weaknesses of their products or systems and to identify areas for improvement.

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