What Is Software Testing?

What is software testing?

Software testing is the process of verifying and validating software to ensure that it meets the specified requirements and that it is free of bugs or errors. This is part of the continuous improvement and continuous development process (CI/CD). Software testing begins with verification. Testing teams use verification as an initial review of the requirements and specifications of the software, before running any code. They can inspect and review the software before moving on to the validation process. The validation process is one step further and runs the code to further ensure that the actual product works and that any bugs are caught.

Benefits of software testing

There are many benefits to software testing, including improving product quality and customer satisfaction. Learn more about the different benefits below.

Better performance

Testing software ensures better software performance by catching any issues with the requirements and the code itself before it gets into customer hands.

Cost saving

Software testing ultimately saves money by reducing the number of bugs or errors in the final product that gets shipped to customers.

High-quality products

Organizations can ensure the highest possible quality of the final product by testing the software as it is built. Testing prevents bugs from slipping through to final products.

Lower failure rates

Failure rates are measured with change failure rate (CFR) and mean time to repair (MTTR) metrics. By reducing both numbers, organizations can improve quality and customer satisfaction.

Security

Software testing improves product security by helping to identify and repair vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Depending on the industry, software security may be key to compliance.

Bug prevention

Part of the software testing process is reviewing code and identifying, classifying, and prioritizing bug fixes. In a CI/CD development practice, this is done early on so bugs are identified and fixed long before making it to the final product.

Different approaches to software testing

Manual testing

When organizations execute tests manually, they don’t use automation tools or scripts. Some of the ways that testers can test manually include using the software like an end user to identify bugs or issues, following predefined test cases, testing the user interface (UI), or testing complex scenarios that might be more difficult to automate in a workflow. Manual testing can be much more time-consuming and prone to human error.

Automated testing

Automated testing is key to continuous improvement and deployment. It allows teams to use applications to execute software tests, saving time and making fixes as they go. Incorporating automated testing increases efficiency and increases the test coverage for software, as well as helping to catch bugs or vulnerabilities much earlier in the development process.

Regression testing

Regression testing is the process of retesting software after making changes to it. If code changes during the development process, it is essential to retest it to ensure that those changes haven’t introduced bugs, and that the software still performs as intended. Automated testing is best for regression tests because it requires very repetitive tasks.

What are the types of software testing?

Functional testing

Functional testing is the first step in software testing and is made up of unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. It checks that each requirement and specification within the software works as it is supposed to. Functional testing is purely focused on the functionality of the software itself rather than the source code. Functional testing checks the user interface (UI), application programming interface (API), security, and how the software or application handles stress, among other things. This testing also makes sure that the software or application is navigable

Unit testing

Unit testing is the next step, which focuses on basic usability and examines individual software components separately, unlike functional testing, which doesn’t examine the source code but focuses on the end-user experience. This testing checks different functions by providing input and checking the output to make sure it aligns with the software requirements.

Integration testing

Integration testing checks components of the software together as a group. For this type of testing, the tester examines how the software system works by looking at whether different groups function as intended together. It looks at the interactions of different parts of the software to ensure the different pieces of the software or application are communicating seamlessly. This testing can be done all together or in pieces from the bottom-up or top-down. Bottom-up testing begins with the smaller and less critical parts of the software first, and top-down checks the higher-level modules first.

System testing

System testing comes after integration testing and evaluates the entire software system to make sure that it meets the defined requirements and specifications. It checks for any remaining defects in the integrated components of the software and the entire system. System testing focuses on the design and behavior of the software. Often, system testing is performed by testers who are not on the development team to provide a more objective view of the system functionality.

Acceptance testing

Acceptance testing follows integration testing and is the last step of the testing process before the software or application is released to customers. This step of functional testing ensures that the business and user requirements are satisfied, and that the software meets all of its functional and nonfunctional requirements.

Nonfunctional testing

Nonfunctional testing focuses on the parts of the software or application that aren’t critical to its functionality. This part of the testing process is still critically important, as it is part of what makes a software or application successful and satisfies customers and end users.

Security testing

One potential step in nonfunctional testing is the security of the software or application. Security testing isn’t always done as part of software testing, but it is critically important to the safety of the end users and to the business. Security testing can check for vulnerabilities and prevent breaches, which helps protect customer and company data.

Performance testing

Performance testing, although not technically part of the functional testing, is critically important to the software or application. Performance ensures that the software responds quickly when it is being used, and that it maintains its speed and overall performance with increased traffic.

Load Testing

Load testing checks the performance of the software or application under stress. This can include testing for scalability, identifying bottlenecks, managing large numbers of concurrent users, and other potential scenarios that could produce errors or overwhelm the system.

Usability testing

Usability testing is a way to make sure that the software or application is usable by having it tested by end users in real-world environments. This means having a test environment where end users can be observed using the software. This is a great way to make sure that the software works as intended and to see how it is being used.

Maintenance testing

Maintenance testing occurs after a software or application is already released and in use. This helps to check on its health and performance after release. Once software is already being used, changes can still be made to it, which are then tested. This testing provides real-time feedback and can help identify if any issues that have been identified post-release are fixed or need to be fixed.

Software testing process

The software testing process is critical to ensuring that the best software is delivered to customers. The first step is requirements analysis, followed by test planning, designing, and development. The next step in the process is the test execution and closure once the testing has ended. Throughout the software testing process, teams might use automated testing or manual testing. Testing throughout the development process can prevent bugs from making it to the final software build and help accelerate the time to market and the development cost.

Software testing best practices

Continuous testing

Continuous testing in the software development lifecycle ensures that bugs and defects are caught early and can be fixed as the software is being developed. This is done by testing throughout every phase of the software development lifecycle. It is an important part of the continuous integration and continuous deployment process (CI/CD). By incorporating continuous testing into the software development process, teams can continue to iterate and develop their products quickly and efficiently, while maintaining a high quality.

Configuration management

Configuration management is a best practice for software testing, as it helps to track and manage changes during software development and testing. Version control provides transparency into changes made, which is very helpful when bugs are detected. Configuration management also helps to replicate testing environments across different parts of the software.

DevOps

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Test management

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Software testing frequently asked questions

History of software testing

The first piece of software ever written was created by a computer scientist named Tom Kilburn on June 21, 1948. The software was built to do mathematical calculations. The first version of software testing was the Turing test, used to test the intelligence of a computer compared to humans. In the 1950s, software testing was mostly made up of debugging, which evolved into real-world testing scenarios, and the first dedicated software testing team was created at IBM to test the operating system of the IBM 704 computer. As software continued to develop and grow more complex, more testing became necessary. From the 1970s onward, debugging became a separate type of software testing, and more methodologies for testing were introduced. Software testing has continued to be refined and has become increasingly important in regulatory and safety-critical industries where human lives are at stake.

What is QA vs. software testing?

Quality Assurance, or QA, is aimed at preventing bugs and defects during the software development process. QA is more than software testing; it looks at the software to ensure that the best practices are in place to prevent bugs and defects. Software testing is the process of checking the software to make sure that it functions as intended and that it meets user requirements. Testing is a thorough process that includes designing and executing test cases.

What does a software tester do?

A software tester has many different responsibilities in the testing process. They design the test scenarios that will be executed, and then execute the tests. Once those tests have been completed, they analyze the results and prepare reports. Software testers may also interact with end users and help give input on product design or requirements.

What are the software testing techniques

Software testing techniques include black box, white box, grey box, as well as functional and nonfunctional testing.

Black box

Black box testing is when the tester doesn’t have any knowledge of the components or requirements for the software. They are testing to make sure the software functions as intended in every scenario and can help to identify any performance issues.

White box

Unlike black box testing, white box testers check systems that they are either very familiar with or have developed themselves. This type of testing is not concerned with the overall functionality but looks at the internal structure and is often used to validate entire systems or integrations.

Grey box

Grey box is a combination of black box and white box testing techniques. Grey box testers have more knowledge of the back end of the software and its functionality while testing. Since it’s a combination of the two types of tests, it has both advantages and disadvantages but can contribute to overall product quality. Some of the tests in grey box testing include matrix testing, pattern testing, and regression testing.

Why is there a demand for test automation?

There is a demand for test automation for several reasons. Automating testing helps to increase efficiency by reducing the risk of human error. This increases product quality and accelerates the time to market with less time spent manually testing software. Automating testing also increases the test coverage, allowing for much more comprehensive testing while decreasing the cost of resources needed. Overall, there are many benefits for test automation, which drives the increased demand for it.

Software Testing