Era of Software Testing

Software testing is a process of verifying that our application or software is working without any defects. Software testing is used to make our application/software more user friendly and prevent any defects in the software at later point of time.

Types of Software testing,

Functional testing:
Unit testing: In Unit testing we test smaller units of modules of the application. Also referred as "Component testing".
Its primarily performed by Developers using White box approach.
The objective of unit testing is to deduct bugs in the earlier stage of development.
Example:
In a banking application, testing a unit of the application like Login page with different test cases like with valid username/password, invalid username and password etc.

Integration testing: In Integration testing we integrate the individual units and test the collective functionality.

It is performed by Testers on testing servers.

The scope of integration testing is to expose errors during the interaction between the individual units.

Types of Non functional Testing:

Performance Testing: In this testing we check the performance and stability of the software under varying workloads. Performance testing scope includes testing the Speed, Scalability, Stability and Reliability(product is secure or not) of the software.
Example : A banking application's response time is usually 60 seconds for the login page and this response time doesn't change when 10000 users try to access the login page at the same time.

Load Testing: In load testing we test if the software can handle huge transactions or increase in load. Load testing is done mostly by end users. Example : When a huge transaction load is passed to a Banking application.

Volume Testing: In volume testing we test the software by passing huge volume at a time and checking system's response time. Example: When huge volume of data is passed to the system to check the banking applications response time.

Software Development Lifecycle and Software Testing Lifecycle:

We need to know what is Software Development lifecycle and Software Testing lifecycle and the various test in them to understand what are the different types of software testing like Unit testing, integration testing, System testing and which type is best applicable for a given test case. It is also important for a tester to know how to write test cases for a given scenario and then get them executed. Below are the major steps in software testing lifecycle:

1.Requirement Analysis
This is the very first phase of STLC where the testers analyze the project requirements by discussing it with various stakeholder and prepare the RTM(Requirement Traceability Matrix is a document where we associate the requirements with the corresponding test cases).

2.Test planning
In this phase the test manager determines the Test plan or strategy, test tool selection, types of testing in scope, cost estimation, resource planning, Trainings required etc.

3.Test case development
In Test case development phase, the test cases, scripts and data is created.

4.Test Environment setup
In this phase, the environment for testing is setup on the basis of software and hardware requirement. Smoke testing is performed in this phase.

5.Test Execution
In this phase, Test cases, scripts are executed and the results are documented. The bugs/defects are also reported and post the defect is fixed, retesting is also done in this phase.

6.Test Closure
This is the last phase of STLC, where the testers report the test results and test completion metrics. In this phase EOTR (End of Testing report) is also prepared and submitted by the Testers.

Significance of Software testing

• cost saving: As we test the software frequently, this can prevent unnecessary fix at later stage.
• Good product quality and security: Software testing also helps in maintaining our product and avoiding the security breaches
• Customer satisfaction: Software testing also contributes to achieving customer satisfaction and gathering feedback on the application.
• Risk mitigation can be done by identifying issues at early stage and prevents critical problems during later stages of development and post-release.
• Verifying that the software meets specified requirements and performs its intended functionalities.
• Security enhancement can be achieved by detecting vulnerabilities and protecting the software against security threats and breaches.