Types of Software Testing

Completing your software project is not enough, you also have to check if the project you made is functioning as desired. That’s what software testing is about. But why exactly should you implement software testing in your production environment? Today we are going to discuss the definition of software testing, why it is important, and the different types of software testing.

Software Testing – Types of Software Testing

What is Software Testing?

Software testing is a method of investigating the features and functions of the software to determine if the application meets certain requirements or not. Software testing allows the developers to know if there is any defect in the product so that they can work on it to make it better. In more detailed words, software testing is the process of comparing the current version of the software with its previous versions to check for defects and evaluate the features. There are two types of software testing: manual testing and automation testing which provide you with a variety of functions.

What is Manual Testing?

Testing your software or application to meet your clients’ requirements without using any automated tool is called manual software testing. Manual software testing is a product verification and validation technique that verifies the nature of software and identifies how it behaves in different environments and whether or not it meets the specifications you were looking for. To perform manual software testing, the tester or developer does not require any knowledge of using any kind of testing tool. However, the tester has to prepare a document where the details regarding the test will be written and the test will have to follow that test document to perform manual testing.

There are three types of manual testing: white box testing, black-box testing, and gray-box testing.

1. White Box Testing

In white-box testing, the developer has to investigate each and every line of code before the software is delivered to the testing team to check the additional issues. The main reason for executing white box testing is to find the discharge of inputs and outputs in the software and to increase the safety features of the application.

2. Black Box Testing

In black-box testing, the testers will have to analyze the software to see whether it meets the requirements. And then the tester also identifies any issues or bugs and sends the report to the development team. After the developers check out those defects, they will fix them and perform another round of white box testing and send the report to the testing team again. In black-box testing, when the developers are resolving the bugs, it means that the issue in the software has been resolved and the particular function is working fine according to the specific condition. The main goal of executing the black box testing is to identify the business requirements or the customers’ requirements. Since the source code of the software is not visible in this testing, it is called black-box testing. There are two types of black-box testing: one is functional and the other one is non-functional. We will talk about these tests later in this post but now let’s learn about the other types of manual testing.

3. Gray Box Testing

Gray box testing is another class of manual testing which is a hybrid of black box and white box testing. In gray box testing, you will be able to access the internal codes that will help you design the test cases. Gray box testing requires one person for the implementation and that person has to be knowledgeable about coding and testing. Moreover, if one tester is doing white box and black box testing together, then it will be regarded as gray box testing.

What is Automation Testing?

Automation testing is another part of software testing that involves specific tools to facilitate manually designed test cases but it does not involve human involvement. With automation testing, you can increase productivity and competence, and the scope of software testing. Automation testing is also applicable to run the test cases all over again which were manually implemented in the first place. Automation testing makes the testing process quicker and easier than manual testing.

Now that we know what is manual testing and what is automation testing, it’s time to find out the types and definitions of functional testing and non-functional testing that we have promised to discuss before.

1. Black-Box Testing: What is Functional Testing?

In functional testing, the test engineer investigates if all the elements of the software match the requirements of the application’s intention. The functional testing or component testing gives value and defines the output as well as validates the output with that defined value. Functional testing is a variety of black box testing which focuses on the requirements of the application without focusing on its codes. In this testing case, the tester will only have to test the application and not the entire system. There are three types of functional testing: unit testing, integration testing, and system testing.

2. Unit Testing

Unit testing is the first part of functional testing. In unit testing, the tester will have to investigate the module of the software independently or test all the modules together. The main reason for creating the unit test is to make sure that the unit elements are performing well in the application. Unit is known as a function of an application that you can test. The unit or the functions of software are validated in the software evolution cycle.

3. Integration Testing

After executing a unit test, you will go to the integration testing process. Integration testing is the second part of functional testing where you will have to investigate the data flow in the dependent modules and the user interface. The reason for implementing an integration test is to test how accurate the statement of the modules is. There are two types of integration testing: one is incremental and the other is non-incremental.

4. System Testing

After executing a unit test and integration test, you can perform system testing. System testing is about testing the test environment to find out whether or not it is equal to the production environment. System testing is also comprehended as an end-to-end investigation. In system testing, the tester tests every attribute of the application and investigates if the end feature of the software is working properly as per the business condition. The tester analyses the application as an entire system.

And there is another type of black box testing which is non-function testing. Let’s talk about it now.

What is Non-Function Testing?

Another type of black box testing is non-functional testing which gives you detailed data about how the software is performing and what kind of technical elements are used in the software. Non-functional testing reduces the production and cost of the application. It is the combination of performance testing, load testing, stress testing, usability testing, and compatibility testing. All of these parts of non-functional testing are performed by the test engineer to find out if the application is working properly. For example, the response and load time of the application, how scalable it is, and how stable it is, everything matters in the development environment.

Conclusion

Even though we have talked about many types of software testing in the article, there are more than 100 categories of software testing. But we cannot talk about all of them here so the most common types of software testing are functional testing and non-functional testing, and every other test comes under the manual and automation categories. Additionally, there is regression testing, user acceptance testing, exploratory testing, and more. If you desire to discover more about them, drop a comment below.