If you google a query like “types of software testing,” you can be sure that your nearest fortnight will be all about exciting non-fiction reading.
The fact is that software testing is a colossal, rapidly developing niche in the IT business. Top specialists work here, and multi-million sums are circulating. Just a listing of terms and phases of mobile testing alone could be the topic of multi-page research. Each of the methods used for thorough software verification can be subdivided into an infinite number of sub-steps. Moreover, each of them deserves a separate description.
That is why you, in search of an answer to the question in the headline, may come across an incredible amount of amazing stories. There will be lists of ten ways to test applications and a detailed presentation of at least a hundred processes provided by software testing companies, such as Testfort.com.
Obviously, the purpose of articles like this one is not to provide a detailed and comprehensive analysis of all the steps used in the quality assurance (QA) industry. Our task is to give a general idea of these processes in a concise but succinct form.
This is what we are going to do right now.
AI Versus Human. Or Everyone Is Equal In The QA Business?
Software systems are capable of conducting many stress tests in the shortest possible time and monitoring the reliability of an application in various configurations. But at the same time, no artificial intelligence can replace humans when the convenience of a user interface or checking for the so-called “foolproof” runs up.
It is customary to divide the entire application testing process into three groups of unequal size:
- Functional testing,
- Non-functional Testing,
- Other types of testing,
Any serious QA company assumes responsibility, providing the customer with a report on testing his program, only after passing it through all the indicated stages.
What exactly are they?
Three Sources And Three Ingredients For Successful Testing
Functional Testing
This group includes the following stages:
- Unit Testing — This test is usually carried out by experienced programmers who examine the program code. If the program involves the interaction of several modules, the programmer checks how smoothly the commands are transferred between them.
- Integration Testing — such tests are most relevant for programs with client and server parts. At this stage, the clarity of the interaction of such modules is checked.
- System Testing — in the jargon of testers, this stage is also called a “black box”. The operation of the system as a whole is checked.
- Sanity Testing — this stage is designed to validate new versions.
- Smoke Testing — at this stage, the test app is checked for critical vulnerabilities that can block its operation as a whole.
- Interface Testing — the name of this stage speaks for itself.
- Regression Testing is a test of the influence of each individual test application module on the operation of the system as a whole. It is carried out in automatic mode.
- Beta/Acceptance Testing — as it is clear from the name, this testing is carried out directly by the program’s users. They inform the developer about their impressions, wishes, and found problems in a free form.
Non-Functional Testing
- Performance Testing is one of the types of stress testing that is necessarily used in the apps testing service. Finds out the performance of an application on a system that meets the stated requirements.
- Load Testing — finding out the level of load at which the system can operate without degrading performance.
- Stress Testing — intentionally repeated overloading of the system to identify the threshold of its stability.
- Volume Testing — “bombardment” of an application with a large amount of data.
- Security Testing — check for security against hacker attacks.
- Compatibility Testing — checking the compatibility of an application with various system configurations.
- Install Testing is a test similar to the previous one. It checks how the program is installed and uninstalled in various software environments.
- Recovery Testing — this test examines how the program recovers from outages due to an error or overload.
- Usability Testing — if most of the previous tests were performed by software systems, then, in this case, only a human can assess how convenient it is to use the program and whether the technical documentation is clear enough.
- Localization Testing — the name of this test is also self-explanatory.
Other Types of Testing
The tests included in this, the most voluminous, group, cover all aspects of the program functioning that were not covered by the previous stages. The number of these tests is approaching a hundred, and you can discover them in detail in special publications devoted to this issue.
Summing up, it is important to note that only comprehensive testing by specialists from a reputable firm specializing in apps testing service can guarantee the successful promotion of your product in a highly competitive environment.
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