The complexity of apps and games needs a more robust infrastructure due to digitalization and the rise of IT marketplaces. It has put current methodologies and improved software and QA testing for better results. The broad picture frequently takes precedence over the precise details in software testing. To maximize quality assurance efforts, teams must grasp the various functional and specialty testing forms. Knowing when to apply unit testing, integration testing, and system testing is critical for producing high-quality software. This is where functional testing tools come into the picture.
These functional testing types assist businesses in ensuring that digital goods fulfill criteria ranging from the code level to the system as a whole. Once the team understands these functional testing types, it can spend time and resources accordingly. Instead of repeating the chores, automated functional testing gives better results in less time.
Spread testing tests across the software development life cycle and utilize them consistently to provide high-quality products with a great user experience. Also know about A Comprehensive Guide To Digital Adoption Tool.
Organizations wanting to improve quality can also use specialized testing methodologies containing non-functional and functional testing types developed around a particular platform. Headspin specializes in digital testing programs tailored to a specific forum or purpose. For you to obtain remarkable results, these testing techniques combine a variety of functional tests.
The budget allocated for QA and Testing as IT spend from 2012-19
First, we’ll go through the different functional testing types that fit into an overall approach, and then we’ll get into each one.
SOFTWARE TESTING STRATEGY
The ultimate purpose of functional testing is to guarantee that software operates following requirements and user expectations. While the goal appears straightforward, the work entails a variety of functional testing types, some of which may be chosen or prioritized above others based on the nature of the application and organization.
Functional testing types such as component, integration, and system testing, for example, check the ability to work in isolation or in conjunction with other features, and therefore the testing method may be determined by how interoperable the app must be. Similarly, if a company undertakes system testing, it may not perform acceptance testing since it considers that labor redundant. Another example: alpha, beta, and production testing refer to builds that are in use. The decision between these functional testing types and the number of employees working in each step is influenced by the app’s stability, the extent of the modifications, or the business’s timetables.
Hence, the following functional testing types are not meant to be utilized consecutively or for every application. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of practical testing tools and the time and resources available for QA.
FUNCTIONAL TESTING TYPES
Here are some instances of these kinds of functional tests:
- Unit Testing: Before you test a complete software application, ensure that the various components function well. Unit testing verifies a unit’s functionality by ascertaining that the inputs (one to a few) produce the single expected result. This form of testing facilitates complex integrated apps. Unit testing produces, when done correctly, results in higher-quality application code and speeds up the development process. Unit tests are frequently run by developers using test automation.
A developer creates a calculator app as an example of unit testing. A unit test would see if the user could enter two digits and get an exact total. Other calculator functions, such as subtraction, multiplication, and division, would be tested separately.
- Testing of components: Component testing, also known as module testing, examines specific pieces of a program. Component testing, like unit testing, evaluates software in isolation. The difference between unit testing and component testing is that developers perform the former in a white-box manner to ensure that program modules run, while the latter is performed in a black-box format to validate specific objects or components of the product. If the part under test is reliable on other software components, the QA expert may utilize a stub and driver to mimic interactions between those dependent components.
Example of component testing: A mobile banking app has a feature that allows you to arrange an appointment with a banking specialist. The driver gives a simulated schedule of available appointment times, while the stub provides a simulated user profile. In this functional testing scenario, the central component — the one being tested — uses GPS to determine the user’s position and provides a list of nearby banking locations from which they may pick. The tester may check that the geolocation service works successfully and presents an accurate list of nearby places by testing this component in isolation.
- Regression analysis: The fact that functional tests pass once does not imply that they will always pass. When developers contribute new code or alter a feature, regression testing is conducted to ensure that the program continues to work as planned. Functional regression testing aids in the maintenance of a stable product when modifications are made to it. Functional regression testing retests the application after new features are introduced or/and old applications are modified. It examines the same features, flows, and functionalities as the testing phase. Many regression testing is automated functional testing.
A clothes store adds the ability to pay using customer rewards points to their mobile app as an example of regression testing. To ensure that all means of payment work perfectly, testers may do regression testing on other current features, such as the ability to pay with credit cards and gift cards.
- Smoke Testing: Smoke testing, a sort of acceptance testing, ensures that a new software build and its necessary functionality are stable. If the smoke tests pass, you can perform tests on the structure. If the tests fail, more development effort is essential.
For instance, an insurance company’s online app has a claims status page. Smoke tests would ensure that the current build functions appropriately on a fundamental level, such as whether a user can log in, browse to the claims status page, and receive the status of a specific claim without the app crashing or malfunctioning.
- Sanity Testing: Sanity testing, a functional regression testing, is performed by QA specialists on new versions of stable releases to check either new functionality or bug fixes. While sanity testing is comparable to smoke testing in that both give a gate check that a build is ready for further testing, it is unscripted and explicitly targets the region that has undergone a code change.
Let’s consider an example, a telehealth provider’s website delivers a 404 error for its mental health page. The QA professional does a sanity check to ensure that that specific page’s fundamental functionality and navigation works as planned. The developers repair the problem before committing the build for testing.
- Testing for integration: Integration testing is frequently performed with unit testing. QA specialists apply integration testing to ensure that separate code modules function together as a group. Microservices, which are self-contained apps built to do a single purpose, are used by many current applications. The program will not function properly until these microservices can connect. Integrity testing ensures that these components work together and communicate effectively.
Consider a credit card firm with a website where a consumer may request a credit increase coded separately from the login feature. Integration tests may run to ensure that the system remembers the user when they visit the credit increase page and after a successful request.
- API evaluation: Application programming interfaces (APIs) link multiple applications or systems and have become more common as users want apps to work together. API testing ensures that API connections and answers work as expected, including how they handle data and user rights.
A trip booking site may use APIs to obtain pricing data from an airline company’s database. API testing allows QA experts to ensure that the correct data type is delivered in the local currency and that it is responsive to changes in date and location.
- User Interface Testing: UI testing involves QA specialists interacting with a software program’s graphical interface. This consists in testing user interface elements such as buttons, menus, and text input to ensure that the experience flow and features selected are ideal for the user experience.
For example, the manufacturer of a wearable develops a smartphone app for device setup and maintenance. The team would do UI testing to ensure that needed fields functioned as expected, photos were displayed appropriately, and maintenance information appeared on the app dashboard after usage.
- System evaluation: System testing involves QA personnel thoroughly testing the program. Testers use these functional testing tools to ensure that the entire integrated software product fulfills demands. Without knowing how the software or website was created, testers can give input on its operation and performance as needed. This aids teams in developing test cases for future usage. System testing is also known as end-to-end testing.
Assume a car manufacturer develops an in-car entertainment system that includes voice control, GPS, a video player, Bluetooth connectivity, mobile phone pairing, touch-screen support, and climate control. Testers evaluate all these elements individually, but they would also be assessed as a whole system to guarantee compatibility and a positive user experience.
- White-box evaluation: White-box testing is performed when the developer or tester can see the software’s internal infrastructure, design, and code. The organization uses a white-box testing technique to examine numerous parts of the program, such as established inputs and expected outputs, decision branching, statements in the code, and loops. This method includes unit, integration, and system testing, among other functional testing types.
Consider an end-to-end test for a consumer who enters payment information into a retailer’s app in this white box testing example. Developers and testers would use white-box testing to guarantee that sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, is kept in a PCI-compliant way. White-box testing may also check that purchase data flows to a machine-learning algorithm to make predictions, that the purchase generates rewards points appropriately, and that the inventory system deducts the products from the stock count.
- Black-box testing: Black-box testing, in contrast to white-box testing, includes testing against a system where the internal code, routes, and infrastructure is hidden. Hence testers employ this technique to check predicted outputs against specified inputs. Black-box testing is when a QA expert does not examine the code before the process begins. Black-box facilitates an organization to evaluate software the same way a consumer would. Black-box testing might include several non-functional and functional testing types depending on the test’s goal.
Assume the tester activates the search feature on a streaming television platform and does a search for a particular actor. The tester then checks to see if the search tool produces logical (anticipated) results, such as television programs. The tester then confirms that the search tool has expected analytical results, such as television episodes in which the actor starred or titles related to that actor’s well-known works.
- Acceptance Testing: Acceptance testing’s sole objective is to guarantee that the end-user can fulfill the business goals. Acceptance testing examines the feature-complete application flow and end-to-end experience rather than focusing on the functioning of single features. End users analyze the final product during user acceptability testing (UAT) and beta testing, subgroups of acceptance testing. The company can then make changes in response to the input.
Consider a software business that produces a solution that allows customers to handle large amounts of data. After a new version of the software is released, a group of its key users performs user acceptability testing to see if the new version satisfies their significant demands and how the product can be improved.
- Alpha testing: Another subgroup of acceptability testing, alpha testing evaluates the product using internal team members. The team should be familiar with the project but should not be involved in its development or testing. Even if specific builds might be slightly unstable, alpha testing allows an immediate subset of testers to root out the severe flaws before external users notice the product.
In this functional testing scenario, a casino games supplier publishes a new edition of its app that incorporates video poker. The organization assembles a cross-functional group of internal users who evaluate if the app works on their devices and how to improve the user experience.
- Beta testing: Beta testing is done with a few end consumers after the internal team has fixed the bugs. The process acts as a soft launch, allowing you to receive input from genuine users who have never used the software before. Beta testing will enable you to get feedback from unbiased consumers who may engage with the product differently than you expected, perhaps uncovering crucial undiscovered flaws before releasing it to a large user base.
A restaurant business introduces a new mobile order and pickup system for beta testing. Before releasing the capability to all mobile app users, the firm tests the software with a limited group of loyal consumers and compensates them for participation.
- Production evaluation: Once the product is released to the public, it is in a live production environment where any user may interact with it– you no longer have control over everything from the testing environment to the number of users. Production testing is a subset of continuous and shift-right testing, aiming to detect and prioritize user-reported issues as early as feasible. The company may test beyond the predefined test cases in a diversified environment by trying in production. The company can check the functioning and stability of the product through production testing.
A fitness equipment manufacturer, for example, may monitor user-reported problems and device data to ensure that its internet-connected treadmills, ellipticals, and stair-climbing machines work properly — both upon delivery and on an ongoing basis.
CONCLUSION:
As part of an organization’s necessary quality assurance process, functional and non-functional testing are combined. The expense of IT quality assurance and testing is frequently the most challenging problem. The purpose of various functional testing is to ensure the functioning and a positive user experience. However, it is complicated due to the size and scope of testing.
Headspins’s automated functional testing offers you the solution and expertise you need for the above-mentioned functional testing types.
Here’s the list of benefits you receive with Headspin’s automated functional testing:
- Cost-Effective Testing
- Efficient and Productive results
- Quick and Concrete results
- Time-efficient
- Quality improvement
