Types of Software Testing: A Detailed Guide

Why Is Software Testing Important?

Software testing allows software developers to discover defects. They do this before they deliver the software to clients. If they detect no defects during testing, it guarantees the quality of the software. No bugs mean that the client can be confident that the software is reliable and performing well. Through software testing, the clients can speed up the time to market a new software product.

Errors, bugs, and defects in software can occur at any phase in the software development life cycle. Software testers and developers perform software testing. They do this to identify the errors early in the software development life cycle. It allows them to correct the bugs before they get out of hand.

We listed the top benefits of software testing. Here they go!

Cost Savings

Testing your code prevents bugs from slipping into your software. When you miss a bug during testing, it can cost you money. It will force you to go back and fix the problem. This means paying more for new developers or paying existing developers over time. This extra work can eat up valuable resources and time. This is true, especially if you’ve already launched your product.

Security

Testing also helps protect against security issues like viruses or hacks. It ensures that there aren’t any holes in your code before you launch it. Hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities in your system. They can also steal data or cause damage to computers or networks connected to them. This could lead to lawsuits against your company if something goes wrong!

Quality

Testing your product before releasing it will ensure the highest possible product quality. Customers enjoy using software that is reliable and user-friendly.

Client Satisfaction

Software testing ensures that your product works as intended. It also helps in meeting the needs of your users. As a result, you will increase client satisfaction, which will lead to increased sales.

Principles of Software Testing

There are many aspects of software testing, but seven principles bring them together. These seven principles will guide you in making software of the highest quality. By keeping these in mind, you can create an engaging and seamless user experience. By following these seven guidelines, you will be able to deliver a great product to customers!

Here are the seven principles of software testing.

Testing Shows the Presence of Defects

This means that the goal of a test is to find out if there are bugs in your program, not to show that there are no bugs.

Write your tests with the understanding that they will fail. Then, tweak your code until it passes all your tests. You can’t expect your tests to be perfect. You’ll never get it right 100% of the time. But by writing them this way, you will ensure that your code is improving. And your software is getting closer to perfection.

Exhaustive Testing Is Not Possible

Exhaustive testing is a method of testing in which you test every possible input. You will also observe every possible outcome. While this sounds like a great way to test software, it’s actually impossible to do. It would take too long and cost too much.

Even if you test all inputs and outcomes, there’s no guarantee that the code will work in every situation. The best you can do is make sure that your code works for the most common cases but might not work for everything else.

Early Testing

The best way to ensure that a product is bug-free is to test it early. This means testing the product before it’s even finished. It’s important to know that there are many different kinds of software out there. Each software has its own specific needs. 

For example, you need to test mobile apps on different devices. This way, you will be sure that they work well.

Defect Clustering

In software testing, you should remember one thing. Defects cluster together in a way that can be hard to predict. This means that if you find one defect, there’s a good chance there are more nearby.

In other words, if you find one bug, look for more!

Pesticide Paradox

The pesticide paradox refers to the fact that no matter how many bugs you squash, there will always be more. You can apply this concept to all kinds of situations, from software testing to bug hunting.

It’s easy to feel like your hard work isn’t paying off when you’re dealing with a never-ending stream of bugs. But in reality, the more reported and fixed bugs, the easier it will be for everyone using your product.

Testing Is Context-Dependent

This means that the circumstances surrounding each test are unique. So, the tests themselves must be unique. You can’t pick a random set of tests and run them on every single project. You need to know your priorities, your audience, and what kind of results you’re looking for. Only then should you start planning out tests.

If we’re going to build a house with bricks, we need to know how big the bricks are before we start laying them out. If they’re too big or too small, we need to find other bricks that fit our needs better.

Absence of Errors Fallacy

When you introduce new code into your app, there’s the chance that you’ll introduce new errors, too. There will always be some risks when you add new features or make changes to existing ones. The key here is being able to cut those risks. How? This is through using unit testing, functional testing, and regression testing. This way, you can spot potential problems before they become actual problems!

Major Types of Software Testing

We classify the types of software testing into three. We have functional testing, non-functional testing, and other types of software testing.

Functional Testing

Functional testing is one of the most used types of software testing. It verifies that a product performs its intended functions. It also tests if the product works according to specifications and requirements. Most of all, if it meets user expectations.

There are four types of software testing under the functional testing type. They are unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing.

Unit Testing

Unit testing is the most basic form of functional testing. It involves testing individual units of source code to ensure they function well. Developers who work on specific components in isolation from others perform unit testing.

• White Box Testing

White box testing is a type of unit testing that focuses on the internal structure of the software. It makes use of different techniques to test the code and its components.

Integration Testing

Integration testing checks how well parts of a system work together when combined. You need to test all parts of the system and check if they are ready for integration with other systems. Testers who have access to the whole system perform integration testing.

System Testing

System testing looks into the entire system. Then, the software developers put the system into production-like environments. They will see if the system performs as expected. Testers who have no prior knowledge of any part of the system perform the testing. They don’t know what they’re looking for because they don’t know what works yet!

There are two types of system testing. These are end-to-end testing and black box testing.

• End-to-End Testing

End-to-end testing tests an entire application from beginning to end. This includes all its components and functions. It is like white box testing in the sense that it looks at the code itself, but it tests the actual program as it runs.

• Black Box Testing

Black box testing involves testing an application without looking at its code. Instead, you take a bird’s eye view of the program. Then, you will examine its inputs and outputs. You can perform black box testing without knowing anything about how it works under the hood.

User Acceptance Testing

The goal of user acceptance testing is to see how the intended end users interact with the software. Software developers do this to see if they have overlooked some bugs. User acceptance testing ensures that the software is ready for release.

There are two types of user acceptance testing. They are Alpha Testing and Beta Testing.

• Alpha Testing

Alpha testing is what happens before beta testing. It’s a sort of dry run. You’re testing the software with real users. Alpha testing makes sure that your product is working as intended. It ensures that the software doesn’t have any major bugs or glitches. You can conduct an alpha test can with a small group of people. It’s important to keep in mind that your application won’t be perfect during this stage. It’s more about making sure it’s safe for use by other people.

• Beta Testing

Beta testing is when you’re ready to let a larger group of people try out your product. You might still find bugs here. But generally speaking, beta tests should go well without any major problems. Beta testers are usually people who have signed up to test products. They may or may not receive compensation for their time. They’ll give feedback about things like ease of use, UI design, and usability problems. Their feedback helps you improve your product before releasing it in the wild!

Non-Functional Testing

Software experts use non-functional testing to check the performance of an application. It determines if the software will work on different hardware configurations. It also checks how the app will work with different operating systems and conditions.

Non-functional testing is as important as functional testing and affects client satisfaction. Below are the different types of non-functional testing.

• Compatibility Testing

Compatibility testing checks if the software is compatible with other products. It also looks at the software’s compatibility with other operating systems or hardware. Developers and testers perform compatibility tests. They do this to ensure that the app will work with other applications and systems.

• Browser Compatibility Testing

This type of testing ensures that your website is compatible with most browsers. For example, you’re building an e-commerce website. You should perform browser compatibility testing. Doing so will ensure that your site works well on Chrome and Safari.

• Performance Testing

Performance testing measures how fast your site loads under various conditions. For example, there is high traffic on the server or when someone has many tabs open in their browser window.

Performance testing gives you an idea if your app or site can handle high traffic. Through this, you will know the areas that need improvement.

There are three types of performance testing. They are load testing, scalability testing, and security testing.

• Load Testing

Load testing measures how well your site performs under heavy loads. This type of testing checks if your app is able to handle sudden spikes in traffic without crashing.

• Scalability Testing

Scalability testing is a form of performance testing. It evaluates how well an application responds to increased workloads. It helps determine if an application can handle growth without slowing down.

• Security Testing

Security testing ensures that a system conforms to security policies, standards, and regulations. Security testing involves identifying potential vulnerabilities in an application’s design and implementation. Then, it develops automated tests that expose those vulnerabilities.

• Usability Testing

Usability testing involves asking users what they think about your website. This type of testing allows you to make improvements based on their feedback.

• Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing ensures that your application is accessible to people with disabilities. The goal is to make sure they can use it in the same way as everyone else.

Other Forms of Testing

User Interface Testing

User interface testing looks at all the aspects of the software that end users may come in contact with. When you test user interfaces, you are testing the visual elements. Developers do UI testing to verify if the visual elements are functioning.

Ad Hoc Testing

Ad hoc testing involves running quick tests against a system as soon as it’s available. Developers use the test results to improve the system and make sure that it works as intended.

Recovery Testing

Recovery testing is checking if a system can recover from an unexpected failure. It’s a way to ensure that your system can keep running when something goes wrong.

Backward Compatibility Testing

Backward compatibility testing ensures that your website works with older browsers.

It’s important to have this kind of testing because some users may be using older browsers. Make sure older browsers are compatible with your website. If you don’t, the user experience will be less than ideal.

Regression Testing

Regression testing is the process of repeating a test on a new version of a product. We do it to make sure that it doesn’t break any functionality.

It’s important to note that regression testing is not about finding bugs. It’s also about making sure that new features don’t break old features. Sometimes, when you add something new, you might also change something else in the process.

Agile Testing

Agile testing is a technique that lets you test your product in small increments rather than all at once. It’s a way of making sure that you’re building the right thing and not wasting time on something that doesn’t work.

The idea is to break down your project into small, achievable chunks with defined goals. Then, test each one as it’s completed. This helps you make sure that what you’re building is actually working before moving on to the next step.

API Testing

API Testing involves testing application programming interfaces. APIs are rules for software developers to follow when creating their own programs. The goal is to ensure that the new application works with existing applications. It also aims that the new app will be compatible with future versions of those applications.

Reliability Testing

Reliability testing involves executing a system and measuring its performance. A reliability test determines if a system functions under specific conditions. You can conduct reliability tests using different types of software development tools and techniques.

Why Choose BIT Studios for Software Testing Solutions and Services

You’re looking for a software testing services provider. You want to know why BIT Studios is the one you should choose.

We’ve got the skills. Our testers are experts in their fields. They have years of experience and proven track records when it comes to software testing. We don’t only test your software—we make sure it’s working as well as it can be and that it meets your needs.

We also perform automation testing. Our automated testing tools allow us to perform quick and efficient tests. As a result, you can release your product on time without sacrificing quality.

We know what we’re doing. With over 29 years of experience in the industry, BIT Studios knows what works and what doesn’t. This is especially true when it comes to software testing services. We’ve seen every kind of project and challenge imaginable. We worked with small startups to large enterprises and millions in revenue. We’ve got the track record to prove it!

Jeffery Thompson

Jeff eats and breathes technology. His undying passion for software development inspired him to establish BIT Studios, a reputable custom software development company that caters to SMEs and Fortune 500 companies. Jeff is a strategic thinker who combines creativity and expertise to build digital ...