What Are the Most Popular Software Testing Methods?
Developing software from scratch is not an easy affair, with most projects taking between 3 and 9 months to complete. The cost of the entire project can be as high as $250,000.
When you’ve invested that much time and money, you want to be sure that your product is successful once it hits the market. The best way to do so is by testing any software you develop before releasing it for public or commercial use.
There’s a variety of software testing methods aimed at ironing out any issues it may have that could hamper user experience (UX). Consumers want a product that performs as advertised. Any vulnerabilities in your software could make them rightfully alarmed.
So, what software testing methodologies should you consider when engaged in a software development project? Read on to learn more.
Categories of Software Testing Methods
Software testing methods can be grouped into two major categories: functional and non-functional testing. Let’s examine each of the two in detail.
Functional Testing
Functional testing methods test the software against the requirements of the business. The goal is to check whether every piece of the software performs as expected.
You can hire a quality assurance services provider, such as Quality Logic, to perform functional testing on your software.
Functional testing can be broken down into:
Unit Testing
Unit testing is typically the first level of testing in the software development process. Generally, this type of testing is conducted by the software developers themselves.
Unit testing checks whether the software’s individual components at the code level function as they’ve been designed to. Many developers conduct this type of testing manually. However, you can still automate the testing process to speed up the delivery cycle and widen test coverage.
The best thing about unit testing is that it makes debugging easier. That’s because the earlier you find issues, the easier it is to fix them.
Integration Testing
Once you’ve tested each unit, you interpret it with other units, creating components or modules designed for specific tasks. You test these units as a group through integration testing, checking whether the modules work as expected.
Integration testing can be done by either your developers or an independent quality control expert. The test combines both manual and automated approaches.
System Testing
This black box testing method is meant to evaluate the finished and integrated system. The goal is to ensure that the software as a whole meets the specified requirements.
Typically, a separate quality assurance testing team conducts system testing. They test the software from end-to-end before you push it into production.
Acceptance Testing
This final phase of functional testing assesses whether your software is ready for release to the consumer. The goal is to ensure that your product complies with your original criteria and meets the consumer’s needs.
You’ll need to test the software internally as well as externally. That means your quality assurance team must look at the software, besides your end-users who perform beta testing. Beta testing helps you get real feedback from your potential customers, which is essential in addressing any last usability concerns.
This requires the product to be tested both internally and externally, meaning you’ll need to get it into the hands of your end-users for beta testing along with those of your QA team. Beta testing is key to getting real feedback from potential customers and can address any final usability concerns.
2. Non-Functional Testing
Non-functional testing entails focusing on the software’s operational aspects. This testing approach can further be divided into:
Performance Testing
Performance testing aims to check how the software will behave under different conditions. The aim is to determine an app’s stability and responsiveness in real user situations.
Performance testing can be further broken into:
- Load testing
- Stress testing
- Endurance testing
- Spike testing
Load testing involves adding increasing levels of simulated demand on the product to determine whether it’ll be able to handle what it’s meant to. Stress testing pushes this further to see how the system will respond once its peak load is reached or exceeded.
Endurance testing analyzes the system’s behavior under a given amount of load for an extended period. Spike testing measures how your app will behave when the load increases suddenly and drastically.
Security Testing
Cybercrime is a very real threat, and companies are increasingly getting concerned about the data used and stored in the software. Security testing aims at checking whether the data and information in a system are secure.
During security testing, you look for loopholes and risks within the software that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive business information. You’ll want to verify each of the basic security principles, including integrity, authentication, confidentiality, availability, authorization, and non-repudiation.
Usability Testing
This method of software testing measures the product’s ease of use from the perspective of the end-user. The test is often conducted during the acceptance or system testing stages.
Usability testing aims at seeing whether the aesthetics and visible design of an app meet your intended workflow for different processes, including logging into the application. You get to see how intuitive to use the application is.
Compatibility Testing
This testing method determines how compatible your product is with various operating systems, browsers, resolution configurations, and platforms. The end goal is to make sure that your app’s functionality is supported across the various environments your target customers will be using.
Test and Improve Your Software Before It Hits the Market
Every software developer wants to create a product that performs excellently. The best way to do so is by testing your software thoroughly before releasing it to the consumer. The different software testing methods we’ve discussed in this guide can help ensure that your app does what you designed it to without hassles.
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