Software Testing - Techniques

Quiz

The various testing techniques are taken up to verify the software against its functional, and non-functional requirements to detect structural, end-to-end, and other defects. Multiple testing techniques are applied to enhance the quality of the software.

Types of Software Testing Techniques

The different types of software testing techniques are listed below −

1. Manual Testing − It includes inspection, and verification of the software by human intervention.

2. Automated Testing − It includes usage of the automation tools for carrying out the testing activities.

3. Functional Testing − It includes validating whether the functional requirements of the software have been satisfied.

4. Non-Functional Testing − It includes validating whether the non-functional requirements such as reliability, security, speed, performance etc of the software have been satisfied.

5. Unit Testing − It is conducted by the developers to verify the unit that they have developed themselves.

6. Integration Testing − It is conducted to verify whether all the components of the software are working fine after being integrated.

7. System Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software is working correctly as per the given requirements.

8. Acceptance Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software is working correctly as per the customers requirements.

9. Regression Testing − It is conducted to verify whether any new code changes have not introduced any new defects in the software.

10. Performance Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software meets all the requirements with respect to its scalability, reliability, robustness, security etc.

11. Security Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software meets the security requirements of the software.

12. Exploratory Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software exists without following a systematic testing procedure.

13. Boundary Value Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software works correctly with the boundary values.

14. Usability Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software meets the user-friendly requirements.

15. User Acceptance Testing − It is conducted to verify whether the software meets the client requirements, and expectations.

Principles of Software Testing

The principles of software testing are listed below −

Testing is done to detect defects in the software.
Exhaustive testing is not possible.
Defect clustering which concludes that the maximum count of defects is identified from a small number of components.
Pesticide Paradox which refers to the fact that the same number of test cases if used repeatedly fail to identify new defects in the software.
The testing activities should be started from the initial stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC).
Testing is context dependent.
Testing is done to detect defects and to confirm that the software works correctly as per the user requirements.

Different Techniques of Software Testing

The different techniques of software testing are listed below −

Static Testing − It is done to identify the bugs in the software without actually running the code. It detects issues from the very beginning of the SDLC.
Dynamic Testing − It is done to verify the dynamic nature of the software by actually running the code.

Different Static Testing Techniques

The different static testing techniques are listed below −

Walkthrough − It is primarily a review meeting led by the code author.
Technical Review − It is a critical assessment of all the details in the software.
Inspection − It is conducted to review the software and detect defects in it.
Data Flow − It is an important part of the white box testing. It uses the control flow graph to obtain the paths where the new variables are defined, and later utilized.
Control Flow − It involves the structural testing of the software program code.

Different Dynamic Testing Techniques

The different dynamic testing techniques are listed below −

Structure Based Testing − The structure based testing is further divided into decision coverage testing, statement coverage testing, condition coverage testing, and multiple coverage testing.
Experienced Based Testing − The experience based testing is further divided into error guessing, and ad hoc testing.
Specification Based Testing − The specification based testing is further divided into equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, decision table, use case testing, and state transitioning.

Advantages of Software Testing Techniques

The advantages of software testing techniques are listed below −

The different software testing techniques help to detect defects from the early stages of the SDLC, which improves the overall quality, and reliability of the software.
The different software testing techniques improve the usability, and overall user experience of the software.
The different software testing techniques bring in the confidence, and trust of the customers, and project stakeholders.
By identifying the defects early, the different software testing techniques help to maintain, and modify the software easily.
It is cheaper to find, and fix defects early rather than later by using different software testing techniques.

Disadvantages of Software Testing Techniques

The disadvantages of software testing techniques are listed below −

The usage of different software testing techniques is a very time-consuming process.
The usage of different software testing techniques require an adequate number of resources who have the experience, domain expertise, and knowledge.
The usage of different software testing techniques does not guarantee zero defects in the production.
The results of testing are not always expected, and defects are not easily reproducible.
The usage of different software testing techniques may delay the overall project deadlines.
The usage of different software testing techniques may not always be possible to automate.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Testing - Techniques. Weve started with describing what are the different software testing techniques, what are the principles of software testing, what are the different techniques of software testing, what are the different static testing techniques, what are the different dynamic testing techniques, what are the advantages of software testing techniques, and what are the disadvantages of software testing techniques. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Testing Techniques. It is wise to keep practicing what youve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.

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