A Guide to Software Testing for You

Software testing may be a bit complicated but here is a guide that will help you.

What is testing?

Testing is the process of evaluating a system, software, or some components to find any gaps, failures, or missing requirements. Testing analyzes the software or product to detect the difference between the existing and required conditions. Aside from that, testing also checks the features of the given project.

Who does testing?

The testing depends upon the process and the stakeholders of the particular project. Developers usually conduct unit testing, which determines the capacities of professionals involved in testing. This testing will distinguish who will be assigned to the following responsibilities:

• Software tester
• Software developer
• Project manager
• End-user

Each company has different designations for people who test the software mostly depend on the skills and capabilities. It is not possible to check a current project at any time during the development. The testing tea should know when the testing will begin and when it should end.

Starting the test

An early start of testing can possibly reduce the time and cost of the project. Early detection of defects can lessen the rework and could probably deliver error-free software. Besides, the testing also depends on what development model we will use. If the testing will utilize the waterfall model, formal testing is performed on the testing stage. When the testing uses the incremental model, the testing should be executed at the end of iteration following the whole application. The testing is done in different formats at each phase of the software testing life cycle. It is when:

During the gathering of requirements- analysis and verification of requirements is also a part of testing.
Reviewing designs- evaluating the designs with the intention to improve and develop is also considered a test.
Completion of code- testing performed by the developers after the code completion is also a part of testing.

Stopping the test

It is hard to tell when the test should stop. Testing is an infinite process. From then till now, no one claims that the software undergoes a 100% test. There are the following aspects to consider for stopping the test process:

• The testing deadlines
• The test case completion
• Code coverage and functional test completion
• No high-risk bugs detected
• Bugs rate falls
• The decision of the management

Types of software testing

Two types of testing can be used to test software during its development cycle- manual testing and automation testing.

Manual testing

It includes testing software manually. It refers to testing without using any automated tools or script. Moreover, the different stages of manual testing are unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user-acceptance testing.

Automation testing

It is the opposite of manual testing. This process involves using automated tools and scripts. We also use automation testing to re-run the test scenarios we perform manually, quickly, and repeatedly. Automation testing is more convenient than manual testing. It also saves time and effort for testers and developers.

There are tools suitable for automation testing, including:

• WATIR
• TestComplete
• SilkTest
• Selenium
• LoadRunner
• Testing Anywhere
• WinRunner
• Visual Studio Test Professional
• IBM Rational Functional Tester
• HP Quick Test Professional

Either manually or automated, softer testing just aims to deliver successful products. It plays a big role in the development of software or system. Hence, without proper tests, it might result in failures and loss of profit. Also, the testers and developers are one of the biggest contributors to the software successfully running today.