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Alpha Testing | Software Testing

Software Testing

Types of Testing Comes Under Testing Levels

November 26, 2008 Rajeev Prabhakaran Nair

1. Unit Testing
Unit Testing is primarily carried out by the developers themselves Deals functional correctness and the completeness of individual program units White box testing methods are employed

2. Integration Testing
Integration Testing: Deals with testing when several program units are integrated Regression testing: Change of behavior due to modification or addition is called Regression. Used to bring changes from worst to least Incremental Integration Testing: Checks out for bugs which encounter when a module has been integrated to the existing Smoke Testing: It is the battery of test which checks the basic functionality of program. If fails then the program is not sent for further testing

3. System Testing
System Testing : Deals with testing the whole program system for its intended purpose Recovery testing: System is forced to fail and is checked out how well the system recovers the failure Security Testing: Checks the capability of system to defend itself from hostile attack on programs and data Load & Stress Testing: The system is tested for max load and extreme stress points are figured out Performance Testing: Used to determine the processing speed Installation Testing: Installation & uninstallation is checked out in the target platform
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4. Acceptance Testing
UAT: ensures that the project satisfies the customer requirements Alpha Testing : It is the test done by the client at the developers site Beta Testing : This is the test done by the end-users at the clients site Long Term Testing : Checks out for faults occurrence in a long term usage of the product Compatibility Testing : Determines how well the product is substantial to product transition

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Posted in software testing. Tags: Alpha Testing, Beta Testing, Compatibility Testing, Incremental Integration Testing, Installation testing, integration testing, Load & Stress Testing, Long Term Testing, Performance testing, Recovery testing, Regression Testing, Security testing, Smoke Testing, system testing, UAT, unit testing. Leave a Comment

Different Types of Testing

November 20, 2008 Rajeev Prabhakaran Nair Performance testing a. Performance testing is designed to test run time performance of software within the context of an integrated system. It is not until all systems elements are fully integrated and certified as free of defects the true performance of a system can be ascertained b. Performance tests are often coupled with stress testing and often require both hardware and software infrastructure. That is, it is necessary to measure resource utilization in an exacting fashion. External instrumentation can monitor intervals, log events. By instrument the system, the tester can uncover situations that lead to degradations and possible system failure Security testing If your site requires firewalls, encryption, user authentication, financial transactions, or access to databases with sensitive data, you may need to test these and also test your sites overall protection against unauthorized internal or external access Exploratory Testing Often taken to mean a creative, internal software test that is not based on formal test plans or test cases; testers may be learning the software as they test it Benefits Realization tests With the increased focus on the value of Business returns obtained from investments in information technology, this type of test or analysis is becoming more critical. The benefits realization test is a test or analysis conducted after an application is moved into production in order to determine whether the application is likely to deliver the original projected benefits. The analysis is usually conducted by the
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business user or client group who requested the project and results are reported back to executive management Mutation Testing Mutation testing is a method for determining if a set of test data or test cases is useful, by deliberately introducing various code changes (bugs) and retesting with the original test data/cases to determine if the bugs are detected. Proper implementation requires large computational resources Sanity testing: Typically an initial testing effort to determine if a new software version is performing well enough to accept it for a major testing effort. For example, if the new software is crashing systems every 5 minutes, bogging down systems to a crawl, or destroying databases, the software may not be in a sane enough condition to warrant further testing in its current state Sanity testing Typically an initial testing effort to determine if a new software version is performing well enough to accept it for a major testing effort, For example, if the new software is crashing systems every 5 minutes, bogging down systems to a crawl, or destroying databases, the software may not be in a sane enough condition to warrant further testing in its current state Build Acceptance Tests Build Acceptance Tests should take less than 2-3 hours to complete (15 minutes is typical). These test cases simply ensure that the application can be built and installed successfully. Other related test cases ensure that Testing received the proper Development Release Document plus other build related information (drop point, etc.). The objective is to determine if further testing is possible. If any Level 1 test case fails, the build is returned to developers un-tested Smoke Tests Smoke Tests should be automated and take less than 2-3 hours (20 minutes is typical). These tests cases verify the major functionality a high level. The objective is to determine if further testing is possible. These test cases should emphasize breadth more than depth. All components should be touched, and every major feature should be tested briefly by the Smoke Test. If any Level 2 test case fails, the build is returned to developers un-tested Bug Regression Testing Every bug that was Open during the previous build, but marked as Fixed, Needs Re-Testing for the current build under test, will need to be regressed, or re-tested. Once the smoke test is completed, all resolved bugs need to be regressed. It should take between 5 minutes to 1 hour to regress most bugs Database Testing Database testing done manually in real time, it check the data flow between front end back ends. Observing that operations, which are operated on front-end is effected on back-end or not. The approach is as follows: While adding a record there front-end check back-end that addition of record is effected or not. So same for delete, update, Some other database testing checking for mandatory fields, checking for constraints and rules applied on the table , some time check the procedure using SQL Query analyzer Functional Testing (or) Business functional testing All the functions in the applications should be tested against the requirements document to ensure that the product conforms with what was specified.(They meet functional requirements)Verifies the crucial business functions are working in the application. Business functions are generally defined in the requirements Document. Each business function has certain rules, which cant be broken. Whether they applied to the user interface behavior or data behind the applications. Both levels need to be verified. Business functions may span several windows (or) several menu options, so simply testing that
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all windows and menus can be used is not enough to verify the business functions. You must verify the business functions as discrete units of your testing * Study SRS * Identify Unit Functions * For each unit function * Take each input function * Identify Equivalence class * Form Test cases * Form Test cases for boundary values * From Test cases for Error Guessing * Form Unit function v/s Test cases, Cross Reference Matrix User Interface Testing (or) structural testing It verifies whether all the objects of user interface design specifications are met. It examines the spelling of button test, window title test and label test. Checks for the consistency or duplication of accelerator key letters and examines the positions and alignments of window objects Volume Testing Testing the applications with voluminous amount of data and see whether the application produces the anticipated results (Boundary value analysis) Stress Testing Testing the applications response when there is a scarcity for system resources Load Testing It verifies the performance of the server under stress of many clients requesting data at the same time Installation testing The tester should install the systems to determine whether installation process is viable or not based on the installation guide Configuration Testing The system should be tested to determine it works correctly with appropriate software and hardware configurations Compatibility Testing The system should be tested to determine whether it is compatible with other systems (applications) that it needs to interface with Documentation Testing It is performed to verify the accuracy and completeness of user documentation 1. This testing is done to verify whether the documented functionality matches the software functionality 2. The documentation is easy to follow, comprehensive and well edited If the application under test has context sensitive help, it must be verified as part of documentation testing Recovery/Error Testing Testing how well a system recovers from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems Comparison Testing Testing that compares software weaknesses and strengths to competing products Acceptance Testing Acceptance testing, which black box is testing, will give the client the opportunity to verify the system functionality and usability prior to the system being moved to production. The acceptance test will be
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the responsibility of the client; however, it will be conducted with full support from the project team. The Test Team will work with the client to develop the acceptance criteria Alpha Testing Testing of an application when development is nearing completion, Minor design changes may still be made as a result of such testing. Alpha Testing is typically performed by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers Beta Testing Testing when development and testing are essentially completed and final bugs, problems need to be found before the final release. Beta Testing is typically done by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers Regression Testing The objective of regression testing is to ensure software remains intact. A baseline set of data and scripts will be maintained and executed to verify changes introduced during the release have not undone any previous code. Expected results from the baseline are compared to results of the software being regression tested. All discrepancies will be highlighted and accounted for, before testing proceeds to the next level Incremental Integration Testing Continuous testing of an application as new functionality is recommended. This may require various aspects of an applications functionality be independent enough to work separately before all parts of the program are completed, or that test drivers are developed as needed. This type of testing may be performed by programmers or by testers Usability Testing Testing for user-friendliness clearly this is subjective and will depend on the targeted end-user or customer. User interviews, surveys, video recording of user sessions, and other techniques can be used. Programmers and testers are usually not appropriate as usability testers Integration Testing Upon completion of unit testing, integration testing, which is black box testing, will begin. The purpose is to ensure distinct components of the application still work in accordance to customer requirements. Test sets will be developed with the express purpose of exercising the interfaces between the components. This activity is to be carried out by the Test Team. Integration test will be termed complete when actual results and expected results are either in line or differences are explainable/acceptable based on client input System Testing Upon completion of integration testing, the Test Team will begin system testing. During system testing, which is a black box test, the complete system is configured in a controlled environment to validate its accuracy and completeness in performing the functions as designed. The system test will simulate production in that it will occur in the production-like test environment and test all of the functions of the system that will be required in production. The Test Team will complete the system test. Prior to the system test, the unit and integration test results will be reviewed by SQA to ensure all problems have been resolved. It is important for higher level testing efforts to understand unresolved problems from the lower testing levels. System testing is deemed complete when actual results and expected results are either in line or differences are explainable/acceptable based on client input Parallel/Audit Testing Testing where the user reconciles the output of the new system to the output of the current system to verify the new
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Posted in software testing. Tags: Acceptance Testing, Alpha Testing, Benefits Realization tests, Beta Testing, Bug Regression Testing, Build Acceptance Tests, Business functional testing, Comparison Testing, Compatibility Testing, Configuration Testing, Database Testing, Documentation Testing, Exploratory Testing, Functional Testing, Installation testing, Load Testing, Mutation Testing, Performance testing, Recovery/Error Testing, Regression Testing, Sanity testing, Security testing, Smoke Tests, Stress Testing, structural testing, Types of Testing, User Interface Testing, Volume Testing. 29 Comments Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Garland by Stefan Nagtegaal and Steven Wittens.

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