There are well over 100 different types of software testing processes that occur within the software development lifecycle.
Each one ensures the quality of your product fulfills users’ expectations and outshines your competitors.
However, an inefficient test strategy can result in costly delays or cause new problems in your development. Therefore, it’s important to know what types of software tests are suitable for your project and the stage of development it is in.
Agile testing is an iterative and collaborative software testing approach integrated into the agile development process. When taking an agile approach to the software testing process, a tester may employ several different software test types in various stages of the software development life cycle.
Agile testing emphasizes the importance of continuous testing throughout the software development life cycle and focuses on delivering high-quality software products that meet customer needs.
Agile testing is necessary during projects where your team must meet a tight deadline while also adapting to the demands and feedback of your stakeholders. In cases like checking a stable, well-built legacy software system, a fast-paced development cycle isn’t required, thus making agile testing unnecessary.
A strong example of when agile testing would be necessary is if you are developing a mobile app for a retail client in high fashion with a large customer volume. The client asks for bi-annual updates to their app according to the release of their seasonal clothing collections, along with new features that highlight their most prominent products.
To deliver these specialized updates on time while ensuring the stability and usability of the app for a high number of users, your team would have to implement an Agile testing system into its software development process, utilizing efficient testing tools and performing interval sprints until the project is complete.
Big Data Testing is verifying and validating the quality of large and complex data sets used in applications or systems.
It involves testing data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and performance to ensure that the data-driven applications or systems function as intended and meet business requirements.
An example of when you may require big data testing is when you are working on a project that involves building and implementing a machine-learning model, which requires vast amounts of data.
You will need to perform big data testing processes to validate the data and ensure it is effective and accurate.
Functional testing is a type of software testing that verifies whether a software system or application meets the applicable requirements and specifications. Functional testing constitutes a type of “black box testing,” in which testers check the external behaviors of software but aren’t aware of its internal functions, as opposed to “white box testing,” where the developers are fully aware while testing.
Functional tests involve testing the individual functions and features of the software, ensuring that they work as intended and that all defects or issues are identified and fixed before the software receives any user feedback.
This is opposed to non-functional testing, which involves testing software aspects that aren’t critical to its functionality. In addition, functional tests include several different types of software testing within its sphere, including integration testing, unit testing, and system testing.
Functional testing is a necessity in the development of modern websites and apps. For example, your team will have to undertake functional testing procedures when developing an online banking platform. Your team must test and check if all the site’s buttons, forms, links, and other aspects are working correctly in order to ensure the user experience is satisfying and productive.
Independent software testing is when an external team of testers, separate from the development team, verifies and validates the quality of software products.
It involves testing the software from an end-user perspective, identifying defects and issues, and ensuring it meets the required quality standards and specifications.
Your development team is suffering several setbacks due to an issue in your application or system that they can’t manage to find. In this case, getting a team with an objective view of the situation can help quickly identify the issue.
Independent software testers can also provide a clear, actionable evaluation of your software’s performance, security, usability, and functionality, giving your team the direction and focus necessary to improve the quality of your product.
Localization testing ensures that a software product is adapted and compatible with a specific region or country’s language, culture, and local requirements.
It involves testing the product’s language, date and time formats, currency, and other region-specific factors to ensure that the software functions correctly and meets the target audience’s needs.
Suppose you’ve developed a successful mobile app in the U.S. and seek to expand into Europe or Asia. In that case, you must perform a certain level of localization testing, ensuring your app has the same interface, functionality, and content fluency.
If your app isn’t optimized for the language and culture of your target market, it is far less likely to succeed there.
Performance testing is a type of non-functional testing that verifies the responsiveness, stability, scalability, and speed of a software application or system under varying workloads and conditions.
Different types of software testing exist within it, such as load testing, scalability testing, stress testing, and stability testing.
A performance test involves assessing the software’s ability to handle user requests, data processing, and resource utilization, identifying bottlenecks and performance issues, and optimizing the software to reach top performance.
Your team is building a web application you’ve determined will handle many concurrent users. You will put the application through performance testing to ensure it can take the workload while operating effectively.
Putting it through exhaustive testing scenarios, such as simulating high user traffic, allows you to measure the application’s response time, scalability, and resource usage.
Through extensive performance testing, you can test your application’s limits and ensure it is optimized for the best possible user experience.
Regression testing verifies whether a change or addition to a software application or system has not introduced any new defects or broken any existing functionality.
It involves retesting software components to ensure that the changes have not caused unintended or side effects and that the software continues functioning as intended.
A mobile application that your company developed is slated to undergo a complete brand redesign, which includes a comprehensive software update. This will require your team to check for new defects or negative impacts on the app’s functionality.
Thus, you perform regression tests, which involve retesting the functioning features of the app through several test cases, checking to make sure they work as they should after the new updates are made.
Security testing is a type of non-functional testing that ensures a software application or system is secure and protected against potential threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks.
It involves testing the software’s ability to protect user data, maintain confidentiality, prevent unauthorized access, and comply with relevant security regulations and standards.
A series of data breaches against several online banking platforms have been reported. After you confirm that your company’s platform was not one of them, your team’s response is to put it through rigorous security testing.
They seek and identify vulnerabilities inside and outside the system and define potential threats requiring a dedicated cybersecurity team. Regardless, continuous testing of your platform’s security will assure stakeholders and users that their data and assets are safe and sound.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – also known as usability testing – is a type of non-functional testing that verifies whether a software product meets the needs and requirements of the end users or customers.
It involves testing the software from the end-user perspective, evaluating its usability, functionality, and compatibility, and ensuring it meets the business objectives and user expectations before its release.
Your team has completed the development of a mobile game app and wants to confirm that its current state will match user expectations. Thus, you perform user acceptance testing.
This can be done through beta testing, in which you gather a group of users interested in the game and have them test the app’s functionality and usability. Or, you can perform alpha testing and evaluate the app solely within your team.
Either way, the feedback you will receive is invaluable, revealing small gameplay bugs and software defects that help you polish the app before it is officially launched, ensuring it provides a smooth, satisfying user experience for all upcoming players.
Software testing helps diminish development costs over the long term. More importantly, it assures the quality of your product, allowing you to stand equally and even excel beyond your competitors.
Yet, even knowledgeable software developers can find it challenging to know what software component needs to be fixed or what testing techniques to use.
That is why XBOSoft assists software developers by providing various solutions for all types of software testing needs. Our highly-experienced software testers employ the latest end-to-end testing frameworks and tools to identify bugs early in the development cycle, saving your company time and money in the long term.
If your business or software development company requires assistance in identifying what kind of software testing is best for your latest project, let us help you find out. Reach out to our team and book your consultation today.