SOFTWARE TESTING

Software testing is the process of assessing the functionality of a software program.

The process checks for errors and gaps and whether the outcome of the application matches desired expectations before the software is installed and goes live.

In simple term software testing is the process of evaluating and verifying that a software product or application does what it is supposed to do .

It is a method of determining whether the actual software product meets the expected requirements and ensuring that the software product is free of defects.

This approach ensures that only quality products are distributed to consumers, which in turn elevates customer satisfaction and trust. So, software quality here means bug free, delivered on time,within budget,meets expectations ,reliable, compatible, maintainable and secure.

Software testing is combination of verification and validation process:

VERIFICATION:

It is a static process that does not involve code execution.

-It focus on the documentation,design and checks whether we met the specified requirements.

- “It answers the question: Are we building the product right?".

-It involves reviews, walkthrough and Inspection.

1. Review: Members of the internal team perform peer review so that every team member reviews the documents to spot any issues. It includes:

2. Walkthrough: This type of review is carried out by an expert in a related subject area. The expert reviews the documents to confirm the feasibility of the features so as to ensure issues don’t appear during development.

3. Inspection: This involves reviewing the software requirements specifications (SRS) to verify the specs listed. It is an formal process which includes three people: Reader,Writer and Moderator.

4. Informal: During an informal review, the owner of the documents presents the documents to an audience to give their inputs.

VALIDATION:

It is a dynamic process that involves code execution.

 -It checks software for its reliability, usability, and functionality to meet the expectations.

-It answers the question “ Are we building the right product?".

-It involves the actual testing like unit, integration,system and user acceptance testing.

1. Unit Testing: Checks if software components are fulfilling functionalities or not.

2. Integration Testing : Checks the data flow from one module to other modules.

3. System Testing : Evaluates both functional and non-functional needs for the testing.

4. Acceptance Testing : Checks the requirements of a specification or contract are met as per its delivery.

Benefits of Verification and Validation (V&V)

Verification and validation are critical parts of product creation in many fields. Here are some of the most essential benefits of checking and confirming:

1. Making sure the product works: Verification and validation help ensure the product works how it’s supposed to and meets the standards. By systematically testing and evaluating the product, possible design flaws, defects, or performance problems can be found and fixed, making the final product more useful and reliable.

2. Improving the quality of the product: The quality of the product can be improved through thorough testing and validation. Finding problems early in the development process and fixing them makes the chances of making a high-quality product that meets customer standards much higher.

3. Minimizing costs and risks: Verification and validation help reduce the risks of product fails or problems with how it works. By finding and fixing possible problems early on, the costs and effects of recalls, insurance claims, and unhappy customers can be kept to a minimum. This saves money for the group and keeps its reputation in good shape.

4. Meeting rules and standards: Verification and validation ensure that the product meets the rules and standards set by the government and the business. By thoroughly testing the product against relevant requirements and regulations, organizations can show compliance, meet legal obligations, and avoid fines or other legal liabilities.

5. Improving customer satisfaction: Organizations can deliver products that meet or exceed customer standards if they do thorough verification and validation. This makes customers happier, keeps them returning, and gives the brand a good name. Customers who are happy with the product are likelier to buy it again and tell their friends about it.

6. Improving performance and efficiency: The actions of verification and validation help improve the performance and efficiency of the product. By testing and tweaking things like functionality, usability, speed, and dependability, companies can improve the overall performance of their products and gain a competitive edge in the market.

7. Helping with continuous improvement: The verification and validation methods give useful feedback and data that can be used to drive efforts to keep getting better. Testing and validation help find places to improve, guide future design changes, and give product developers information they can use to make decisions.

8. Improving safety and reliability: Verification and approval are crucial for ensuring a safe and reliable product. By putting the product through many tests, like safety checks and tests to see how reliable it is, possible problems or risks can be found and fixed. This makes the goods safer for those who use them and reduces the chances of accidents or failures.

Principles of Software Testing

1. Start software testing at early stages: Testing should start as early as possible in the Software Development Life Cycle. So that any defects in the requirements or design phase are captured in early stages.

2. Testing shows a presence of defects: Testing shows the presence of defects in the software.Testing talks about the presence of defects and don’t talk about the absence of defects.

3. Absence of Error – Fallacy: It is highly impossible to give a bug free software to customer.

4. Exhaustive testing is not possible:We cannot do exhaustive testing because we should not use same type of data everytime for testing.

5. Testing is context based: You might use a different approach, methodologies, techniques, and types of testing depending upon the application type.

6. Pesticide Paradox: Pesticide Paradox in software testing is the process of repeating the same test cases again and again, eventually, the same test cases will no longer find new bugs. So to overcome this Pesticide Paradox, it is necessary to review the test cases regularly and add or update them to find more defects.

7. Defect Clustering: Defect Clustering in software testing means that a small module or functionality contains most of the bugs or it has the most operational failures.

Keep learning and growing...