Testing is a crucial phase in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), where we give the software a thorough check-up before it makes its grand debut. It’s an exciting stage that ensures every feature is ready to perform flawlessly upon deployment.
However, there are various types of software testing that we use to examine different aspects of the software. Each type has its purpose and benefits, making it essential to understand them before deciding which one to use for your project.
In this blog, we’ve listed various types of software testing to help you pick the right approach for your software.
Let’s get started!
Manual Testing
Testing software or an application by hand, based on what the client needs, is what we call manual testing. Basically, it’s about verifying and validating your product.
With manual testing, you get to check if the app or software behaves as per the requirements. The great thing is you don’t need to be an expert with any testing tools to do it. Plus, while you’re testing, you can prepare the test documents.
In software testing, manual testing can be further classified into three different types of testing, which are as follows:
White Box Testing
In white-box testing, developers take a close look at every line of code before passing it on to the testing team or test engineers. This testing method prioritizes analyzing the flow of inputs and outputs in the software to enhance application security.
It is also referred to as open box testing, glass box testing, structural testing, clear box testing, or transparent box testing.
Black Box Testing
Black-box testing is a manual testing approach where test engineers check software against requirements, identify bugs, and return it to the developers. Developers fix the issues, perform white-box testing, and send it back to the testers. Fixing bugs means the defect is resolved and the feature works as required.
The main goal of black-box testing is to meet business or customer needs. Essentially, it ensures the application functions as the customer desires. The source code remains hidden, which is why it’s called black-box testing.
Gray Box Testing
Gray box testing is another aspect of manual testing, blending the best of both black box and white box testing. It involves accessing internal code to design test cases, so it’s done by someone with skills in both coding and testing.
Think of it as a one-person team handling both white box and black box testing. That’s what it’s called grey box testing.
Functional Software Testing
Functional software testing types assist testers in ensuring that the features of the software are performing as expected using the following methods:
1. Unit Testing
Unit testing is one of the core functional testing types that lays the groundwork for checking software behavior. Simply put, unit testing focuses on testing individual units or components of code on their own to ensure each part works correctly by itself.
Compared to other testing types, unit tests have a smaller scope, mostly validating things like:
- The correctness of a single function or method
- Whether individual classes meet the requirements
- Logic within a specific module
Developers typically conduct unit testing by writing various test cases to check their code. This approach helps them catch bugs early during coding, preventing issues from multiplying and saving valuable time and effort for dedicated software testers.
2. Integration Testing
Unlike unit testing, integration testing is all about making sure different modules or services get along as they should.
Once developers have checked that the individual units work right, software testers come in, put those units together, and run integration tests to see how they perform as a team.
For instance, it could involve testing how well the system interacts with the database or ensuring that microservices collaborate as expected. These tests are a bit more costly to run since they need multiple application parts to be up and running.
3. System Testing
System testing is your ultimate check-up for the entire software system, ensuring it meets all functional requirements. Think of it as a comprehensive evaluation that confirms everything works harmoniously.
This testing method doesn’t just skim the surface; it delves into end-to-end business processes and workflows, ensuring the system behaves as expected and intended. Here’s what software testers dive into for a thorough system test:
- Testing system functionality and performance with production-like data and loads
- Conducting end-to-end assessments, including data flows, reporting, and integrations
- Ensuring robust security across the entire system
After going through these detailed tests, system testing gives testers the confidence that the software or app is good to go for the live environment.
4. Acceptance Testing
Acceptance testing is the grand finale for software testers, ensuring the software meets all business and user requirements before it’s ready for the spotlight. This crucial phase confirms that the software is not just a product but a solution ready to deliver value.
The process includes three acceptance testing sub-types:
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Business users test the system’s usability, workflows, accessibility, and behavior to ensure it meets their needs.
- Business Acceptance Testing: This ensures the solution aligns with business processes and that outputs and reporting are satisfactory.
- Regulatory Acceptance Testing: The software’s compliance with laws, regulations, and standards is thoroughly evaluated.
Unlike other functional testing types, acceptance testing is conducted in a production-like environment to ensure the software meets all validation criteria and is truly ready to go live.
Non-Functional Testing
Let’s dive into non-functional testing, which is just as essential as functional testing for any software. These tests help us look into things like performance, security, usability, and reliability.
Below are the four key non-functional testing types:
5. Performance Testing
Basically, performance testing checks how fast software runs under different conditions. It examines responsiveness, stability, resource usage, and scalability under normal and peak conditions.
Similar to acceptance testing, performance testing has sub-types that testers use to evaluate software:
- Load testing – Assesses system behavior under normal load and detects maximum operating volume and bottlenecks.
- Stress testing – Evaluate system robustness under peak loads, analyzing performance beyond usual limits. Used primarily for critical software but applicable to all types.
- Spike testing – Simulates sudden spikes in user load to test system stability.
- Endurance testing – Checks software performance over time with sustained usage.
- Scalability testing – Tests performance with increased data volumes, assessing the system’s ability to handle more load.
These sub-tests help identify potential breaking points and ensure your software can handle expected production loads. They find bottlenecks, memory leaks, or defects that could slow down responses or cause crashes.
6. Security Testing
Imagine trying to outsmart a hacker—security testing enables you to be in the mind of one.
It’s the key for software testers to uncover vulnerabilities before they become open doors for cyber-intruders. To secure your software against potential threats, dive into these essential security tests:
- Penetration testing – This software testing technique lets you adopt a hacker’s perspective to identify and address security vulnerabilities.
- Vulnerability scanning – Deploy automated testing tools to detect weaknesses in your software.
- Fuzz Testing – Introduce invalid data to your system to assess its resilience against chaos.
- Risk Assessments – Examine your architecture and design to uncover hidden risks.
By mastering these security tests, you can build a robust defense, keeping cyber-attacks, data breaches, and compliance violations at bay.
As a software tester, honing these skills is crucial to safeguarding your application’s future.
7. Usability Testing
Usability testing is something that most software testers can dive into without much hassle. It’s about assessing how easy it is for users to interact with your app. The goal is to identify any navigation, control, or design issues that could affect the user experience.
Moreover, it helps uncover user preferences and expectations, allowing you to adjust your app to better fit their needs. The feedback from these sessions can guide design decisions, ensuring the final product is user-friendly.
To conduct effective usability tests, observe real users as they complete tasks in your app. This will highlight where they struggle and provide ideas for improving the UI design.
8. Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing should be part of any software testing strategy. Why? Because it helps ensure your software works correctly across all target operating systems, devices, browsers, and software versions.
In simple terms, it allows testers to confirm that their software seamlessly adapts and displays perfectly on various devices and platforms. We’re talking about smartphones, laptops, tablets—you name it.
With the rise of multi-platform and cross-device applications, compatibility testing has become even more critical. So, to stay ahead, software testers must know how to conduct compatibility testing effectively.
Automation Testing
Re-run test scenarios? No problem!
Automation testing is revolutionizing the software testing landscape, offering a faster and more efficient approach to ensure quality. By harnessing the power of tools and test scripts, it dramatically cuts down the time and effort needed for manual tests.
The key benefits of automation testing include:
- Faster execution – Automation testing allows for the quick rerun of test cases, saving time and effort compared to manual tests.
- Increased coverage – It can cover a wide range of scenarios that would be difficult or impossible to test manually.
- Consistency and reliability – With automated scripts, you can ensure the consistent execution of tests that are free from human error or bias.
- Cost-effective – Over time, automation testing can reduce costs as it eliminates the need for manual testing resources.
With the ever-increasing complexity of software and shorter product release cycles, automation testing has become essential to ensure quality and speed up development processes. It’s a must-have skill for any software tester looking to stay competitive in today’s market.
Read more: Manual vs Automated Testing: What’s the Difference?
Other Types of Software Testing
In addition to the main types of software testing mentioned above, there are several other testing methods that can be used to enhance quality and improve user experience:
9. Ad-hoc Testing
Unlike most testing types, Ad-hoc testing takes an informal approach to validating software. It doesn’t rely on predefined test cases. Instead, testers create dynamic tests on the fly using their knowledge and experience. This allows them to quickly identify defects often missed by formal methods.
The flexibility of ad-hoc testing lets you react and test unexpected issues. As you perform ad-hoc tests across projects, you’ll develop the intuition and skills to do it effectively.
10. Back-end Testing
As you may know, the back-end of an application is the infrastructure that powers it, usually hidden from end-users. So, testing its functionality is vital to ensure a smooth user experience when it goes live.
Back-end testing typically involves API, database, and server tests to verify the proper functioning of these components. It also involves testing the integration of back-end systems with front-end applications.
11. Backward Compatibility Testing
Backward compatibility testing ensures that new software works smoothly with older systems and environments. Many companies still rely on legacy systems and data, so when you upgrade to a new version, things can sometimes go wrong.
This type of testing helps identify potential issues by checking if everything continues to function properly with older setups. Without it, upgrades could disrupt important connections and lead to downtime.
12. Maintenance & Regression Testing
Maintenance and regression testing work hand-in-hand to ensure that software continues to function correctly after any changes.
Maintenance testing focuses on verifying that new features or bug fixes don’t negatively impact the overall functionality.
Meanwhile, regression testing involves re-running test cases from previous versions whenever updates occur. This ensures that existing functionality remains intact even after the changes are made.
13. Mobile App Testing
This testing runs on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It includes UI/UX, functional, security, compatibility, performance, and network traffic testing to ensure the app’s usability, functionality, and reliability across all devices and conditions.
As a tester, ensure the app is easy to navigate on small screens, works smoothly on different models, and keeps user data secure.
The main goal is to eliminate glitches before launch and ensure smooth performance for a great user experience to retain users.
14. API Testing
API testing is all about making sure those API connections work just right by simulating real-life app interactions. The aim is to spot any bugs, performance hiccups, or security issues before things go live.
Here’s what API testing usually looks at:
- Making sure the app connects smoothly to the API.
- Checking if the API delivers the right data structures and values.
- Seeing how well the API handles errors or a flood of requests.
Thorough API testing is crucial for building software that’s stable, scalable, and secure.
Hire Startechup for Your Software Testing Needs
Keep in mind: Testing isn’t just about catching bugs—it’s key to building trust and confidence in your software. So, consider testing as part of the whole development process and use a mix of different testing methods to cover all your bases.
Startechup offers software testing services to ensure the quality and reliability of your digital products. Our team of experienced testers can handle all types of testing, including compatibility testing, automation testing, and more.
Contact us today to learn more about our software testing services and how we can help you deliver high-quality digital products!
