7 TYPES OF SOFTWARE TESTINGTHAT

ARE HERE TO STAY

Software testing is one of the most critical components of the Software Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) and yet, so little is known about it. For instance, did you know that there are more than 150
different types of software tests, and they fall into a few broad categories? That’s what we will explore
today.

ACCEPTANCE TESTING

Acceptance Testing is a form of software testing in which systems are tested for compliance with
business and technological requirements to evaluate its suitability for final delivery to end customers.
Simply put, Acceptance Testing assesses whether the given software system fulfills its purpose.

OBJECTIVES
• To validate if the software meets the end-criteria for which it was
developed.
• Ensures the absence of bugs and helps developers to proactively fill in
functionality gaps before the product enters the market.

TYPES
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT) or Beta Testing.

INTEGRATION TESTING
Integration Testing is conducted in which individual software modules are integrated
and tested as a whole.

OBJECTIVES
• To evaluate the compliance of the ‘full’ system as opposed to its
individual components.

TYPES
1. Big Bang Approach
This involves completing the entire integration process and conducting the
testing of all its modules in a single phase.
2. Incremental Approach
The Incremental Approach conducts testing in a multi-phased manner. It can be
further sub-divided into

a. Top-Down approach - all the top integrated modules are tested first,
then the branch of the module systematically, until finally the last
related module is tested.
b. Bottom-Up
c. The Sandwich approach - as the name suggests, adopts a combination
of Top-Down and Bottom-Up approach.

UNIT TESTING
Unit Testing is the fundamental building block of the entire testing family and involves testing the
individual components that go into the complete system.

OBJECTIVES
• Test for fitness of purpose, i.e., whether they accomplish the tasks that
they are supposed to execute and behave as expected.

FUNCTIONAL TESTING
As part of functional tests, various inputs are provided to the system in accordance with its
functionality and the output is used to verify whether or not it meets the requirements. Functional
Testing can be manual or automated.

OBJECTIVES
• Checks whether the software system meets all its functional
specifications and is ready for release.

TYPES
1. Component Testing
Involves testing individual modules or components to evaluate its
functionality, and includes code chunks, web pages, mobile screens, and so on.

2. Smoke Testing
In Smoke Testing, the critical issues are the main focus, and the objective is to
fix them first, rather than performing a comprehensive system testing.

3. Sanity Testing
In this form of testing, new builds with minor updates are tested to check
whether defects have been fixed in the new version and whether any new
defects have been introduced. It is not a comprehensive set of tests but
only a subset of the entire suite designed to examine the effect of
software modification.

PERFORMANCE TESTING
While Functional Tests only check whether the system meets functional requirements, Performance
Testing examines other equally critical factors such as the speed, stability, scalability, reliability, and
responsiveness under specified workloads.

OBJECTIVES
• The aim of Performance Testing is not only to find defects but to
eliminate performance bottlenecks.

TYPES
1.Load Testing
Conducted by consistently increasing the load on a system to determine
threshold values, it includes reading/writing large volumes of data, executing
multiple applications, and so on.

2. Stress Testing
Stress Testing checks whether systems operate in a graceful manner under
stress, e.g., under low CPU, memory, or bandwidth conditions.

3. Spike Testing
Spike Testing creates periodic spikes in demands on the system to examine
whether it continues to perform within acceptable limits.

4.Soak/Endurance Testing
This involves testing the system under a constant load for a long duration and
checking for memory leaks, system failure, overheating, and other such
performance issues.

REGRESSION TESTING
Regression Testing is one of the most common forms of testing and involves re-execution of
previous test cases. In case the system fails to perform, it would be a regression, hence the name
Regression Testing.

OBJECTIVES
• To ensure that the system continues to perform satisfactorily even after c
Changes, updates, or modifications.

TYPES
1. Unit Regression Testing, which narrowly focuses on code units
while blocking complex interactions and dependencies.

2. Partial Regression Testing, in which new code is tested against existing

code to ensure acceptable performance of the system.

3. Complete Regression Testing, which is carried out after major overhauls

and multiple modifications to existing code.

USABILITY TESTING
Usability Testing deals with the way end-users interact with a given software system. Typically,
it involves observation of subjects by researchers to understand the user experience in the real
world.

OBJECTIVES
• Discovering usability problems
• Benchmarking performance
• Usage pattern mapping
• Ease of use

Summary
Testing is a vital aspect that increasingly permeates every phase of the Software
Development Life Cycle and enhances the human experience by ensuring the
development of safer, more comfortable, economical, and efficient software products.

About ZUCI
Zuci is a digital organization focused on the craft of assuring quality
to software which we have perfected over the years. A perfect blend of
test planning, engineering perfection, and customer-centricity in our
DNA has enabled us to help small, medium and large organizations with
superior quality engineering solutions. Learn More.

www.zucisystems.com
[email protected]