Software Testing

Software Testing is a process used to verify that a software product meets the expected requirements and is free of defects. It involves executing software or system components using manual or automated tools to evaluate specific properties of interest. The primary goal of software testing is to identify errors, gaps, or missing requirements compared to the actual specifications.

Software testing can be broadly categorized into White Box and Black Box Testing. Simply put, software testing is the process of verifying the Application Under Test (UAT) to ensure its functionality and performance align with the intended outcomes. This course on Software Testing introduces the fundamentals of software testing and highlights its crucial role in delivering high-quality software products.

Why Software Testing is Important?

Software testing is crucial because it allows for the early detection of bugs or errors, ensuring they are resolved before the software product is delivered. A thoroughly tested software product guarantees reliability, security, and high performance, leading to time savings, cost efficiency, and increased customer satisfaction.

What is the need of Testing?

Testing is important because software bugs could be expensive or even dangerous. Software bugs can potentially cause monetary and human loss, and history is full of such examples.

1. In April 2015, Bloomberg terminal in London crashed due to software glitch affected more than 300,000 traders on financial markets. It forced the government to postpone a 3bn pound debt sale.
2. Nissan cars recalled over 1 million cars from the market due to software failure in the airbag sensory detectors. There has been reported two accident due to this software failure.
3. Starbucks was forced to close about 60 percent of stores in the U.S and Canada due to software failure in its POS system. At one point, the store served coffee for free as they were unable to process the transaction.
4. Some of Amazon’s third-party retailers saw their product price is reduced to 1p due to a software glitch. They were left with heavy losses.
5. Vulnerability in Windows 10. This bug enables users to escape from security sandboxes through a flaw in the win32k system.
6. In 2015 fighter plane F-35 fell victim to a software bug, making it unable to detect targets correctly.
7. China Airlines Airbus A300 crashed due to a software bug on April 26, 1994, killing 264 innocents live.
8. In 1985, Canada’s Therac-25 radiation therapy machine malfunctioned due to software bug and delivered lethal radiation doses to patients, leaving 3 people dead and critically injuring 3 others.
9. In April of 1999, a software bug caused the failure of a $1.2 billion military satellite launch, the costliest accident in history.
10. In May of 1996, a software bug caused the bank accounts of 823 customers of a major U.S. bank to be credited with 920 million US dollars.

What are the benefits of Software Testing?

Here are the benefits of using software testing:

• Cost-Effective: It is one of the important advantages of software testing. Testing any IT project on time helps you to save your money for the long term. In case if the bugs caught in the earlier stage of software testing, it costs less to fix.
• Security: It is the most vulnerable and sensitive benefit of software testing. People are looking for trusted products. It helps in removing risks and problems earlier.
• Product quality: It is an essential requirement of any software product. Testing ensures a quality product is delivered to customers.
• Customer Satisfaction: The main aim of any product is to give satisfaction to their customers. UI/UX Testing ensures the best user experience.

Types of Software Testing

Here are the software testing types:

Typically Testing is classified into three categories.

• Functional Testing
• Non-Functional Testing or Performance Testing
• Maintenance (Regression and Maintenance)

This is not the complete list as there are more than 150 types of testing types and still adding. Also, note that not all testing types are applicable to all projects but depend on the nature & scope of the project.

Testing Strategies in Software Engineering

Here are important strategies in software engineering:

Unit Testing: This software testing basic approach is followed by the programmer to test the unit of the program. It helps developers to know whether the individual unit of the code is working properly or not.

Integration testing: It focuses on the construction and design of the software. You need to see that the integrated units are working without errors or not.

System testing: In this method, your software is compiled as a whole and then tested as a whole. This testing strategy checks the functionality, security, portability, amongst others.