Types of Software Testing: Different Testing Types With Details

What are the different types of Software Testing?

We, as testers are aware of the various types of Software Testing such as Functional Testing, Non-Functional Testing, Automation Testing, Agile Testing, and their sub-types, etc..

We all might have encounter various types of testing within our testing journey. We might have heard a few and we might have worked on some, but not everyone has knowledge about all the testing kinds.

Every type of testing has its features, advantages, and disadvantages as well. However, in the following article, I have covered mostly each and every sort of software testing that we usually use in our day to day testing life.

Let us see Additional Information about types of software testing:

Alpha Testing 

It is the most frequent kind of testing used in the Software industry. The aim of this testing is to identify all probable problems or defects before discharging it into the sector or to the client.

Alpha Testing is conducted in the developer's website. In-house digital user environment could be made for this kind of testing.

An Acceptance Test is done by the customer and verifies if the end to finish the stream of the system is as per the business requirements or not and if it's as per the needs of the end-user. Client takes the applications only when all of the features and functionalities operate as expected.

It is the last phase of this testing, after which the software goes into production. This is also called User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

Ad-hoc Testing

The title itself indicates that this testing is done on an Ad-hoc foundation i.e. with no reference to this test case and without any documentation or plan set up for such type of testing.

The aim of this testing is to obtain the flaws and break the program by implementing any flow of this program or any random functionality.

Ad-hoc Testing is a casual method of finding defects and can be carried out by anybody in the undertaking. It is difficult to recognize defects with no test case but occasionally it is likely that flaws discovered during ad-hoc testing may not have been identified using existing test cases.

Access Testing

The aim of Accessibility Testing is to determine whether the applications or program is available for disabled people or not.

Here, handicap means deaf, color blind, emotionally disabled, blind, old age and other handicapped groups. Different checks are performed such as font size for visually handicapped, color and contrast for colour blindness, etc..

Beta Testing

Beta Testing is a formal kind of Software Testing that's performed by the client. It is done at the Real Environment prior to releasing the product to the marketplace for the actual end-users.

Beta Testing is completed to make sure that there are no significant failures in the product or software and it fulfills the business requirements from an end-user view. Beta Testing is successful when the customer accepts the program.

Ordinarily, this testing is typically performed by end-users or other people. It is the last testing done prior to releasing a program for industrial function. Usually, the Beta version of the software or product released is restricted to a definite number of users in a certain place.

So end-user actually utilizes the applications and stocks the feedback to the corporation. Company then takes necessary action before releasing the software to the global.

Whenever an input or data is entered on back-end program, it stores in the database and also the testing of these database is known as Database Testing or backend Testing.

There are different databases such as SQL Server, MySQL, and Oracle, etc.. Database Testing involves testing of table arrangement, schema, stored procedure, data structure and so on.

In Back-end Testing GUI is not involved, testers are directly connected to the database with proper accessibility and testers can quickly verify data by conducting a few questions on the database.

There can be problems identified like data loss, deadlock, data corruption during this back-end testing and these issues are crucial to mending until the system goes live into the production environment

Browser Compatibility Testing

It is a subtype of Compatibility Testing (which is explained below) and can be done by the testing team.

Browser Compatibility Testing is performed for web applications and it helps to ensure that the program can run with the combination of different browser and operating system. This type of testing also validates whether internet application runs on all versions of browsers or not.

Backward Compatibility Testing

It is a type of testing which validates if the recently developed applications or updated software works well with the older version of the surroundings or not.

Backward Compatibility Testing checks whether the new version of the software works properly with document format created by an old version of this applications; it works well with data tables, data files, data structure created by the older version of that software.

If any of the software is updated then it should work nicely on top of the preceding version of that program.

Black Box Testing

Internal system design isn't considered in this type of testing. Tests are based on the needs and operation.

Detailed information concerning the benefits, disadvantages, and kinds of Black box Testing can be viewed here.

This type of testing checks the behaviour of the program in the border level.

Boundary Value Testing is done for assessing if defects exist in border values. Boundary Value Testing can be used for analyzing a different selection of numbers. There is an upper and lower boundary for every range and testing is performed on these boundary values.

If testing requires a test assortment of numbers from 1 to 500 then Boundary Value Testing is done on values at 0, 1, 2, 499, 500 and 501.

Branch Testing

It is a type of White box evaluation and is completed through Unit Testing. Branch Testing, the name itself indicates that the code is tested completely by multiplying at every branch.

Comparison of a product's strength and weaknesses with its prior versions or other similar goods is termed as Comparison Testing.

It's a testing type in which it validates how software behaves and runs in another environment, servers, hardware, and network environment.

Compatibility testing helps to ensure that software can run on a different configuration, different database, different browsers, and their versions. Compatibility testing is performed by the testing group.

 Component Testing

It is mostly performed by developers after the conclusion of unit testing. Component Testing involves testing of numerous functionalities as a single code and its goal is to identify whether any defect exists after connecting those multiple functionalities with one another.

End-to-End Testing

Comparable to system testing, End-to-End Testing involves testing of a complete application environment in a scenario that mimics real-world use, such as interacting with a database, using system communications, or interacting with other hardware, programs, or systems if appropriate.

Equivalence Partitioning

It is a testing procedure and a Kind of Black Box Testing. In this Equivalence Partitioning, a set of the group is chosen and a few values or amounts are picked up for testing. It's understood that values from this group create the identical output.

The aim of this testing is to remove redundant test cases inside a specific group which generates exactly the exact same output but no defect.

Suppose, the application accepts values between -10 to +10 so using equivalence partitioning the worth picked up for testing are one positive value, one negative value. So the Equivalence Partitioning with this testing is -10 to -1, 0, and 1 to 10.

 Example Testing

This means real time testing. Example Testing includes the real-time scenario, it also entails the situations depending on the experience of their testers.

Exploratory Testing

Exploratory Testing is casual testing performed by the testing group. The aim of this testing is to explore the application and looking for flaws that exist in the program.

At times it might happen that during this testing major defect discovered can even cause a system failure.

During Exploratory Testing, it is highly recommended to keep a track of what flow you have tested and what activity you did before the start of the particular flow.

An Exploratory Testing procedure is performed with no documentation and test cases.

This type of testing dismisses the inner components and concentrates just on the output to assess if it is as per the necessity or not. It is a Black-box kind testing geared to the functional requirements of an application.