Types of Software Testing
Types of Software Testing
Ad Hoc Testing: A testing phase where the tester tries to 'break' the system by
randomly trying the system's functionality. Can include negative testing as well. See also
Monkey Testing.
Agile Testing: Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating
development as the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm.
See also Test Driven Development.
Automated Software Quality (ASQ): The use of software tools, such as automated
testing tools, to improve software quality.
Automated Testing:
Basis Path Testing: A white box test case design technique that uses the algorithmic
flow of the program to design tests.
Basis Set: The set of tests derived using basis path testing.
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Baseline: The point at which some deliverable produced during the software
engineering process is put under formal change control.
Benchmark Testing: Tests that use representative sets of programs and data designed
to evaluate the performance of computer hardware and software in a given
configuration.
Boundary Testing: Test which focus on the boundary or limit conditions of the software
being tested. (Some of these tests are stress tests).
Boundary Value Analysis: In boundary value analysis, test cases are generated using
the extremes of the input domain, e.g. maximum, minimum, just inside/outside
boundaries, typical values, and error values. BVA is similar to Equivalence Partitioning
but focuses on "corner cases".
Branch Testing: Testing in which all branches in the program source code are tested at
least once.
Breadth Testing: A test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does
not test features in detail.
Capture/Replay Tool: A test tool that records test input as it is sent to the software
under test. The input cases stored can then be used to reproduce the test at a later time.
Most commonly applied to GUI test tools.
CMM: The Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM or SW-CMM) is a model for
judging the maturity of the software processes of an organization and for identifying the
key practices that are required to increase the maturity of these processes.
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Cause Effect Graph: A graphical representation of inputs and the associated outputs
effects which can be used to design test cases.
Code Coverage: An analysis method that determines which parts of the software have
been executed (covered) by the test case suite and which parts have not been executed
and therefore may require additional attention.
Code Inspection: A formal testing technique where the programmer reviews source
code with a group who ask questions analyzing the program logic, analyzing the code
with respect to a checklist of historically common programming errors, and analyzing its
compliance with coding standards.
Code Walkthrough: A formal testing technique where source code is traced by a group
with a small set of test cases, while the state of program variables is manually
monitored, to analyze the programmer's logic and assumptions.
Context Driven Testing: The context-driven school of software testing is flavor of Agile
Testing that advocates continuous and creative evaluation of testing opportunities in light
of the potential information revealed and the value of that information to the organization
right now.
Data Dictionary: A database that contains definitions of all data items defined during
analysis.
Data Driven Testing: Testing in which the action of a test case is parameterized by
externally defined data values, maintained as a file or spreadsheet. A common
technique in Automated Testing.
Debugging: The process of finding and removing the causes of software failures.
Dynamic Testing: Testing software through executing it. See also Static Testing.
Emulator: A device, computer program, or system that accepts the same inputs and
produces the same outputs as a given system.
Endurance Testing: Checks for memory leaks or other problems that may occur with
prolonged execution.
Equivalence Class: A portion of a component's input or output domains for which the
component's behavior is assumed to be the same from the component's specification.
Equivalence Partitioning: A test case design technique for a component in which test
cases are designed to execute representatives from equivalence classes.
Exhaustive Testing: Testing which covers all combinations of input values and
preconditions for an element of the software under test.
Gray Box Testing: A combination of Black Box and White Box testing methodologies:
testing a piece of software against its specification but using some knowledge of its
internal workings.
High Order Tests: Black-box tests conducted once the software has been integrated.
Inspection: A group review quality improvement process for written material. It consists
of two aspects; product (document itself) improvement and process improvement (of
both document production and inspection).
Installation Testing: Confirms that the application under test recovers from expected or
unexpected events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of
disk space, unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions.
Localization Testing: This term refers to making software specifically designed for a
specific locality.
Loop Testing: A white box testing technique that exercises program loops.
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Metric: A standard of measurement. Software metrics are the statistics describing the
structure or content of a program. A metric should be a real objective measurement of
something such as number of bugs per lines of code.
Monkey Testing: Testing a system or an Application on the fly, i.e just few tests here
and there to ensure the system or an application does not crash out.
Mutation Testing: Testing done on the application where bugs are purposely added to
it.
Negative Testing: Testing aimed at showing software does not work. Also known as
"test to fail". See also Positive Testing.
N+1 Testing: A variation of Regression Testing. Testing conducted with multiple cycles
in which errors found in test cycle N are resolved and the solution is retested in test
cycle N+1. The cycles are typically repeated until the solution reaches a steady state
and there are no errors. See also Regression Testing.
Path Testing: Testing in which all paths in the program source code are tested at least
once.
Positive Testing: Testing aimed at showing software works. Also known as "test to
pass". See also Negative Testing.
Quality Circle: A group of individuals with related interests that meet at regular intervals
to consider problems or other matters related to the quality of outputs of a process and
to the correction of problems or to the improvement of quality.
Quality Control: The operational techniques and the activities used to fulfill and verify
requirements of quality.
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Quality Management: That aspect of the overall management function that determines
and implements the quality policy.
Quality Policy: The overall intentions and direction of an organization as regards quality
as formally expressed by top management.
Ramp Testing: Continuously raising an input signal until the system breaks down.
Recovery Testing: Confirms that the program recovers from expected or unexpected
events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk space,
unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions.
Scalability Testing: Performance testing focused on ensuring the application under test
gracefully handles increases in work load.
Security Testing: Testing which confirms that the program can restrict access to
authorized personnel and that the authorized personnel can access the functions
available to their security level.
Smoke Testing: A quick-and-dirty test that the major functions of a piece of software
work. Originated in the hardware testing practice of turning on a new piece of hardware
for the first time and considering it a success if it does not catch on fire.
Soak Testing: Running a system at high load for a prolonged period of time. For
example, running several times more transactions in an entire day (or night) than would
be expected in a busy day, to identify and performance problems that appear after a
large number of transactions have been executed.
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Software Testing: A set of activities conducted with the intent of finding errors in
software.
Static Analysis: Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.
Static Testing: Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.
Storage Testing: Testing that verifies the program under test stores data files in the
correct directories and that it reserves sufficient space to prevent unexpected
termination resulting from lack of space. This is external storage as opposed to internal
storage.
System Testing: Testing that attempts to discover defects that are properties of the
entire system rather than of its individual components.
Testing:
Test Bed: An execution environment configured for testing. May consist of specific
hardware, OS, network topology, configuration of the product under test, other
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application or system software, etc. The Test Plan for a project should enumerated the
test beds(s) to be used.
Test Case:
• Test Case is a commonly used term for a specific test. This is usually the
smallest unit of testing. A Test Case will consist of information such as
requirements testing, test steps, verification steps, prerequisites, outputs, test
environment, etc.
• A set of inputs, execution preconditions, and expected outcomes developed for a
particular objective, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify
compliance with a specific requirement.
Test Driver: A program or test tool used to execute a tests. Also known as a Test
Harness.
Test Environment: The hardware and software environment in which tests will be run,
and any other software with which the software under test interacts when under test
including stubs and test drivers.
Test First Design: Test-first design is one of the mandatory practices of Extreme
Programming (XP).It requires that programmers do not write any production code until
they have first written a unit test.
Test Harness: A program or test tool used to execute tests. Also known as a Test
Driver.
Test Plan: A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of
intended testing activities. It identifies test items, the features to be tested, the testing
tasks, who will do each task, and any risks requiring contingency planning. Ref IEEE Std
829.
Test Procedure: A document providing detailed instructions for the execution of one or
more test cases.
Test Scenario: Definition of a set of test cases or test scripts and the sequence in which
they are to be executed.
Test Script: Commonly used to refer to the instructions for a particular test that will be
carried out by an automated test tool.
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Test Specification: A document specifying the test approach for a software feature or
combination or features and the inputs, predicted results and execution conditions for
the associated tests.
Test Suite: A collection of tests used to validate the behavior of a product. The scope of
a Test Suite varies from organization to organization. There may be several Test Suites
for a particular product for example. In most cases however a Test Suite is a high level
concept, grouping together hundreds or thousands of tests related by what they are
intended to test.
Test Tools: Computer programs used in the testing of a system, a component of the
system, or its documentation.
Top Down Testing: An approach to integration testing where the component at the top
of the component hierarchy is tested first, with lower level components being simulated
by stubs. Tested components are then used to test lower level components. The process
is repeated until the lowest level components have been tested.
Usability Testing: Testing the ease with which users can learn and use a product.
Use Case: The specification of tests that are conducted from the end-user perspective.
Use cases tend to focus on operating software as an end-user would conduct their day-
to-day activities.
Validation: The process of evaluating software at the end of the software development
process to ensure compliance with software requirements. The technique for validation
is testing, inspection and reviewing.
Verification: The process of determining whether of not the products of a given phase
of the software development cycle meets the implementation steps and can be traced to
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the incoming objectives established during the previous phase. The techniques for
verification are testing, inspection and reviewing.
Volume Testing: Testing which confirms that any values that may become large over
time (such as accumulated counts, logs, and data files), can be accommodated by the
program and will not cause the program to stop working or degrade its operation in any
manner.
White Box Testing: Testing based on an analysis of internal workings and structure of a
piece of software. Includes techniques such as Branch Testing and Path Testing. Also
known as Structural Testing and Glass Box Testing. Contrast with Black Box Testing.