Different Types Of Software Testing

Explore diverse software testing methods including manual and automated testing for improved quality assurance. Enhance software reliability and performance through functional and non-functional testing, ensuring user satisfaction. Learn about the significance of various testing approaches for robust software development.

Software Testing can be broadly classified into 3 types: 

1. Functional testing: It is a type of software testing that validates the software systems against the functional requirements. It is performed to check whether the application is working as per the software’s functional requirements or not. Various types of functional testing are Unit testing, Integration testing, System testing, Smoke testing, and so on.
2. Non-functional testing: It is a type of software testing that checks the application for non-functional requirements like performance, scalability, portability, stress, etc. Various types of non-functional testing are Performance testing, Stress testing, Usability Testing, and so on.
3. Maintenance testing: It is the process of changing, modifying, and updating the software to keep up with the customer’s needs. It involves regression testing that verifies that recent changes to the code have not adversely affected other previously working parts of the software.

Apart from the above classification software testing can be further divided into 2 more ways of testing:

1. Manual testing: It includes testing software manually, i.e., without using any automation tool or script. In this type, the tester takes over the role of an end-user and tests the software to identify any unexpected behavior or bug. There are different stages for manual testing such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing. Testers use test plans, test cases, or test scenarios to test software to ensure the completeness of testing. Manual testing also includes exploratory testing, as testers explore the software to identify errors in it. 
2. Automation testing: It is also known as Test Automation, is when the tester writes scripts and uses another software to test the product. This process involves the automation of a manual process. Automation Testing is used to re-run the test scenarios quickly and repeatedly, that were performed manually in manual testing.

Apart from Regression testing, Automation testing is also used to test the application from a load, performance, and stress point of view. It increases the test coverage, improves accuracy, and saves time and money when compared to manual testing. 

Software testing is an important process in the software development lifecycle. It involves verifying and validating that a software application is free of bugs, meets the technical requirements set by its design and development, and satisfies user requirements efficiently and effectively.

This process ensures that the application can handle all exceptional and boundary cases, providing a robust and reliable user experience. By systematically identifying and fixing issues, software testing helps deliver high-quality software that performs as expected in various scenarios. 

The process of software testing aims not only at finding faults in the existing software but also at finding measures to improve the software in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and usability. The article focuses on discussing Software Testing in detail.