Software Testing Methodologies

Software Testing Methodologies
In this article
Functional vs. Non-functional Testing
Unit Testing
Integration Testing
System Testing
Acceptance Testing
Performance Testing
Security Testing
Usability Testing
Compatibility Testing
Testing With TestComplete
Software testing methodologies are the various strategies or approaches used to test an application to ensure it behaves and looks as expected. These encompass everything from front to back-end testing, including unit and system testing.

Functional vs. Non-functional Testing

The goal of utilizing numerous testing methodologies in your development process is to make sure your software can successfully operate in multiple environments and across different platforms. These can typically be broken down between functional and non-functional testing. Functional testing involves testing the application against the business requirements. It incorporates all test types designed to guarantee each part of a piece of software behaves as expected by using uses cases provided by the design team or business analyst. These testing methods are usually conducted in order and include:

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  Unit testing
  
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  Integration testing
  
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  System testing
  
• 
  Acceptance testing
  

Non-functional testing methods incorporate all test types focused on the operational aspects of a piece of software. These include:

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  Performance testing
  
• 
  Security testing
  
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  Usability testing
  
• 
  Compatibility testing
  

The key to releasing high quality software that can be easily adopted by your end users is to build a robust testing framework that implements both functional and non-functional software testing methodologies.

Unit Testing

Unit testing is the first level of testing and is often performed by the developers themselves. It is the process of ensuring individual components of a piece of software at the code level are functional and work as they were designed to. Developers in a test-driven environment will typically write and run the tests prior to the software or feature being passed over to the test team. Unit testing can be conducted manually, but automating the process will speed up delivery cycles and expand test coverage. Unit testing will also make debugging easier because finding issues earlier means they take less time to fix than if they were discovered later in the testing process. TestLeft is a tool that allows advanced testers and developers to shift left with the fastest test automation tool embedded in any IDE.