- What is Functional Testing?
- Functional vs Non-Functional Testing
- Types of Functional Testing
- Functional Testing Techniques
- Functional Testing Processes
- Functional Testing Use Cases
- Functional Testing Tools
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Modern-day enterprises are always under pressure to deliver top-notch products at speed. But the risk of releasing any web application without proper quality assurance can have major implications now than ever before! This is where functional testing can help to analyze the quality, reliability, and performance of the web application to ensure it works as intended.
For businesses looking to leverage functional testing services for faster software releases, this blog would offer detailed insights into how it’s done effectively, industry best practices, CodingMint’s approach & more.
Key Contents
Types of Functional Testing
The 5 most prominent and widely used types are:
1. Sanity Testing
Sanity testing, also known as smoke testing or build verification testing, is a type of software testing that is performed to ensure that the most critical functions of a software application are working correctly. The goal of sanity testing is to quickly identify major issues with the software and confirm that it is stable enough to proceed with further testing.
Sanity testing typically includes a small set of test cases that cover the most basic and critical functionality of the software. These test cases are designed to quickly confirm that the application is in a stable state and can be used for further testing. This can include testing basic navigation, data entry, and data retrieval, as well as checking for errors or crashes.
Sanity testing is usually performed early in the testing process, immediately after a new build of the software is released. It is often used as a gatekeeper to determine whether a build is stable enough to proceed with more extensive testing, such as functional testing and regression testing.
It is a type of non-exhaustive testing, meaning it does not test every feature or functionality of the application, instead, it focuses on the core and critical functionality of the application. The main goal of this testing is to ensure that the build is stable and ready for further testing.
2. Smoke Testing
Smoke testing, also known as build verification testing or “smoke and sanity testing”, is a type of software testing that is performed to ensure that the most critical functions of a software application are working correctly. The goal of smoke testing is to quickly identify major issues with the software and confirm that it is stable enough to proceed with further testing.
Smoke testing typically includes a small set of test cases that cover the most basic and critical functionality of the software. These test cases are designed to quickly confirm that the application is in a stable state and can be used for further testing. This can include testing basic navigation, data entry, and data retrieval, as well as checking for errors or crashes.
Smoke testing is usually performed early in the testing process, immediately after a new build of the software is released. It is often used as a gatekeeper to determine whether a build is stable enough to proceed with more extensive testing, such as functional testing and regression testing.
It is a non-exhaustive testing, which means it does not cover all features or functionality of the application, instead, it focuses on the core and critical functionality of the application. The main goal of this testing is to ensure that the build is stable and ready for further testing.
Smoke testing is done to ensure that the critical functionalities of the software are working as expected before moving on to more thorough testing. It is a quick and efficient way to identify if there are any major issues that need to be addressed before further testing can be done.
3. Regression Testing
Regression testing is a method of software testing that is used to verify that changes or modifications to a system or application have not introduced new defects or bugs, and that the system or application continues to function correctly. This type of testing involves re-running previously successful test cases to ensure that the system or application still behaves as expected after changes have been made. Regression testing is typically done after new features or bug fixes have been added, or when updates or upgrades have been made to the system or application.
4. Integration Testing
Ideally performed after unit testing is done, it verifies proper functionality between surrounding components, thereby eliminating the need to retest every combination with low-level functionality.
5. Usability Testing
Usability testing is a method of evaluating a product by testing it with representative users. The goal is to identify any usability issues and to determine how easy the product is to use. It is a user-centered design method and it helps to evaluate the user experience and user interface of a product.
Usability testing can take many forms, including:
- User interviews
- Surveys
- Remote testing
- In-person testing
- A/B testing
- and others
During usability testing, participants are typically asked to complete a set of tasks while researchers observe and take notes on their actions and behavior. The test results are then used to identify problem areas and to make design recommendations.
Usability testing is important because it helps to ensure that a product is easy to use, efficient, and effectively meets the needs of its intended users. It can also help to identify problems early in the development process, when they are less costly to fix.
Functional Testing Techniques
Based on the scenario, different functional testing techniques are used to ensure enhanced code quality, optimized performance, and continuous delivery. These techniques help improve the frequency of new product releases while facilitating consistent feedback & improvements across the STLC. They can be classified into the following two categories:
1.Positive Testing
Positive testing is a method of software testing in which test cases are designed to verify that a system or application behaves correctly when provided with valid input. This type of testing is intended to ensure that the system or application performs as expected and is free from defects when used as intended. Positive testing is also known as “confirmatory testing” or “validation testing.”:
- End-user based test
- Alternate path tests
- Decision-based tests
2.Negative testing
Negative testing, also known as “fault injection” or “error path testing,” is a method of software testing in which test cases are designed to verify that a system or application behaves as expected when provided with invalid or unexpected input. This type of testing is intended to ensure that the system or application can handle such input gracefully and does not crash or produce unexpected results. Negative testing is an important part of overall software testing, as it can reveal defects that might not be found through positive testing.:
- Boundary value tests
- Equivalence tests
- Ad-hoc tests
Functional Testing Processes
The complete overview of a functional test includes the following 3 stages:
1. Creation of input values
2. Execution of test cases
3. Comparison of the actual and expected outcome
And, the above stages can be segregated further into sub-steps as listed below;
- Define the functionality that is to be tested – product usability, error conditions, messages, or main functions
- Create input data for all the functionalities that are to be tested as per specific requirements
- Determine all the permissible output parameters
- Execute test cases
- Compare the output against the predefined output values to validate that the system is behaving as desired.
What Makes us a Trusted Functional Testing Company
There are several factors that can contribute to a company being considered a trusted functional testing company:
Experience and expertise: A company with a long history of functional testing and a team of experienced testers is more likely to be trusted.
Strong testing methodology: A company with a well-established and thorough testing methodology is more likely to be trusted to deliver accurate and reliable results.
Quality assurance process: A company with a robust quality assurance process, including reviews, inspections, and testing, is more likely to be trusted.
High-quality test documentation: A company that provides detailed test documentation and test reports is more likely to be trusted.
Communication and collaboration: A company that effectively communicates and collaborates with clients is more likely to be trusted.
Flexibility and adaptability: A company that is able to adapt to the client’s requirements and changing conditions is more likely to be trusted.
Positive reputation: A company with a positive reputation among clients, peers and industry experts is more likely to be trusted.
Compliance with industry standards: A company that follows industry standards and best practices is more likely to be trusted.