Steps involved in Computer Software Testing

In general, there are two industry practices in place to test computer software. In first kind of software testing, an independent group of testers start testing the functionality of the developed computer software before it is shipped to the client. This practice often results in the testing phase being used as buffer to compensate for any project delays, thereby compromising time devoted to the software testing. Another practice is to test the software at the same moment the project starts and it becomes a continuous process.

Some emerging software disciplines such as agile software development movement adhere to a "test-driven software development" industry model. In this process unit tests are written first, by the software professionals and they expect these tests to fail initially and then the written code passes incrementally through larger portions of the test suites. The test suites are continuously updated with new failure conditions and they are integrated with regression tests that are developed. Unit tests are maintained along with the software source code and are integrated into the build process.

Find below the 4 levels of testing:

1. Unit testing process tests the minimal software portion or component. Each component of the software is tested to verify that the detailing for the unit has been correctly observed. In an object-oriented environment, this is usually done at the class level, and the minimal unit tests include constructors and destructors.

2. Integration testing process exposes defects in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components. After that larger groups of tested software components corresponding to elements of the architectural design are integrated and tested until the software fully works as a system.

3. System testing process tests a completely integrated system to verify that it meets its requirements.

4. System integration process verifies that the system is integrated to any external systems defined in the system study requirements.

Addition to above testing processes alpha and beta testing are done before dispatching the final version of software:

• Alpha testing process id employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal approval, before the software goes to next step - Beta testing.
• In Beta testing process different versions of the software, known as beta versions, are released to a limited audience outside the developing team. This to further test and ensure that the product has few faults or bugs. Nowadays beta versions are made available to the open public to receive quick feedback and reduce project delay.

Software testing with unique methods like - test plan and test cases, execution, defect reporting, defect analysis, risk assessments and recommendations will be discussed in my next post. Till then stay tuned to this wonderful directory!

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