Software Testing Process: Overview, Software Test Types & Stages

Let’s look at the steps in the software testing process and the different software testing types and approaches QA specialists use in an ideal testing process flow, starting with a brief overview of what software testing is.

Key Takeaways

• Software testing is the process of assessing a software product to ensure it meets the technical and business requirements and is free of usability, performance, security, and compatibility issues.
• Testing helps improve the quality of software, save money on expensive bug fixes, and increase revenue by providing a product customers enjoy.
• Insufficient testing or skipping testing completely leads to severe drops in quality, delays in production, and significant damage to the company’s reputation and revenue.
• Software testing can be grouped into different categories. There is manual and automated testing; static and dynamic testing, white box, black box, and grey box testing; and unit, integration, system, and acceptance testing.
• A testing project produces a wide range of deliverables, including a test strategy, test plan, test cases, requirement traceability matrix, incident report, summary report, and closure report.
• The testing process is broken down into several crucial stages: requirements analysis, test planning, test design, test run, test analysis, reporting, and maintenance.
• Best practices of software testing include shifting testing to the beginning of the development cycle, taking the time to really get to know your audience, setting the right priorities, and mixing manual testing with automation testing to use the company’s resources wisely.

Software Testing: Brief Overview

It’s important to understand the testing process to be able to create a better plan for testing activities, but it’s also important to start slow. Before we dive into the types of software testing and the specifics of the software QA testing process, let’s get a quick overview of what it is and why it’s crucial to modern IT development.

What Is Software Testing?

Software testing refers to the process of evaluating a product to ensure it meets the requirements and to identify errors, missing specifications, and gaps between current and stipulated conditions. Software testing is performed at virtually every software development stage: teams can test the software once it’s completed, or use a continuous testing procedure at all stages of development to verify the quality of the software as it’s being developed.

Software testing often involves executing software manually or with automated tools to make sure it functions properly and provides a good user experience. Testing can be done without any specialized software testing tools, but most teams prefer to use at least one testing tool or more to ensure truly effective testing.

The Principles of Software Testing at a Glance

Key phases: Requirement analysis, existing process review, testing process design, testing implementation, review of the results, maintenance.

Process setup time: 2 to 6 months

Place in the SDLC: From requirement gathering to maintenance.

Team composition: QA consultant, QA manager, QA engineer, AQA engineer.

Quality Assurance (QA) vs. Quality Control (QC)

Quality assurance and quality control are two essential aspects of the software development life cycle that ensure the product satisfies the requirements. However, they differ in their approach to verifying the quality. 

QA is process-oriented and aims to confirm that the development processes are efficient. QA procedures often help prevent defects and come in handy when a project is in trouble and needs reworking. 

On the other hand, QC focuses more on ensuring that the software product complies with the requirements at a given moment. Unlike QA, QC is generally reactive and detects issues that already exist in the product.

In this article, we’ll focus more on the QA aspect of software testing.

So, what are the benefits of quality assurance? There are many, but let’s single out just a few of the key points:

• Cost savings. QA makes the development process more cost-effective. By testing each component of the software before deploying it, testing reduces the expenses of correcting the bugs that are discovered later, where they have a more drastic impact on the software performance.  
• Improved software quality. Testing ensures the ability to deliver quality software to your clients consistently. High-quality software plays a key role in building a positive brand image and attracting more customers.
• Enhanced productivity. Test-driven development often results in better understanding and familiarity with product requirements, leading to enhanced productivity with the development teams.

With strong arguments in mind, let’s discuss the different types of tests involved in the software testing process. They will help you understand how these tests are completed, which aspects of the solution different stages of the QA process in software testing are responsible for, and which part of your project they support.

What Happens Without a Solid Software Testing Process in Place?

We firmly believe that developing software and testing it are two sides of the same coin, or two indispensable parts of the same process. In our opinion, you simply cannot develop a product and then skip the testing stage or treat it with as little concern as possible — the risks of doing that are too big to ignore. Of course, we are not trying to scare you into implementing a new software testing workflow in your workplace right away. Still, here are the key risks of not doing it in the first place:

• Critical quality issues. The biggest risk of a faulty software QA process is that the more disjointed it is, the higher the chance of the team missing crucial defects. This can trigger a whole set of negative consequences, including increased development costs and a product that falls behind schedule.
• Delays in production. Without a comprehensive QA workflow implemented, when developers constantly have to take care of the bugs discovered at later stages, where they take more time to resolve, the development and deployment of new features and improvements will inevitably get delayed.
• Trust and reputation damages. With new software products, bugs and minor flaws are nearly inevitable. However, the worst-case scenario is when those bugs are discovered by the end users. This leads to the loss of trust that users put into a new product, as well as subsequent reputation damages, as news of the underperforming or security-compromised application makes it to online communities.
• Compatibility problems. With the growing variability of devices, operating systems, and platforms, developers and testers must consider compatibility to be one of the main requirements for a good software product. Preemptively testing the software item to detect compatibility issues saves a lot of trouble for the team, while the lack of firm testing practices creates compatibility gaps that are difficult to resolve.

What Are the Different Testing Types?

Quality assurance and testing can be categorized in many different ways according to several criteria, such as the approach, method used, or level of tests performed. 

When software testing is categorized by approach, the focus is on whether it is carried out with the knowledge of a system’s inner workings. When categorized by method, the focus is on how the testing is actually performed. 

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the different types of software testing by category, methodology, and approach. First, let’s outline the main categories of QA testing types.

Main Categories of Tests

There are two main categories of tests depending on who or what performs the actual tests.

Manual Testing

Companies manually test software to ensure that the existing features meet requirements by working through test cases manually, without the aid of automated tools.

While manual testing can become expensive in the long run, it’s usually cheaper at the outset since you can avoid the costs of automation tools. It’s often used for examining the user interface and other tests that require human intervention.

Automation Testing

Automation testing involves the use of tools or scripts to verify the quality of the software being tested. It is ideal for regression testing, which involves repeatedly checking the software after modification to identify newly introduced defects. It’s also better suited for load and performance testing.

Automation is often used in conjunction with manual testing, which means that automation QAs also need manual testing skills in addition to the knowledge of automation techniques. While the initial investment is higher with automated tools, it will be less expensive and more efficient than manual in the long run.  

Types of Software Testing by Method

Software testing may be broken down into two categories according to the method they use. The major difference between them is whether or not the software is running during the test.

Static Testing

Static testing, or verification, is a method that involves checking files and documents to verify requirements are being met without executing the software. It involves activities such as code inspections, technical reviews, and walk-throughs.  

This type is often used in the early stages of the development process to identify and rectify bugs quickly. It can be carried out manually or with the aid of automation.

Dynamic Testing

Dynamic testing, or validation, is a technique that involves executing a product to evaluate its behavior with dynamic variables. It ensures the software works consistently without any major defects. 

Oftentimes, dynamic testing helps discover defects that cannot be found through static testing. It’s also essential for detecting and fixing critical issues, such as security loopholes.

Types of Software Testing by Approach

By approach, there are three types of QA testing based on a QA expert’s involvement in the code and knowledge of a system’s internals.

White Box Testing

White box testing, also known as glass box, clear box, and code-based testing, is an approach in the QA testing process that involves examining a product based on the knowledge of a system’s inner workings. 

White box testing involves verifying the flow of specific inputs through the program to ensure the software works properly. It requires an understanding of the source code and programming skills.

Though white box testing can be complex and time-consuming, it often results in highly optimized code with minimal errors. Unlike most other types of QA testing, the white box can also be performed during early development before user interfaces are developed.

Black Box Testing

Black box testing, also known as behavioral or specification-based testing, involves checking software without knowing the internal design and structure of the code. 

Black box testing is based on specifications and requirements and verifies that the software produces the expected outputs from different cases. Unlike white box testing, this approach does not require the QA specialist to have programming skills. 

Black box testing can be subdivided into:

• Functional – focuses on ensuring that the software’s functionality matches the specified requirements.
• Non-functional – focuses on requirements such as usability, scalability, and performance of the software.

Grey Box Testing

Grey box testing is a combination of the white box and black box approaches. In this approach, QA specialists are partially aware of the inner workings of the software and have access to documentation of the algorithms and data structures implemented.

Grey box testing is often used for complete testing since it improves the overall quality of the software product by leveraging the input of both developers and QAs and allowing the latter to create more intelligent test cases. 

Types of Software Testing by Level

By level of product development, we can pinpoint four QA testing types:

Unit Testing

Unit testing is the lowest level and involves verifying individual units of software. A unit is the smallest component of software that can be tested independently; this verifies that each individual unit is functioning properly.  

Unit testing is usually performed by the developers using automated tools. Writing unit tests makes it easier to find and fix fundamental issues quickly, thus improving the overall quality of the codebase.

Integration Testing

Integration testing is the next level. It involves checking the flow of data between the different modules or groups of components in the application. It helps ensure that the interactions between the integrated units are error-free.

Integrated testing can be performed by developers or QA specialists and often involves manual and automated tests. They help secure interface defects, so they don’t escape to higher testing levels.

System Testing

System testing involves evaluating the fully integrated system to verify that it satisfies the set requirements. It is usually performed by a separate team of testers who test the product from end to end before it is pushed into production. 

Some of the different types of tests performed on this level include usability, load, regression, performance, and security testing. System testing also detects any bugs missed on earlier testing levels. 

Acceptance Testing

Acceptance testing is the last level of software testing and one of the most crucial types of QA testing for a positive audience reception. It involves assessing whether your product is ready for delivery to the end user. This level of testing is often performed in collaboration with end users to ensure the product not only complies with the business criteria but also meets consumers’ needs.

Acceptance testing enables the development team to get actual feedback from potential users to iron out any usability concerns. It also further reduces the risk of major bugs slipping through into production.

As you can see, any part or aspect of your product can be verified by various tests, but how exactly do QA testing processes happen? Before we look at the different stages in the software testing process, let’s take a closer look at two preliminary steps: identifying deliverables and choosing a testing process model.

Deliverables Involved in Testing

The first step in the software testing process is identifying what deliverables must be provided. Some deliverables have to be provided before testing commences, while others will be provided at different stages during the process or after its completion. Some examples include:

Test Strategy

A test strategy is an essential management document that provides an overview of the testing approach. This deliverable is prepared by the test manager and is derived from the business requirement specification (BRS). The document often contains the test objectives, approach, existing and required conditions, scope, types, levels, and entry and exit criteria. 

The test strategy describes the organization’s overall testing methodology, independent of any specific project — the “how” of testing for the organization. It includes how testing is used to manage product and project risks, the division of testing into levels, and the high-level activities associated with testing. The test strategy, as well as the processes and actions described in it, must be consistent with the test policy. It should provide general test entry and exit criteria for an organization or for one or more programs.

Test Plan and Estimation

The test plan is a document that contains a detailed description of each step of testing. The estimation deliverable provides an estimation of how long each step will take, how much effort will be required, and the overall cost of the process. 

The test plan is derived from the software requirements specification (SRS), product description, or use case documents. It serves as a road map for the entire project and is normally prepared by the test manager or test lead.

Test Scenario

The test scenario document contains a high-level overview of all the functionality that needs to be tested. Test scenarios are derived from use cases and help the tester determine what to focus on during testing.   

Test Cases

Test cases are the steps a QA specialist must go through to verify the software meets the requirements. They often include clearly defined steps, pre-conditions, test data, expected results, and post-conditions.

Test Data

Test data refers to the information used to run test cases. It needs to be comprehensive and accurate to ensure that defects are properly detected.   

Requirement Traceability Matrix

The requirement traceability matrix is a document that helps the testing team determine if all the requirements are covered by test cases. It contains a map of requirements to appropriate test cases. It also provides clients with an easy way to check on the QA processes and track the test execution status. 

Test Summary Report

The test summary report document contains the key points of all the test activities carried out and the results obtained. This document often includes the objectives, scope, approach, results, and the members involved in the testing process.

Test Closure Report

The test closure report is prepared by the test manager when the testing process is about to end, and defects have been resolved. It contains a detailed analysis of the testing process as well as whatever bugs were found and fixed.

Incident Report

The test incident report document is prepared when defects are encountered during the test execution process. It contains information such as the status, severity, cause, and description of the incident.

Choosing the Testing Process Models

The next step is to choose what model will be used for the software QA testing process. The four major types of testing process models are waterfall, agile, V, and spiral.

Traditional Waterfall Development Model

Waterfall is one of the oldest models of software development and testing. Here, the development progresses sequentially through the different stages of the software development life cycle. 

All the project requirements are defined during the requirements phase, and the testing team only proceeds once each stage is completed. The testing is carried out by an independent group of testers. 

While the waterfall development model works well for simple projects where requirements are clearly defined, it’s not ideal for complex projects where requirements change frequently. 

Agile Model

The agile model is a more modern method of software development that focuses on breaking down the development process into small, incremental cycles. Under this model, the software QA testing process swiftly responds to changing requirements and prioritizes regular interaction between the client and the development team over long-term planning.

In the agile model, developers continuously write and run unit tests and fix defects as they are discovered. The agile model is better suited for complex projects where requirements change frequently.

V Model

The V model, or the verification and validation model, is a rigid model in which development and testing occur in parallel. This model is an extension of the waterfall model. For every phase in the development life cycle, there’s a corresponding phase of the testing process flow. 

The V model usually divides the testing process into five phases: unit, integration, regression, system, and testing.

Like the waterfall model, the V is easy to apply and manage but performs poorly when used for complex dynamic projects.

Spiral Model

The spiral model is similar to agile but focuses more on risk evaluation and analysis. It has four major phases: planning, risk analysis, engineering, and evaluation.

While it’s ideal for large projects that need continuous risk evaluation, it can be costly and not very advantageous for smaller projects.

What Are the QA Process Stages?

The testing process is conducted according to a specific procedure that involves testing activities of different kinds and helps make sure the defects are easy to uncover. Ideally, quality assurance should begin early in the development life cycle. The software testing process often comprises the following stages:

1. Requirement Analysis

During this phase of the QA process, testers review the requirements to ensure that they’re complete, clear, consistent, verifiable, and testable. This helps to facilitate the planning and design phases and prevents defects caused by incomplete or unclear requirements.  

2. Test Planning

Once the requirements have been reviewed, testers can begin developing a strategy and plan deliverables. At this stage, they can define the scope of testing, what software testing types and levels will be required, and what tools and approaches will be used during the process.

3. Test Design

With the planning phase complete, QA professionals can begin designing test cases, setting up automation scenarios, and preparing the environment for test execution. 

4. UI/UX Testing

User interface (UI) testing involves confirming that the various UI components, such as buttons and labels, work as specified in the requirements. User experience (UX) testing aims to detect and fix usability issues and provide the end user with the best possible experience when using the software product. 

5. Exploratory Testing

Exploratory testing is an approach to software testing that emphasizes the personal freedom and responsibility of individual testers to continually optimize the quality of their work by learning from the results of their testing. It is often contrasted with scripted testing, where testers follow predefined steps. 

6. Regression Testing

Regression testing involves retesting already executed test cases after defects are resolved to ensure no new bugs are introduced into the system and that existing functionality still works as expected.

7. Test Execution and Defect Reporting

Test execution begins at the unit testing level as developers write and execute unit tests. It later moves to the testing team, who perform integration and system testing. The team executes the cases and reports any discovered defects in a bug tracking system. Test automation tools are also used to execute tests and generate reports automatically. 

8. Release Testing

Once a new version of the software product is ready for release, the testing team carries out smoke testing to ensure the release candidate is stable and bug-free, executes test suites that cover the new functionality, and issues a test result report.

9. Verification and Validation

Verification and validation are two important parts of the QA test process. Verification refers to the process of ensuring the software product meets the specified requirements. This part of the QA process in software testing often involves inspecting and reviewing files, code, and designs to verify software quality. 

Validation, on the other hand, involves ensuring the software functions as intended. Validation involves executing the program and working through test cases. It consists of activities such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. 

While verification is performed by developers, validation is carried out by the testing team. Verification is also performed early in the testing process, while validation comes afterward and can detect bugs that the verification process misses. 

10. Post-Run Testing Activities

After the principal part of the testing project is over, the team’s next task is to analyze the intermediate and final results and determine whether the results align with the initial project goals. The team may use various analytics tools, including AI-based ones, to see how successful their activities were and what can be improved in the next test run. Moreover, the team may be scaled down to one or two engineers who will provide ongoing maintenance of the test suite and work with the development and support team to test further improvements to the product.

When to Start or Stop Testing in Software Development?

As we’ve already mentioned, software testing should begin early in the software development life cycle. For example, the testing process flow can start from the requirements phase and continue until the software is deployed. 

However, when testing actually starts will depend on the development model in use. For example, if the waterfall model is used, formal testing will commence in the testing phase. 

Starting the software QA process early reduces the cost of finding and fixing defects. Research shows that the cost of fixing bugs during testing can be up to 15 times more than the cost of identifying and fixing them during the requirements stage.

But when should the testing process stop? It can be difficult to determine when to stop testing as the software development process is often ongoing, and new features are continually being developed in most projects.  

As a result, there are several different factors that must be considered before determining whether to stop. These include project deadlines, testing deadlines, test coverage, how much of the testing budget is left, how many test cases have been completed, and whether all test deliverables have been delivered.

Best Practices and Approaches to Software Testing

At the end of the day, the goal of testing is to ensure the spotless operation of a software product. However, there are different ways to achieve that goal, and some testing approaches are more effective than others. Here are the tried and tested best practices for performing software testing:

Know Your Audience

For an experienced testing team, it can be easy to see the process of quality assurance as a purely technical task. However, there is more to helping create a popular, well-received product than just technical finesse. All teams involved in the project, including the testing team, should know their audience and what their users are looking for in a product. This helps create value-driven solutions that quickly make a name for themselves despite the grueling market competition and start generating profit for the product owners.

Set Correct Priorities

You can find countless tips and tricks on how to plan your software QA process flow and what is required to make things work. However, it’s also important to adjust those tips and rules to the specifics of your project. For example, while testing documentation is vital to a successful QA project, when resources are limited, the team may want to prioritize polishing and stabilizing the software product over dedicating hours to maintaining the documentation.

Don’t Underestimate Exploratory Testing

Exploratory testing requires a significant investment of resources and cannot be automated, but its value for a software testing project can hardly be overrated. Allocating enough time for exploratory testing allows the team to get a better understanding of the inner logic of the product, encourage the knowledge sharing process among the team members, and even make up for the limitations of automated testing, helping the testers fill in the quality gaps not covered by automation.

Mix Manual and Automated Testing

There are instances where manual testing is absolutely indispensable. For example, nothing beats the precision of human eyes when it comes to UX or accessibility testing. However, it’s also a good idea to automate tests whenever possible. And some types of testing are practically begging to be automated. This includes repetitive, time-consuming testing activities such as regression testing or performance testing. Investing a little more time and effort into setting up the automation process in the beginning, the team can then enjoy a more streamlined, effective, and resource-saving testing process.

Move Testing Earlier in the Development Cycle

Starting testing early is part of the Agile development model, and it’s also the basic principle of the “shift-left” approach to testing. Moving testing to the beginning of the development cycle helps tackle many of the usual problems development and testing teams encounter in their work. Most importantly, it helps catch bugs back when they are easier and less expensive to fix and haven’t done any significant damage to the product overall or to its reputation. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this detailed guide on the software quality assurance process. Having learned what the software QA process involves, you should be in a better position to choose a software testing team that will suit your needs.

Software testing is certainly an invaluable part of the modern software development approach, and the QA process in software testing requires experience and due diligence from everyone involved. By selecting a competent software testing team such as TestFort that leverages the latest tools, models, and methods, you can ensure that only high-quality, efficient, and bug-free software gets delivered to your clients.