Of the two major categories, functional testing is the more strictly mandatory type. Software programs should be able to achieve their objectives and solve the problems they target. The performance issues that non-functional testing aims at are often not as important for the functioning of the software solution.

non-functional testing methods

For example, if a code block contains several conditional statements, the statement testing technique involves going through all input iterations to ensure all parts of the code execute. As the software’s complexity increases, so do the number of functions within the software. The order of testing functions is crucial for an efficient and functional testing strategy. As functionalities are often nested, the behavior of the software depends on the order of steps a person takes when using the software. Functional testing checks whether the software performs a specific function without considering which component within the system is responsible for the operation.

Load testing

Your test plan should include all the relevant details of what you’re going to test and how. It should explain when you’re going to use manual testing and when you’re going to use automated testing, as well as outline the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the testing process. While functional testing tests the functions of the software, non-functional testing tests other aspects that might affect performance, efficiency, and security. Usability testing is another important type of non-functional testing in software testing. This type of testing assesses how well the user can learn, operate, and use the software system by following the instructions provided on the screen and other basic guides. Non-functional testing in software testing must be carried out every time that software is updated by developers or every time code is changed.

  • There are several different types of performance testing in most testing methodologies.
  • Integration tests validate that each piece of the software lives up to its end of the contract and generate warnings when these interactions introduce regressions.
  • Non-functional test examples are similar to the examples above for non-functional test cases.
  • Your team’s software testing process should evaluate the complete program, understand the larger version of how the application operates when running correctly , and raises alarms when any discrepancies arise.
  • After acceptance testing, the software is ready for production if the results meet the acceptance criteria.
  • Software testing can provide objective, independent information about the quality of software and the risk of its failure to users or sponsors.
  • Collect and produce measurements, and metrics for internal research and development.

] are relying more and more on automated testing, especially groups that use test-driven development. There are many frameworks to write tests in, and continuous integration software will run tests automatically every time code is checked into a version control system. The agile methodology is a fast and iterative approach to developing software that follows the principles defined in the Agile Manifesto. It breaks down software development into small increments and multiple iterations. The agile model allows constant interaction with end users, and requirements change constantly. The main benefit of the waterfall method in software testing is that the requirements are well-defined and easily applied in the testing phase.

What’s the difference between manual and automated tests?

Stress testing is a way to test reliability under unexpected or rare workloads. Stability testing checks to see if the software can continuously function well in or above an acceptable period. The testing method aims to assess the approval of the application’s end-user. The approach engages end-users in the testing process and gathers user feedback for any potential usability issues or missed errors during any previous testing phases. NFR testing tools are software applications that help you automate, simulate, monitor, or measure various aspects of NFR testing. Some examples of popular NFR testing tools are JMeter, LoadRunner, AppDynamics, OWASP ZAP, UserZoom, Chaos Monkey, and Kubernetes.

However, they are essential to ensure that new code modifications do not have unintended consequences for current functionality. In manual testing, a person specifies input or interacts with the software by clicking through the application or using APIs. Manual tests are expensive because they require someone to set up an environment and execute https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ the tests. Extreme programming is an agile method for developing software best suited for small to medium-sized teams (6-20 members). The technique focuses on test-driven development and short iterations that provide users with direct results. The RAD model is an agile methodology that combines prototyping with iterative development.

Types

Before you start non-functional testing, make sure that all your functional tests have passed and that your software functions as you expect it to. Non-functional testing may assess how well the application works on different mobile devices, how quickly lists load up, and how much app performance is affected when other apps are running in the background. For example, if you’re testing a mobile app that allows users to save to-do lists and shopping lists, functional testing may test functions like creating a new list, saving a list, and making edits to existing lists.

Examples of non-functional testing include testing designed to assess capacity, performance, usability, recovery, and portability. It is too rigid to say that the functional method is better than non-functional or the other way around. Functional testing suites are the more strictly necessary of the two categories. The implementation details and performance metrics that non-functional testing targets are often secondary matters of refinement. A robust testing methodology also accounts for these factors, especially if scaling is a priority.

Non Functional Testing Process

Although some believe that it is a costly and time-consuming process, many others rely on it due to its accurate futuristic result predictions. For most developers, when they think of software testing, unit tests and integration tests will come first to mind. While both these testing approaches are crucial to writing and maintaining a superior production codebase, they are not enough on their own.

Most developers follow the ‘testing pyramid’ approach which enables them to write the majority of their tests as unit tests as they are easy and quick to write and execute. The process begins with lower volumes of methods like integration testing and as the software testing process advances up the pyramid, they progress toward practices like user what is non-functional testing acceptance testing. As you can see from the above anecdotes, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the software testing process. Therefore, it is not practical to say that one particular type is better than the other. Both functional and non-functional testing processes are necessary for creating enhanced high-quality software products.

Functional verification

Volume testing is the only way to ensure that software can handle the volumes of data that users will expect it to. Volume testing is a type of testing that exists to verify what happens when large volumes of data are added to the database at once. This identifies whether the application can handle large volumes of data and what happens to the system if it can’t. Load testing is a type of testing that assesses how well software behaves under both normal conditions and when dealing with heavier loads.

non-functional testing methods

Testers who don’t find defects can be happy that the software they’re testing is free of bugs only if they are satisfied that they’ve looked everywhere that defects might be found. Many testers still believe that the purpose of testing is to check that the software works or to demonstrate to stakeholders and investors that the software works. Security defects are those defects that impact the security of your software system and the data stored within it. Performance defects don’t completely prevent people from using your software, but they can make your software less usable and less likely to fulfill user requirements. It’s important that systems display accurate and clear error messages when errors do occur so that users can take steps to correct the problem and continue using the software. This makes it easier for testers to ascertain whether the software meets these requirements during testing and leaves no room for interpretation.

Conclusion: non-functional testing vs functional testing

It also includes those functional tests that include load testing, stress testing, spike testing, configuration testing, scalability testing, etc. These tests ensure stable performance under different kinds of environments. Non-functional testing verifies the way software works and how well it works.

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