Introduction

Before any software comes to business(s), it passes through the testing procedures or say software testing. And in this, the individual details and minute observations are the must. Therefore, a testing team must understand the various types and methods of functional and specialty testing in order to synchronize and shape up the testing and QA efforts. It is all about comprehending the timing and synergy while using various techniques such as sanity testing, acceptance testing etc to release bug-free and performance-rich software products.

After understanding the functional testing types, the allocation of time and resources can be done seamlessly. Sometimes, high output of test coverage is difficult even though the team was equipped with automation tools. Hence, functional testing types help the team and organizations from the developer level lead to the entire system as a whole. A good and continuous testing environment is able to deliver a positive user experience.

Besides, Willing to boost their Quality-oriented organization, the stakeholders and management, along with test engineers, plan and execute strategies to deploy various testing techniques including a blend of functional and non-functional testing types, crafted surrounding a particular platform. Oprimes, a remarkable combination of SaaS and Crowdtesting platform, specializes in creating and delivering the projects in required manner instead of adhering to the traditional steps. Use of frameworks, blend of automation and manual testing, versatile testers are some of the examples.

Now we will discuss the meaning and importance of functional testing strategy and further discuss each testing type.

Defining Functional and Non-functional Testing

Functional testing displays to us how the software features should work. If a software is loaded with modules and options, functional testing ensures how those “buttons” should work and meet the users’ expectations. It is a practice that is vital for the development process. When the processes are properly followed, it enhances the communication(s) among developers, analysts, and testers.

The tasks and processes involve various functional testing types such as unit testing, component testing, smoke testing etc, and there is no predefined sequence of those tasks. It solely depends on the nature and requirement of the software/application and the organization.

For example, system testing and acceptance testing cannot be performed simultaneously as it will introduce redundancy; Our choices among alpha, beta and production testing depend upon the stability of the application/software, the needs and scopes and the impact planned by the businesses.

Non-functional testing mainly focuses on the performance of the software/application, the load and capacity it can handle, and about the reliability and scalability of the software/application. The major difference between functional and non-functional testing is the role of automation. Non-functional testing extensively requires automation otherwise the process will become tedious and time consuming whereas functional testing can be done without automation also. Functional testing comes under customer requirements and non-functional testing  comes under customer expectations.

Requirements and Strategies of Functional Testing

If we consider the requirements of the customer, we analyze a different set of rules based on which their software should function. Now, the basic requirement of functional testing types is to meet those requirements. The testers team and engineers spend most of their time evaluating the features and functioning of the software and such things are required also to craft the software market-specific. As discussed above, there is no such sequence required to strategize the testing types though, at least not for every application. It will be entirely based on the type of the software, merits and demerits of functional testing types and requirements of the business.

Understanding the Major Types of Functional Testing

It has been said that there are multiple types of functional testing and we will discuss some major ones underneath.

• Component testing: It is the type which focuses on the individual parts of the application and also called module testing. It is known to assess the parts of the software in isolation separated from the broader system. A component is something that takes input and delivers an output, and its testing (component testing) is done to verify the usability and/or functionality of such component, however not limited to these. For example, if we have a login component then we need to perform testing around this login module. The testings involved in it are testing the Ui part, testing the page loading, login functionality etc.
• Unit Testing: Unit testing is to ensure the proper functioning of each part on their own of the application. Similar to component testing, it is also performed individually.
• Integration Testing: Integration testing is done with the unit testing to ensure the defined code is working in accordance with the other related features and together as a group. Self contained applications and modern applications are designed to perform microservices and specific tasks and these microservices need to communicate with each other otherwise the intent of the application would not be fulfilled. For example, Facebook has the separate option for adding an account which is different from the login module. Now the tester needs to perform integration tests to ensure the system remembers the existing user and their credentials to perform adding the account function.
• System Testing: Testing the software as a complete product is called system testing. In system testing, teasers validate the complete package of the software and its desired outputs. For example, we have a car and all its components are tested thoroughly. Now how the car is functioning as a whole while driving on the road comes under the system testing.
• Acceptance Testing: Acceptance testing involves the end-to-end user experience while using the application and reviewing the feature-rich application’s flow. Beta testing is the subset of acceptance testing. It involves the feedback and suggestions the end user has reported while testing and reviewing the end product and its desired outcome.
• Smoke Testing: It is also a type of acceptance testing and involves the testing of the stability of the completed application. If the application passes the smoke test, the tester can move further with other testing types. Any failure after smoke testing unleash the additional development work.
• Regression Testing: Regression testing is like reviewing the new feature that was added afterward or after failure of some tests. Itb ensures that the software still functions as expected even after adding more codes to the product. For example, if an application has enabled a calling feature, it should not create the bottleneck for typing emojis.
• API testing: As the name suggests, API testing involves the API capability of handling user permissions and data. As an API connects different systems altogether, testers ensure the connections and responses that API establishes are functioning properly and as intended.
• Sanity Testing: It is also a type of regression testing. It performs the testing of the new version of a stable application and focuses mainly on the part where the changes have been made.

Conclusion

At Oprimes, we believe that the complete information regarding all the testing types should be integrated into the testers mind so that they just don’t test the application but build a direct relation with it. In this era of high expectations, we need to perform and adhere to rules that are set but along with it, we are required to evolve as well. There are also some specialized testing types and we will discuss them in detail after a while.