5 Types Of Software Testing & When To Use Them

Summary

In this video, Dave Farley discusses five essential types of software testing: unit testing, acceptance testing, integration testing, approval testing, and manual testing. He emphasizes the importance of using unit and acceptance tests to drive development and ensure code quality, while integrating other testing types tactically. Farley cautions against common pitfalls, such as treating testing as an afterthought and confusing the goals of tests with their implementation. His approach advocates for a clear focus on what the software should achieve, leading to improved reliability and maintainability in software engineering.

Takeaways

• 😀 Unit testing is essential for fast feedback and high confidence in code functionality. It should be conducted using Test Driven Development (TDD) to improve code design.
• 😀 Acceptance testing helps determine if code is releasable and should encompass various forms of testing like performance and regulatory compliance.
• 😀 Integration tests are tactical and should complement acceptance tests, helping to identify integration issues quickly without duplicating acceptance test functionality.
• 😀 Approval tests validate that code produces consistent results and are particularly useful for stabilizing legacy code, though less effective for new feature development.
• 😀 Manual testing is better suited for exploratory purposes rather than regression testing due to the efficiency of automated tests.
• 😀 The common mistake in unit testing is writing tests after the code, which leads to tightly coupled and complex tests.
• 😀 Acceptance tests should focus on what the system should achieve, avoiding details of how it achieves them, to maintain clarity and purpose.
• 😀 Organizations often fall into the trap of relying too much on acceptance tests instead of maintaining a balanced testing strategy that includes unit tests.
• 😀 W. Edwards Deming's principle emphasizes that quality cannot be inspected into a product; it must be built in through proper testing practices.
• 😀 A successful software testing strategy involves a combination of unit and acceptance testing while using other forms tactically to enhance overall software quality.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of software testing according to the transcript?

The primary purpose of software testing is to measure whether the software meets defined success criteria and to identify any defects.

What are the five types of testing mentioned in the transcript?

The five types of testing discussed are unit testing, acceptance testing, integration testing, approval testing, and manual testing.

How does unit testing contribute to software development?

Unit testing provides fast feedback and high confidence for developers by ensuring that individual pieces of code perform as intended, significantly reducing the number of programming errors.

What is the main mistake organizations make regarding unit tests?

A common mistake is writing unit tests after the code has been developed instead of adopting a Test-Driven Development (TDD) approach where tests are written first.

What role do acceptance tests play in continuous delivery?

Acceptance tests evaluate whether the code is releasable by confirming it meets functional requirements from the user's perspective and can include various types of tests such as performance and regulatory compliance.

Why are acceptance tests most effective when written before coding?

Writing acceptance tests first helps clarify the expected functionality, encourages better design, and leads to more testable systems.

What is the distinction between integration tests and acceptance tests?

Integration tests are tactical and used to identify specific problems, whereas acceptance tests assess whether a feature works correctly in a deployed environment.

What are approval tests used for?

Approval tests verify that the code produces the same results consistently over time and are particularly useful for stabilizing legacy code.

What is the recommended role for manual testing in software testing?

Manual testing should be used for exploratory testing and assessing new features rather than for regression testing, which is better handled by automated tests.

What is the overarching testing strategy suggested in the transcript?

The best strategy combines acceptance testing with thorough unit testing while using other testing types tactically to supplement this core approach.