Fundamental of functional testing
- 1. Whitepaper Fundamentals of Functional Testing For the testing to work well, there must be a clear understanding of what "functional" means. In this whitepaper, we will give you the walkthrough on functional testing
- 2. WHITEPAPER PAGE 01 ABSTRACT In software development, testing is a critical component in ensuring quality. Testing can find bugs before they happen or prevent them from happening altogether. This is done through functional testing, where a program's functionality and features are analyzed to see if it works the way it should. For this testing to work well, there must be a clear understanding of what "functional" means. In this guide, we will give you the walkthrough on functional testing. Functional testing is a type of software testing that verifies the functionality of individual software modules or groups of modules. It is also known as black-box testing because it treats the software as a black box with no knowledge of its internals. Functional testing is usually done after unit testing and before system testing. It can be described as "black box" testing because functional testing is done without any internal program design or code knowledge. In a manual functional test, an input is provided, and then an evaluation is made based on observation of results that depend upon the particular function being tested. Automated functions are often referred to as sanity tests. These can be built into the system build process. What is Functional Testing? Why is Functional Testing needed? Functional testing is needed to ensure that the system under test (SUT) behaves as expected. Using functional testing can verify that the system is working as intended and that all required features are available. It can be used in GUI testing, end-to-end testing, integration testing, and system/acceptance testing. It is essential in agile development environments, where requirements and features can change frequently. In these environments, it's crucial to verify that the system still functions as expected. It is required if you want to put your software into production. If you don't have any Functional Testing implemented, you can forget about Quality Assurance. It is also essential to ensure that refactoring changes regarding tests or code do not cause failures.
- 3. PAGE 02 FUNCTIONAL TESTING BENEFITS There are several reasons why our Functional Testing services are given more preference over the other phases of Software Testing. Let us have a peek at them. Time to Market – Functional Testing saves time as it is ideally suited for non-compiled languages. Functional Test cases can be written easily and quickly without compiling the code. Compatibility Testing – Functional Testing can identify compatibility issues between different software modules or operating systems. Recovery Testing – Functional Testing verifies the software's ability to recover from crashes, errors, and unexpected situations. Validation of design – Functional Testing verifies that the System Under Test (SUT) performs as required by the specification. User acceptance testing (UAT) – Functional Testing is the key to UAT, as it verifies that the system works as per the user requirement specification. During Functional Testing, the application is tested against the system's use cases. The system functionality is divided into minimal test cases called function points. The functional test engineer then tries each function point against the system use cases. Quality Assurance (QA) Testing – FunctionalTesting is an integral part of the QA process and is used to verify that the system meets the requirements specified in the requirement document. Pre-production acceptance testing – Functional Testing is used for system performance testing to check if it adheres to design specifications. WHEN DOES FUNCTIONAL TESTING TAKE PLACE? Functional testing can occur at any time after unit and integration tests have been completed but before any final system test. It is typically performed by an independent team with knowledge of the entire application and how it works. Functional testing is software testing that verifies that all the features work as they should. The goal is to make sure everything works as it should before the application goes live. Functional testing is typically done by an independent software quality assurance (QA) team, with different members than the development team. The QA team's job is to test the application as a user would, looking for how it works. They may also create new test cases or scenarios to cover any new features or changes that have been made since the last testing cycle. WHITEPAPER It can be done after unit and integration tests have been completed but before any final system test. The process helps identify problems in the application's design or implementation before it goes live. This type of testing is typically performed by an independent team with knowledge of the entire application and how it works. They may also add new requirements for improvements or changes while running through their tests.
- 4. PAGE 03 THE TYPES OF FUNCTIONAL TESTING Functional testing comes in different forms and types depending upon the software development life-cycle. System testing- This is the phase during which the entire system to be tested is tested for all its known functionalities. System tests are meant to test the overall performance of software or hardware product. This means it tests how well the complete system meets the specifications without any external influence, i.e., how well the system functions when all its parts are working together. Integration testing- This Testing aims to verify that individual components work correctly and that they integrate with other components as expected. The focus is on how modules interact, not on whether the individual modules work correctly. This type of testing is done after unit testing and before system testing. Unit testing- This is a level of software testing where individual units/components or modules of the software are tested. The aim is to verify that each module works correctly and integrates as expected. This type of testing is done before integration testing. Black-box Testing- This is a type of software testing where the tester has no information about the application's internal workings. The focus is on how the system behaves when given specific inputs and how it responds to those inputs. This type of testing is done after unit testing and before integration testing. White-box testing- This is a type of software testing that considers the internal workings of the application. Such testing focuses on how well individual components, classes, or modules work and whether they are executed expectedly. This type of testing is done after unit testing and before integration testing. Load and Performance Testing- This is the type of testing that evaluates the behavior of a system or component with increasing load to determine its stability and match production requirements. This type of testing is done only after integration testing. DIGITALISATION & FUNCTIONAL TESTING - A PARADOX The digital age has given rise to new business opportunities, but it has also created new challenges. One of the most pressing issues facing businesses today is how to ensure that their systems are functionally accurate and compliant with regulations. This is where functional testing comes in. Functional testing is a process that verifies the accuracy of system functions and their compliance with business and regulatory requirements. This is also an essential part of the test automation process. There has been a massive rise in the development of automated testing solutions, which reduce costs and speed up functional testing efforts. WHITEPAPER However, while there are several benefits to automated testing tools, they can sometimes create more issues than they solve. One of the most common problems with automated testing tools is that they can be inflexible and difficult to use. As a result, they can often require a high level of technical expertise, which can be challenging to find in the current market. Another problem with automated testing tools is that they can be expensive. This means that not every business can afford to use them, limiting their effectiveness. Despite these drawbacks, automated testing tools offer a number of benefits that cannot be ignored. They are efficient, reliable, and accurate, making them essential for any functional testing process.
- 5. PAGE 04 GROWTH OF FUNCTIONAL TESTING The global functional testing market is expected to grow from USD 9.44 billion in 2016 to reach an expected value of USD 12.72 billion by 2021 at a CAGR of 5.8% between 2016 and 2021. The rapid growth of the functional testing industry is attributed to the increasing focus on mobile application and website testing in various organizations, which results in Digital Transformation initiatives. The demand for automation tools is high in test management because it provides efficiency, reduces manual efforts, and enhance customer experience. The global functional testing market consists mainly of large enterprises due to the need to automate various testing processes and focus on digitalization and cloud computing. The market is segmented on types, companies, deployment models, regions, end-users, and verticals. Based on types, the global functional testing market is segmented into automated functional testing and manual functional testing. During the forecast period, the automated functional testing component is expected to grow at a higher CAGR than the manual functional testing segment. This can be attributed to the growing demand for automation tools globally. Based on companies, the global functional testing market is segmented into large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The large enterprises' segment is expected to hold a larger share of the global functional testing market in 2016. This can be attributed to the increasing focus on automation of various testing processes and the growing demand for digital transformation initiatives. WHITEPAPER
- 6. © 2021 HikeQA, Noida, India. All Rights Reserved. Infosys believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject to change without notice. HikeQA acknowledges the proprietary rights of other companies to the trademarks, product names and such other intellectual property rights mentioned in this document. Except as expressly permitted, neither this documentation nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, printing, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Infosys Limited and/ or any named intellectual property rights holders under this document. PAGE 05 CONCLUSION Functional testing is also known as black-box testing. It is the type of software test that focuses on the functionality of an application. It considers the system as a black box for which no information about internal mechanism or structure is available. The tester only has access to input and output data for each module, sub- system, or the whole system. Functional testing includes verification of functional requirements and the validity of business processes. In this type of testing, the main focus is on what a system does rather than how it does it. At Hikeqa we offer both types of tests to get the best possible outcome for your product development needs. Contact us today to learn how our comprehensive approach will provide peace of mind during this critical stage in the lifecycle! WHITEPAPER For more information, contact info@hikeqa.com Stay Connected