Types of Software Testing an Application May Undergo
We talk tech around here every now and then, and this guest post will certainly speak to our tech audience here. I’ve chatted with a few of you who have an informatics background, and I certainly appreciate those conversations with a handful of nurse inventors out there that are working on software and apps that help us meet our documentation requirements while still being able to spend more time with our patients.
I’ve had the opportunity to beta test some of the programs that are about to launch in 2013, and here are a few aspects of software testing that are needed to help ensure these app are going to hold up to the demands that are required to perform the task.
If you are new to software testing, it will behoove you to get acquainted with the types of testing that software applications must undergo. When you familiarize yourself with the various types of testing, you will have an easier time doing your job. There are six types of software testing that are performed to determine how well an application functions.
Load testing
A load test is the absolute easiest test that a software tester can perform. During this type of test, an expected number of users will use the application at the same time, performing a variety of transactions within a specified time frame. The application is monitored to see how well it performs under the load. This performance test will provide the response times of critical transactions and will allow testers to find any bottlenecks that are present within the application.
Stress testing
This type of software testing is used to understand the application’s greatest limits. During this test, an extreme load is placed on the application. It is much larger than the load the application is subjected to during load testing. Stress testing helps the administrators of the software application to know whether or not it will continue to perform effectively under extreme conditions.
Endurance testing
Endurance testing determines how well the application will behave under a large load for a significantly long period of time. During this test, memory resources are monitored in order to determine if there are leaks present. Furthermore, response times and throughput are checked to see how they are after sustained use of the application.
Spike testing
During spike testing, the load on the application is suddenly increased. This test is done in order to determine whether the application will continue to perform well or completely fail when the load dramatically changes.
Configuration testing
Configuration testing does not test from the perspective of how large a load an application can handle. Rather, this type of test requires that certain configurations are made to the software to see how these configuration changes will affect performance. The tester will take careful note as to how the changes affect the software in question.
Isolation testing
Isolation testing requires that a test be done that has caused a problem previously. An example of this can be to perform a certain action that is known to cause system failure. Isolation testing helps testers to isolate a problem that is causing a specific error to occur.
The types of testing that will be performed will all depend on the application. Certain applications will be exempt from undergoing specific tests. For instance, a game that is designed for only one player will not undergo the first four types of testing; however, it will be subjected to isolation and configuration testing.
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Eric Blair writes about load testing tools, mobile application testing tools and other related services offered at www.soasta.com.