What is Software Testing?

Software testing is a process of verifying and validating whether a software or application is error-free, satisfies the technical requirements as guided by its design and development to meet the end user’s expectations, and meets the user requirements effectively and efficiently by handling all the extraordinary and boundary cases.

The process of software testing aims not only at finding issues in the existing software but also at finding actions to improve the software in terms of efficiency, usability, and accuracy. It mainly aims at determining the specification, functionality, and performance of a software program or application. 

Types of Software Testing

·        Manual Testing

·        Automation Testing

1. Manual Testing: As the name suggests, Manual testing is a process of testing the software manually, i.e., without using any automation tools. The tester simulates an end-user and tests the software for any unexpected behavior or errors. There are different phases for manual testing, such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing.

Testers use test plans, test cases, or test scenarios to test software to ensure the inclusiveness of testing. Manual testing also includes exploratory testing, in which testers explore the software to identify bugs in it.

2. Automation Testing: Automation testing, which is also known as "Test Automation," is when the tester writes test scripts and uses another software to test the software. This process includes the automation of a manual procedure. Automation testing is used to re-run the test scenarios rapidly and repeatedly, that were performed manually in manual testing.

Automation testing is used to perform regression testing and also used to test the application from a load, performance, and stress point of view. It improves test coverage, improves accuracy, and saves time and money when associated with manual testing.

Automation testing is the process of using software tools to perform repetitive and routine testing tasks, in order to increase efficiency and speed up the testing process.

There are many different types of automation testing, including unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing.

Unit testing: Unit testing is more focused on individual units or components of a software application.

Integration testing: Integration testing is more focused on testing the interactions between different units or components.

End-to-end testing: Tests the entire application from start to End, pretending the real-world usage of the software.

The benefit of Automation testing:

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Fast: Automated tests can be performed repeatedly and completed rapidly. We do not have to wait for weeks to perform the testing; a few hours are enough for implementation.

Saves time: Automating the testing process helps the testing team use less time to authenticate newly created features, which saves time for execution.

Accuracy improvement: In manual testing, there is a chance of blunders, whether you are a qualified testing engineer. The chances of errors may surge when testing a complex use case. But Automation testing reduces the chances of faults.

Reusability: We can reuse the test case scripts in automation testing, and we don't need to write the same test scripts multiple times.

One of the main benefits of automation testing is that it can suggestively reduce the time and effort required to perform repetitive testing tasks again and again, such as regression testing. Automation testing also helps to reduce human error and increase the accuracy of test results.

Numerous different automation testing tools are available, including Selenium, Appium, and TestComplete. These tools can be used to automate a large range of testing tasks, such as UI testing, functional testing, and performance testing.

It's important to note that automation testing should not be used as a replacement for manual testing, but rather as a supplement to it. Manual testing can be useful for tasks that are difficult or impossible to automate, such as usability testing and exploratory testing.

To start with automation testing, it's important to clearly understand the software application and the testing goals. It's also important to have a good understanding of the automation testing tools that are available and to choose the right tool for the job.

In summary, automation testing is a process of using software tools to perform repetitive testing tasks in order to increase efficiency, speed up the testing process, reduce human error, and improve the accuracy of test results. It is important to not use it as a replacement for manual testing, but as a supplement to it. To get started with automation testing, it is important to have a clear understanding of the software application and the testing goals, as well as a good understanding of the available automation testing tools.