Other Types of Tests

Some other types of testing

Unit and integration testing are not the only types of tests we have. Depending on what kind of application we’re creating and what requirements our software has when it comes to things such as data integrity, handling large workloads, compatibility with other applications, and so on, we can choose to expose the code to several different test types.

Let’s briefly take a look at some of these tests.

System testing

System testing tests a system when it is completely integrated into its execution environment. Here, we’ll test things such as whether the login works, whether we can create and edit data in the application, whether the user interface presents data correctly, and whether we can delete entries.

These things are typically tested earlier in the development process too, but they need to be verified when the source code is in its live production environment.

Acceptance testing

Acceptance testing is often divided into four different types:

• User acceptance testing
• Operational acceptance testing
• Constructional and regulatory acceptance testing
• Alpha and beta testing

Let’s understand these in detail:

• User acceptance testing: This is a way to verify that the solution created works for the end users of our application. The questions we’re trying to answer with these tests are if the users can use the software, if it’s what they asked for, if they have any trouble using it, and if the application behaves as anticipated.
• Operational acceptance testing: This is done to verify the operational readiness of an application before it is released to end users.
• Constructional and regulatory acceptance testing: This is done to verify that the developed software fulfills the conditions specified in the agreement that was entered into with the organization that ordered the software. Regulatory testing verifies that the software conforms to the current regulations.
• Alpha and beta testing: These are two tests that are performed to verify and identify all possible issues and bugs. Alpha testing is performed early in the development process, while beta testing is done near the end of the development process. They’re both conducted by potential users of the finished product or by a group of people with a similar skill level as the end users of the application.