A crucial phase of the software development process is functional testing. This testing aims to evaluate the performance of software developments, mobile applications, and web applications. It entails testing every feature of a program to ensure that, at a fundamental level, they function as intended.
The concept of things working as they should doesn't mean that all the stuff involved is perfectly smooth. Even the best software programs occasionally fail. Functional testing, therefore, verifies that the correct error message appears in response to the problem in question when something goes wrong. This scenario guarantees the usability of the application.
Functional testing ensures that each component of a piece of software functions adequately. Investing in thorough functional testing might mean the difference between generating a profit and a loss because it is much less expensive to address bugs before release than after.
Now let us define functional testing and compare it with non-functional testing in more technical terms.
Functional Testing vs. Non-Functional Testing
Functional testing makes sure that all the features of the software are working explicitly. Non-functional testing, on the other hand, tests other facets of how well the software works. Let us explore and discover more about them.
Functional Testing
Software testing techniques, such as functional testing, involve evaluating the system against functional specifications and requirements. Functional testing verifies that the software application properly satisfies all the demands.
This kind of testing is especially interesting in the outcome of processing. It concentrates on simulating actual system utilization and makes no assumptions about system structure.
Non-Functional Testing
This type of software testing is done to confirm the application's non-functional requirements, known as non-functional testing. It cross-checks to see whether the system is acting as per the decided specifications or not. It further examines every component that isn't examined during functional testing.
FUNCTIONAL TESTING | NON-FUNCTIONAL TESTING |
It examines how an application functions and behaves. | It examines how an application behaves. |
It depends on the client's requirements. | It is based on what the buyer could expect. |
It aids in improving the way the application behaves. | It aids in enhancing the application's functionality. |
It examines how the product functions. | It explains what the product accomplishes. |
Business requirements serve as the foundation for functional testing. | The performance requirement is the foundation for non-functional testing. |
Key Benefits from Functional Testing
Functional testing executed precisely for a software product makes sure that both the client and the end-user are equally comfortable. Let us further explore the other gains and benefits of functional testing.
User Contentment: The only goal of functional testing is to ensure that the software performs satisfactorily for the end user or the corporate client. By utilizing the application, users must find a simple solution. They do not desire applications or software with insufficient functionality and are rife with faults.
Defect-free Software: All the tiniest defects and errors will be found and eliminated after the program has undergone functional testing to streamline its operations. You will consequently receive the software devoid of all defects and security flaws.
Improved Security: The security facets of the product will also be taken care of by the functional testing attributes. Finally, it would provide a definite answer as to whether the program is secure for keeping the users' sensitive data.
Enhanced Usability: Functional testing makes it simple to find application loopholes. The developers would follow the test findings and take the appropriate action if there was room for improvement in the application's coding or qualities.
Also know in depth about Functional Testing Types & Benefits
Different Types and Categories of Functional Testing
The six different forms of functional testing are as follows.
Smoke Testing: The testing procedure often starts with a smoke test. Smoke testing verifies the authenticity of the build at the most fundamental level. It entails testing the app, system, or build to determine if it can function without abruptly crashing to verify fundamental stability and usability.
Regression Testing: Regression testing's primary objective is to identify and draw attention to flaws unintentionally incorporated into the build. Regression testing, therefore, entails searching for faults that were not at all expected in the initial design.
Integration Testing: Integration testing is intended to ensure that every program module operates as it should. Additionally, each module (web services, APIs, databases, etc.) should be able to be seamlessly incorporated into the software application as a whole without introducing any new issues.
Unit Testing: When all your integration tests are finished, it's time to advance to the following phase. Instead of adopting the holistic approach of the previous stage, this is known as unit testing, and its goal is to test for functionality in each unit inside an app.
Alpha and Beta Testing: Sequentially speaking, alpha and beta testing come after other types of functional testing. Although they are sometimes combined, alpha and beta testing are truly different in a few significant ways. We're going to examine exactly how each of them functions.
User Acceptance Testing: User acceptance testing is the last phase in the software testing process. This testing aims to determine whether the product can withstand frequent use and user activity in actual circumstances.
How to Enable Automated Functional Testing?
Here is the complete process and the involved steps to facilitate automated functional testing for a software application.
Design the procedure: Before continuing, it is critical to have answers for both concerns in writing. That's also the stage where resources, staff, and experience are considered to create a strong plan.
Selecting an automation tool: You should start thinking about which tool(s) you would like to employ now that your plan is in place. The plan will greatly influence this choice. For the duties you're going to provide, your picked tool ought to be a perfect fit.
Create your testing infrastructure: You've chosen your tools and have a plan. The framework inside and all of the testing that will take place must be created as the next phase. That includes describing the testing requirements.
Altering the testing environment: You will install the required hardware and software in this phase. Additionally, you should establish the testing calendar so that your teams may make plans around it.
Examine the outcomes: It's time to examine the test results now that they have been completed. This is where you will use data. You can determine from the data whether there are flaws and whether additional testing is required.
Execute the tests: This is the easiest action to take. All you have to do is conduct the exams precisely how you intended to!
Tools Leveraged for Automating Functional Testing
Let us explore the diverse set of tools utilized for enabling and automating functional testing.
WebdriverIO: An automation framework called WebdriverIO was created to automate contemporary mobile and web applications. It makes using the app easier and offers many plugins that make it easier to build a scalable, reliable, and reliable test suite.
Cypress: A testing framework built on JavaScript is called Cypress. Teams can write test automation scripts thanks to it. As a result, if the application is switched to a different framework, there is no need to develop new tests.
Puppeteer: An open-source Node.js package called Puppeteer is used to streamline and automate front-end development and testing. The Chrome browser may be controlled and interacted with using the Puppeteer's APIs in headless mode. The usage of its non-headless processing on browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, etc., is also possible.
Selenium: One of the most well-liked open-source automated testing platforms for web applications is Selenium. Selenium is made up of many parts, each of which plays a particular function in the test automation process. Selenium is compatible with various test environments, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and browsers like Chrome, Firefox, IE, etc.
Benchmarks for Automated Functional Testing
Let us explore and discover the involved practices for Automated Functional Testing.
Ensure your software testing procedure has been optimised: Most automation tools can assist you with this.
Perform research: Not all tools are made with the same objectives in mind. To locate the best one for the requirements of your company, you'll have to put in the time.
Test the testing tools you use: Testing is always a smart idea, even though it may sound repetitive. Let that be your main takeaway. You'll find yourself trying out a few different functional testing tools before settling on the best one if you apply the same idea to your approach to those tools.
Create a process log: Make sure you know what is occurring at every step and take lots of screenshots. This makes it simpler to identify the source of issues if they do develop.
Key Takeaways
An essential phase of the software development process is functional testing. It starts with a fresh build and puts it through extensive testing to get rid of any potential problems methodically, with each phase concentrating on a different way to find mistakes and weaknesses. Each process runs better efficiently when functional testing is automated.
This is so that the testing cycle's most tedious tasks can be automated and held to the same high-performance standard. It streamlines and enhances the testing process itself while removing the issue of human mistakes.
At PerfectQA, facilitating superior quality software with testing and Quality Assurance (QA) services is always our core emphasis. Our QA Services, which comprise automated functional testing services, will help you gain control over your product's life cycle, tracking every stage of software development, and offering trusted product quality to the different stakeholders and involved user base.