Software Testing - Incremental Testing
Software testing is a part of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). There are various testing techniques applied to improve the overall software quality. Incremental testing is one the concepts under the integration testing. The drivers and stubs are created in this approach which help to verify the different components of the software.
What is Software Incremental Testing?
The software incremental testing utilizes the drivers and stubs to test the different components of the software. It is an approach adopted to combine the various units one by one with the help of drivers and stubs. Using them, we can determine the bugs in a particular component of a software.
The methodology of the software incremental testing begins with the verification of a single module, then combining it with another module. After the integration of the two of them has been done, they are tested together to find any interface errors and to check if both of them are working as a unit. Finally, another module is unified with them, and the same approach is applied. In this way, this methodology is taken up to implement integration testing of the software.
Importance of Software Incremental Testing
The software incremental testing is Importance for the reasons listed below −
- The software incremental testing determines the defects in individual units of the software by running the unit tests prior to the testing cycle.
- The software incremental testing detects defects in the early phases of the integration testing even before all the components are integrated, which helps to save time and resources.
- The software incremental testing confirms that all the components are connected and working well together.
- The software incremental testing is workable, and cost efficient from the business perspective.
When is the Software Incremental Testing Used?
The software incremental testing is done by interlinking each component one by one rather than combining them at one go. This is performed only if all the defects detected at the unit testing phase have been fixed.
The perfect time to adopt the incremental testing is when the software components are still undergoing development. The drivers and stubs can be used for any components if required. For example, we need to test the modules 1, 2, and 3 together, but in that situation, the modules 2, and 3 are still not ready. At this time, the module 1 can be combined with the drivers to replicate the modules 2, and 3 to carry on the integration testing process.
In the scenario described above, the incremental approach is the most appropriate to be used.
When will the Software Incremental Testing be Automated?
The software incremental testing is automated for the reasons listed below −
- The software incremental testing is automated when the same set of test cases are executed to verify the components multiple times.
- The software incremental testing is automated when the application is stable enough to support automated test scripts.
- The software incremental testing gives better output when it is automated. It also consumes less time and endeavor.
- The software incremental testing is automated if the automated scripts yield better return on investment on executing them.
Let us take an example of a social media application where we would need to verify the linking of various pages. Let us take into consideration some of the components which have undergone unit testing before being combined.
The friend list components display the list of active friends of the users. The profile information component would be combined with the friend list component and it would collect the profile details of each of the friends available in the list. The suggested friends component would be integrated with the profile information component and it would exhibit the profile information of the suggested friends as well.
The automation testing of the above use case would be both cost, and time saving. The test scripts developed in this process can be reused for other listing and profile information pages. For instance, the same test scripts for the product listing and product information page. The only difference would be the item variety, however the feature of the page or its component would continue to be similar.
While the test cases are being automated, a good choice of the automation tool is very important. It should be easy enough to be adopted by the team, and can be used to automate the majority of the use cases. Some of the popular automation tools that can be used are Selenium, Cypress, Rest Assured, PlayWright etc.
Methodologies Used for Software Incremental Testing
The methodologies used for the software incremental testing are listed listed below −
Top Down Integration Testing
It is one of methods of integration testing where the features of the lower level modules which are not yet integrated are simulated. The testing is conducted from the top to the bottom levels components of the software.
Bottom Up Integration Testing
It is one of methods of integration testing where each of the modules are first tested and then they are incrementally integrated with other modules to have a complicated system until the entire software has been tested. The lower level units are verified first followed by the higher level ones.
Mixed Integration Testing
It is one of methods of integration testing which combines the behavior of both the top down and bottom up integration testing. It is also known as the sandwiched or hybrid integration testing.
Advantages of Software Incremental Testing
The advantages of the software incremental testing are listed below −
- It gives the possibility to debug easily in case there are a small number of units of software.
- It determines the defects in the early stages of the SDLC.
- It gives the option of adopting parallel testing of the software.
- It also helps to scale up testing activities in projects.
Conclusion
This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Incremental Testing. Weve started with describing what is software incremental testing, why is the software incremental testing important, when is the software incremental testing used, when is the software incremental testing be automated, what are the methodologies used for the software incremental testing, and what are the advantages of software incremental testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Incremental Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what youve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.