Software Testing - Interface Testing
Software testing is done at numerous phases to improve the software quality. The interface testing between the components of the software is done to verify if there is proper communication existing between the different components. The interface errors lead to defects in the software.
What is Software Interface Testing?
The software interface testing is conducted to check whether there is proper flow of information between two different modules in the software. An interface is a medium via which modules interact with each other. It can exist in the form of an API, UI, servers, etc. It utilizes particular commands, messages, and data exchange methodologies to establish a link between the application and the user.
The interface testing does not verify the individual working of a particular component of the software. It is only limited to the testing of the communication between different units so that software is able to work properly as per the requirements. Any issues detected at this time of testing are fixed by the development team.
Advantages of Software Interface Testing
The advantages of the software interface testing are listed below −
- The software interface testing can be easily understood.
- The interface testing increases the usage of a software in the market as it verifies whether it has a simple GUI and better stability.
- The software interface testing helps to gather the knowledge on what the customers expect from the software, and then help in updating the interfaces accordingly.
- The software interface testing brings in more customer satisfaction, and thereby helps to gather in more users for the software.
How is Software Interface Testing Performed?
The software interface testing is performed by following the steps listed below −
Step 1: The interface between the web server and the application server is verified to check if the servers are working as expected, and they have the correct error handling mechanism to return error messages for the queries coming from the application. It also validates whether the connection between the web server and the application server is gone in case of an error.
Step 2: The interface between the database server and the application server is verified.
Different Types of Software Interface Testing
The different types of the software interface testing are listed below −
Workflow Testing
This type of testing is done to check the end to end data flow to ensure correct information exchange. It tests if the software is working as expected and is following the correct business rules. For example, the user should be able to navigate from the login page to the home page using the correct user credentials.
Functional Testing
This type of testing is done to check if every functionality of the software is working as expected. It verifies if there is proper data communication between the modules. The functional testing is done with the help of black box testing where the testers do not have any knowledge on the internal code of the software. For example, the verification of the new user sign up link on the login page comes under the functional testing.
Security Testing
This type of testing is done to check if there are any security issues in the software leading to potential scope of hacking and other vulnerabilities. It ensures that there is a proper safety of data while it is being exchanged between different components of the software. The interface testing is conducted with the help of the penetration testing and user access control testing techniques. For example, an issue in the login page can lead to compromise of the user credentials in the application.
Load Testing
This type of testing is done to check how much the load or traffic that the software can hold before it crashes. It determines the threshold limit of the maximum number of users that can be accommodated at a time after which the software breaks down.
Best Practices Followed in Software Interface Testing
The best practises that are followed in the software interface testing are listed below −
- Analyze and gather the proper understanding of all the requirements. This is important so that the testers can come up with all the possible positive and negative test cases around the interface testing.
- Create the optimal number of interface test cases to cover each requirement.
- Generate the required test data in order to use them while executing the interface test cases.
- Execute the interface test cases in numerous platforms, devices, browsers to verify the robustness, and ease of use of software.
- Analyze and document the results of the test execution. Report defects wherever there are deviations observed.
Different Tools That Can be Used for Software Interface Testing
The different tools that can be used software interface testing are listed below −
Conclusion
This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Interface Testing. Weve started with describing what is software interface testing, what are the advantages of software interface testing, how the software interface testing is performed, what are the different types of software interface testing, what are the best practises followed in the software interface testing, and what are the different tools that can be used for software interface testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Interface 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.