The Types of Software Testing to Make a Perfect Startup

Different types of software testing safeguard their different testing subjects. Overall, software testing is the process of testing the entire application or its part to ensure its bug-free functionality and robust performance in varied environments and conditions.

• For instance, we can test just one element of the application. It will give us an idea of how well it is functioning on its own.
• We can test the same element as it is merged with the whole application. It will show us if adding new functionality kept the integrity and bug-free performance of the entire app.
• Moreover, we can test the entire user journey. The one starting with landing on the site up to completing the target action. It allows us to test the flow throughout the app.

In this blog, we’ll discuss different types of software testing. We’ll also discuss use cases, related costs, and applicability for startups.v

Why Does Your Startup Need Software Testing?

Why do we need testing? We all know that users can press unpredictable buttons, and engage with our service chaotically. Also, the internet might slow down or disappear. Other technical interferences might come up. Each app component might be a perfection, but together they may have problems interacting. Testing ensures a user can complete a purchase or other target action in a well-performing secure app.

Benefits of application testing include:

• Ensured security;
• Better customer satisfaction;
• Higher product quality;
• Increased revenues;
• Enhanced user experience;
• Superior performance.

Types of Software Testing: Manual & Automated Testing

Let’s look at survey results of what percent of tests are automated.

• As you can see, 3.7% of respondents have no automated tests at all, they use only manual ones.
• 12% of software teams automate less than 10% of test cases while running 90% manually.
• Then, we see that 27.4% have up to a quarter of all tests automated.
• More than 30% of software development teams tend to automate up to half of their test cases.
• There are also quite technologically progressive teams with 20.8% automating between 50% and 75% of their test cases.
• Lastly, 3.4% of developers automate more than 75% of their testing load.

Manual Testing

Manual testing is just what it sounds like: a tester presses the buttons, clicks on links, enters different inputs into forms, resizes windows etc. So a person manually runs testing protocols to check if everything goes as expected. Or in a technical term, if the functionality is delivered according to acceptance criteria.

For instance, imagine a search bar on a marketplace. A tester might input a word and there is a search result, but… According to acceptance criteria, the search bar had to produce a suggestion on every keyboard stroke. Thus, the functionality is not accepted.

Or, the tester can check how the website interface adapts to different screen sizes. Whether it stays within borders remaining fully visible and functional.

So, you can imagine that manual types of software testing are very thorough and particular. Of course, on the downside, it is a lengthy process and repetitive.

Automated Testing

In contrast, automated testing is done by either testing programs or scripts written by a QA automation tester. Imagine testing a registration form with at least 4 fields such as a username, email, password, and repeat password. For each field, we must test at least 3 cases: valid input, invalid input, and boundary range input. So, to test each one, there are also options. The user name is correct but there is a space before it put by accident. Or it is all in caps. You see where it is going, don’t you? If to be thorough, each field might end up having 5 variations for each of the 3 equivalence scenarios. In total:

• Username: 5 (valid variations) + 5 (invalid variations) + 2 (boundary values) = 12
• Email: 5 (valid variations) + 5 (invalid variations) + 2 (boundary values) = 12
• Password: 5 (valid variations) + 5 (invalid variations) + 2 (boundary values) = 12
• Repeat Password: matching the password = 2 variations.

So, just a simple form already needs 38 test runs.

Imagine it being retested upon an update or adding a checkbox, etc. So, you see how automating testing of such repetitive tests makes a lot of sense.

Logically, let’s see about future plans on automated testing. The development teams answered about their plans to automate testing strongly in favour of automation. The figure below shows that 85% of development teams would prefer to have at least 50% of tests automated.

The Types of Automated Testing

There is a large variety of automated tests but they can be simplified in this pyramid by their need in any given project. Plus, the lower the test is on the pyramid, the less time it takes to run it.

Automated Unit and Component Tests

In a reasonable startup development, each developer is responsible for their own unit tests. A developer completes assigned functionality and supplements it with unit tests. Of course, a developer can ensure the correctness of their code by manual testing. But it is not time-efficient. Running automated unit tests takes the least amount of time among them all.

Along with unit tests, component tests take little time to write. They often become a staple of the project. They are quick and bug fixing often takes only some minutes.

Automated Integration and API Tests

Integration tests and API tests are more complicated. It takes more time to set them up and run them. Reaching the integration testing, all code parts are functional on their own. However, when you put them together, there might be issues. Automated integration testing checks whether merged functionality works as smoothly as individual parts.

When it comes to API testing, testing goals become increasingly critical to your business. Here testing ensures:

• the coherence of business logic,
• accuracy of data responses,
• evaluating performance levels, and
• testing for security risks.

So, the higher testing is on the pyramid the more critical it is for the project’s success.

Automated GUI Tests

GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. This is the most complex and complicated part of testing. This is the most important touchpoint between your business and your customers. Since it is a customer-facing part, it must be polished, fast, and bug-free. However, not everything can be automated here. In fact, this area is where manual testing is still indispensable. Automation can be done for some parts of GUI.

When is Manual Testing Irreplaceable?

Automated testing can save a lot of project time, developer effort, and money. At the same time, it is sometimes not cost-efficient or even reasonable to implement it. These cases include:

• Dynamic GUI components and drag&drop functionality;
• Multimedia content containerized on the front end;
• Integrated elements coming from third parties that you have no access to;
• App performance in relation to user switching between apps and tabs;
• Toast notifications sent to the user when the user isn’t inside your app;
• Range of mobile in-built features as applicable to your app;
• Complex logic.

For sure, you can attempt to write automated tests for these items. However, the complexity of it kills all the benefits and skyrockets the project price tag.

Cost Considerations For Manual VS Automated Testing

So, what is the right balance of manual and automated tests for your startup cost-wise? In the graph below, you can see the most common pattern.

At the start, manual testing is much more cost-effective. You have very few components, they are often simple. It takes more time to write tests for them than to manually test them. However, once the project code base grows, automated tests start generating savings. Each component becomes more complex, and the number of components grows too. Old, updated, and new functionality must be tested and retested. For sure, automation will start saving a lot of project time, developer effort, and business owner’s money.

Other Types of Software Testing

Functional VS Non-Functional Software Testing

As the project has functional and non-functional requirements, in the same vein there will be functional and non-functional testing.

Functional testing checks the expected output or behavior of the functional component.

• For example, if the user clicks the “Add to cart” button, does the expected message appear?
• Does the user’s cart update?
• Is there a modal window asking “proceed to checkout” or “continue shopping”?
• Or if there is a functionality that applies a coupon discount, does it calculate and apply itself correctly?

Often, there are acceptance criteria for functional requirements. Testers make sure the component satisfies those. You can check for Acceptance criteria examples as this is the main type of testing.

Non-functional testing focuses on such things as response time, integration, interface, security, user experience and more. So, the focus is not on functionality but on the experience of it and quality of performance of this functionality.

Both, functional and non-functional testing, can be done manually or be automated.

System Testing as a Special Kind of Integration Software Testing

System testing is a kind of integration testing when the application is fully completed. To compare, integration testing is a functional iterative kind of testing. Once each module is added to the app, we need to run it. Contrastingly, the system testing includes both functional and non-functional elements. It tests how the system functions as a whole and also checks whether it achieves business objectives, security compliance, reliability etc.

System testing can be done of two kinds:

• Black box testing;
• White box testing.

Simply put, one is when a tester knows nothing about implementation details. A tester treats the application as a black box, as though they are a user. The good thing about that is that it removes any bias.

White box testing is when the tester has access to the code base and can see ‘under-the-hood’. It allows the tester to target specific functionalities that are likely to be the source of vulnerabilities. A tester can spot weak connections or dependencies and target them specifically.

Alpha Testing & Beta Testing

Alpha and Beta testing are both done before the release. The development team first performs the alpha testing internally to fix any bugs. This is often the functional type of testing and manual. Then, a selected team of users performs beta testing. It allows a group of external end-users to try the app. They provide feedback before releasing your app to wider audiences. It is a manual type of testing. The users often give functional as well as non-functional feedback.

Ad-Hoc Testing & Smoke Testing

Ad-hoc testing is not predefined by any instruction. The goal is to break the app by not following regular flow scenarios. There are no instructions and the more spontaneous the tester is the better. It is manual and can be functional and non-functional. The common use case is when there is limited time or resources for more comprehensive testing. Or it can be used as extra testing before the release.

Smoke testing is a strictly functional kind of rough testing. It checks if the build of your app can perform critical functions. If an app doesn’t pass it — the development team must rework the code and make a new build. Typically, it is a manual type of testing, but sometimes can be automated.

Wrap-up: What Testing Mix is Best for a Perfect Startup?

You can see that functionality is often a big consideration. There can be no one-size-fits-all answer. At the same time, startups these days aim at minimum product and need to be agile. In this regard, automated testing might put you at a disadvantage in the early stages if it depends on a tester writing scripts.

• Usually, you should aim at a good mix of types of software testing. For a startup, it consists of a set of automated tools for unit tests, browser compatibility, performance testing, and reliable collaboration tools to address things effectively. They can be Jest, LambdaTest, Apache JMeter, and Trello. There are tools for virtually any technology stack and preferences.
• The more your project relies on graphical elements, the more manual testing it will require.
• The more back-end heavy your project is, the more automated tests should be written for it.
• Generally, you don’t want to spend on different types of software testing less than 10% of the overall budget and no more than 35%.