Functional Testing Examples

To build high-quality software products, you need to know when and what kind of techniques to use. Functional tests help organizations meet the code requirements of digital products throughout the process.

In this article, we are going to look at a few functional tests along with examples.

Component testing:

It checks the individual parts of an application from the broader system. Component testing is done by testers in a black-box format and is used to validate individual objects or parts of the software. Let’s say that there are other components that rely on the component that is being tested, then the tester can use a stub and a driver to simulate interactions between them.

Example: A doctor’s appointment booking app has an option to schedule an appointment with a dentist. The stub has the dentist’s user profile and the driver offers a simulated schedule of the appointment times that are available. The middle component, which is the one under test, finds the user’s location via GPS and displays a list of dentists nearby. The component that is being tested in isolation, the tester ensures that the geolocation works properly and has a list of nearby locations on display.

Unit testing:

Before you test the software program in its entirety, you need to make sure that each of the parts are working properly on its own. Unit testing makes sure that each of the units are providing the desired results. It provides the foundation for more complex integrated software. Unit testing will help you with a higher quality application code and assists in speeding up the development process.

Example: An example of a real-world scenario covered by a unit test is checking whether your bike can be unlocked. Here, you test if the bike can be unlocked using your bike key, but it cannot be unlocked by your house key or a different bike key.

Sanity testing:

Testing professionals perform sanity testing on new versions of stable builds to see if the new functionality has any issues or to fix bugs. It tells whether a build is ready for more testing. There is no script for sanity testing as it goes to the area which has had a recent change in its code.

Example: Let’s say that there was a bug in a mobile app where you can make payments online. The development team is asked to resolve the bug. After this process, the testing team checks if the bug is still there. Apart from that, they also check whether the changes done have had an impact on any other part of the system.

Smoke testing:

It tells whether a new software build and its critical functionality are performing stably. Let’s say that the system passes the smoke test, then it means that the build can undergo further testing. Let’s say that the smoking test fails, then the build is rejected and the development team is given the charge to fix the issues and create a new build.

Also called as build verification testing, it checks whether a functionality is meeting its objectives. Smoke testing should be the first test done on any build.

Example: To check the screenshot facility of a mobile application. The expected result is that when you click on the volume button and the power button at the same time, the expected result is the generation of a screenshot. The status is said to be a failure if the smoke test doesn’t return a screenshot.

Integration testing:

This type of functional testing is performed to test individual components to see how they function together. The objective is to test the modules that were working individually and to see that there are no bugs when they work together. Usually, developers build different modules of the system at the same time and do not concentrate on the others. Integration testing typically helps find issues with operation timing, API calls, database access, user interface operation, UI operations, data formats, etc.

Example: When we check the sign-up and log in features of a social media website, we look at them as separate entities. We check the integration between these two units only when you need functionalities that require you to either sign up or be a member already.

Regression testing:

Whenever there are changes in the functionality or features of a new build, it can result in unexpected behaviors. Regression testing is done to make sure that any changes haven’t broken the existing functionality. The purpose of regression testing is to check whether there were any bugs that got accidentally introduced into the system and also to make sure that the bugs which were removed earlier stay dead.

Example: Let’s say that there is a customer loyalty app and it has different kinds of options available for customers to redeem their points. The company has recently added a functionality where users can add points to their account under a tab called ‘Add points.’ Regression testing will identify if there are any new defects in the existing functions which were caused because of the updates.

Conclusion:

At Zuci, we strongly believe that functional testing plays a huge role in building powerful applications. It is unwise to release digital products that have a lot of shortcomings, it will be detrimental to the organization as well as to the end users. When you perform the required functional testing types at the right time during the development process, you can assure yourself that you are releasing a great product. It is a win-win for every stakeholder that way.