Regardless of the industry vertical, it is prudent for businesses to test their systems before going live to the public. This way, it’s easy to ensure efficiency and avoid expensive mistakes. System testing is the last line of defense before releasing a product. It's also the most comprehensive type of testing because it covers everything from business requirements to the end-user experience.
System testing is the process of verifying the end-to-end behavior of a software application. System testing aims to identify errors, gaps, or missing requirements in the overall functionality of the software application.
It is usually done after all the unit and integration tests are completed. Testing the software application before releasing it to end users is essential.
System testing can be accomplished internally by your business, but you can also outsource it to experts like QASource, who have extensive experience in the entire process.
These are the primary goals of system testing:
Mentioned below are the different types of system testing:
In usability testing, the system is tested for user-friendliness. Testing participants are given some tasks to perform using the system. Their performance is observed, and any problems they face are noted.
Use Case: Assess the user interface of a customer relationship management (CRM) system for intuitiveness.
Testing Scenario: Conduct user feedback sessions to evaluate ease of navigation and the overall user experience.
It’s important to ensure that new system changes don’t break existing functionality. This type of testing compares the system's current behavior with its behavior in a previous version.
Use Case: Ensure that a software update does not introduce new defects in a payroll processing system.
Testing Scenario: Re-run a set of previously executed test cases after implementing changes to verify system stability.
Performance testing is conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with specified performance requirements. It determines whether a system meets its performance objectives, such as response time or throughput.
Use Case: Evaluate the response time of a banking system during peak transaction hours.
Testing Scenario: Simulate many concurrent user transactions to assess system responsiveness.
It checks whether or not the system meets the requirements — especially for its features. Functional testing can be done manually or using automation tools.
Use Case: Verify that the login functionality works correctly in an e-commerce system.
Testing Scenario: Test user authentication, password reset, and account creation to ensure proper functioning.
This type of system testing is conducted to check if the system can recover from crashes, hardware failures, and other catastrophic problems. It measures how well the system can handle unexpected inputs and events.
Use Case: Assess the ability of a document editing tool to recover files after a system crash.
Testing Scenario: Simulate system failures and verify that the application can recover data without loss.
It is testing how well a system can support moving from one environment or infrastructure to another. This type of testing is important because it ensures systems can be properly migrated with minimal disruption.
It’s important to ensure that new system changes don’t break existing functionality. This type of testing compares the system's current behavior with its behavior in a previous version.
It can be done on hardware or software. All the hardware components are tested to see if they work together as intended. This might involve testing the system’s wiring, power supply, and input/output devices.
Software testing is a little different. In this case, the system’s functionality is tested without regard to its physical components. All the software that makes up the system is tested to see if it performs as expected.
There are different levels of software testing. As such, you must plan for it meticulously by:
It's important to set up the test environment before writing test cases. This includes specifying the testing tools, programming language(s), and frameworks that will be used and setting up any necessary configurations and dependencies.
Next, you must consider the creation of a test case. The test case contains all the specific details about what you need to test and how you will test it. The document should also include what constitutes a pass or fail for each test.
After the test case comes the test data creation. This data is created considering the inputs and outputs of the test case. This data can be both positive and negative. While creating test data, one has to be very careful so that all the critical fields are covered, and no important field is left out.
You should then have a strategy for running the test case, which will give you an output. The output will show whether the test case has passed or failed.
The test case should show the system's behavior when encountering an error or defect. We must understand how defects are reported and fixed to plan for system testing properly.
Regression testing verifies that new features haven’t introduced any new bugs and existing functionality hasn’t been broken. This process can be automated with tools.
Additionally, having a plan on how to fix defects is important. Not every defect can be fixed, but having a process to evaluate and fix them is key to success.
Once a tester has found and documented a defect, the development team should fix it, and then the tester should verify that the fix works as expected. If you don’t do this, you risk having undetected defects in your software. You have to plan for complete or selective retesting when necessary.
Some critical factors to remember as you plan for system testing:
Know the industry vertical to which your company belongs to understand the testing process and ensure you have the resources to complete the task.
You must know how much time you can dedicate to testing. This will help you schedule your work and give you a realistic idea of the progress.
As mentioned, consider your test team’s size, skills, and experience while planning for system testing. Depending on the size of your application and its complexity, you may need to hire more testers or train your existing staff.
Considering testers' experience while planning for system testing is essential. If the testers are new, more time might be needed to complete the test cycle. On the other hand, less time is required if they have prior experience.
System testing can be prohibitive, and keeping the overall cost of testing in mind while planning your test strategy is essential. Many factors can affect the cost of system testing, such as the size and complexity of the system, the number of test cases required, and the amount of time and resources required to execute the tests.
QASource can be a valuable partner in facilitating and enhancing the system testing process. As a specialized quality assurance and testing service provider, QASource offers a range of capabilities and expertise to ensure the success of your system testing endeavors. Here's how QASource can assist you with system testing:
Here are a few system testing tools that you can use:
It provides several built-in tools and libraries, but you can also create new ones. Its operating system and application are independent. The core framework is implemented using Python, but the standard library also has Java and .NET interfaces.
It is a powerful testing tool for web applications and services. It can simulate heavy loads on a server, network, or object to test its strength or analyze its performance under different load types.
It is a free, open-source, automated testing framework to validate web applications across browsers and platforms. It provides a record/playback tool for authoring tests.
It is a tool that allows for system testing automation. It's an open-source tool that can be easily integrated into our development process. In addition, it supports a wide range of applications and platforms.
What is system testing in software engineering? It’s the process of verifying that a system meets its requirements. By running tests on all components and functionality, software developers can ensure the system will work as expected when deployed. System testing is essential to quality assurance and should be done early and often during software development. If you don’t know where to start, you can enlist the help of professionals to provide system testing services for your business.