1. Why is software testing important?
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Software testing evaluates an application to detect defects and verify it meets quality standards and requirements. It is vital because it helps identify issues early, improves software performance, ensures reliability, and boosts customer satisfaction by delivering a dependable and functional product.
2. How do verification and validation differ in software testing?
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Verification involves checking if the software aligns with specifications and design documents, typically through reviews and static analysis. Validation, however, confirms that the software meets user needs and real-world requirements by executing the code and conducting dynamic tests.
3. What are the various levels of software testing?
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The main levels of software testing include unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. Unit testing focuses on individual components. Integration testing examines how modules work together. System testing validates the complete system. Acceptance testing ensures the software fulfills end-user requirements.
4. What is the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)?
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The STLC outlines the sequential phases involved in testing software, starting from requirement analysis through to test closure. Key stages include analyzing requirements, designing test cases, planning tests, setting up the environment, executing tests, and closing the testing cycle. This ensures a structured approach to delivering high-quality software.
5. What distinguishes white box testing from black box testing?
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Black box testing uses input and output behavior to confirm the software functionality without examining the actual code structure. White box testing, which is typically carried out by developers or experienced testers, looks into the program core logic, code routes and structure.
6. What is test case prioritization?
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Test case prioritization is the process of arranging test cases according to their importance, risk, or usage frequency so that the most critical features are tested first. This approach helps quickly uncover major defects, especially when testing time or resources are limited.
7. When is regression testing conducted, and what does it entail?
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Regression testing is done after code changes such as updates, bug fixes, or configuration modifications. It involves rerunning previous tests to ensure no new defects were introduced and that existing functionalities remain unaffected.
8. How does non-functional testing differ from functional testing?
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Functional testing verifies that the software operates according to specified requirements, focusing on user interactions and expected outputs. Non-functional testing assesses attributes like performance, scalability, usability, and security to confirm the software’s behavior under various conditions and loads.
9. What is a test plan and what are its components?
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A formal document that describes the goals, resources, timetable, methodology, and scope of testing is called a test plan. Test objectives, scope, strategy, resource planning, environment, deliverables, entry and exit criteria, and risk management plans are some of its constituents.
10. What is Boundary Value Analysis in testing?
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Boundary Value Analysis is a testing technique that targets the edges of input domains. Since defects frequently occur at boundary limits, BVA tests values just below, at, and just above these limits to efficiently identify potential errors and improve test coverage.
