What is Beta testing?

Beta Testing is also known as field testing. It takes place at customer’s site. It sends the system/software to users who install it and use it under real-world working conditions.

• A beta test is the second phase of software testing in which a sampling of the intended audience tries the product out. (Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet.) Originally, the term alpha testing meant the first phase of testing in a software development process. The first phase includes unit testing, component testing, and system testing. Beta testing can be considered “pre-release testing.

• The goal of beta testing is to place your application in the hands of real users outside of your own engineering team to discover any flaws or issues from the user’s perspective that you would not want to have in your final, released version of the application. Example: Microsoft and many other organizations release beta versions of their products to be tested by users.

Open and closed beta:
Developers release either a closed beta or an open beta;

• Closed beta versions are released to a select group of individuals for a user test and are invitation only, while
• Open betas are from a larger group to the general public and anyone interested. The testers report any bugs that they find, and sometimes suggest additional features they think should be available in the final version.

Advantages of beta testing

• You have the opportunity to get your application into the hands of users prior to releasing it to the general public.
• Users can install, test your application, and send feedback to you during this beta testing period.
• Your beta testers can discover issues with your application that you may have not noticed, such as confusing application flow, and even crashes.
• Using the feedback you get from these users, you can fix problems before it is released to the general public.
• The more issues you fix that solve real user problems, the higher the quality of your application when you release it to the general public.
• Having a higher-quality application when you release to the general public will increase customer satisfaction.
• These users, who are early adopters of your application, will generate excitement about your application.

What is Alpha testing?

Alpha testing is one of the most common software testing strategy used in software development. Its specially used by product development organizations.

• This test takes place at the developer’s site. Developers observe the users and note problems.
• Alpha testing is testing of an application when development is about to complete. Minor design changes can still be made as a result of alpha testing.
• Alpha testing is typically performed by a group that is independent of the design team, but still within the company, e.g. in-house software test engineers, or software QA engineers.
• Alpha testing is final testing before the software is released to the general public. It has two phases:
  • In the first phase of alpha testing, the software is tested by in-house developers. They use either debugger software, or hardware-assisted debuggers. The goal is to catch bugs quickly.
  • In the second phase of alpha testing, the software is handed over to the software QA staff, for additional testing in an environment that is similar to the intended use.

• Alpha testing is simulated or actual operational testing by potential users/customers or an independent test team at the developers’ site. Alpha testing is often employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance testing, before the software goes to beta testing.

What is Acceptance testing or User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?

After the system test has corrected all or most defects, the system will be delivered to the user or customer for Acceptance Testing or User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

• Acceptance testing is basically done by the user or customer although other stakeholders may be involved as well.
• The goal of acceptance testing is to establish confidence in the system.
• Acceptance testing is most often focused on a validation type testing.
• Acceptance testing may occur at more than just a single level, for example:
  • A Commercial Off the shelf (COTS) software product may be acceptance tested when it is installed or integrated.
  • Acceptance testing of the usability of the component may be done during component testing.
  • Acceptance testing of a new functional enhancement may come before system testing.
• The types of acceptance testing are:
  • The User Acceptance test: focuses mainly on the functionality thereby validating the fitness-for-use of the system by the business user. The user acceptance test is performed by the users and application managers.
  • The Operational Acceptance test: also known as Production acceptance test validates whether the system meets the requirements for operation. In most of the organization the operational acceptance test is performed by the system administration before the system is released. The operational acceptance test may include testing of backup/restore, disaster recovery, maintenance tasks and periodic check of security vulnerabilities.
  • Contract Acceptance testing: It is performed against the contract’s acceptance criteria for producing custom developed software. Acceptance should be formally defined when the contract is agreed.
  • Compliance acceptance testing: It is also known as regulation acceptance testing is performed against the regulations which must be adhered to, such as governmental, legal or safety regulations.

What is System testing?

In system testing the behavior of whole system/product is tested as defined by the scope of the development project or product.

• It may include tests based on risks and/or requirement specifications, business process, use cases, or other high level descriptions of system behavior, interactions with the operating systems, and system resources.
• System testing is most often the final test to verify that the system to be delivered meets the specification and its purpose.
• System testing is carried out by specialists testers or independent testers.
• System testing should investigate both functional and non-functional requirements of the testing.

What is System integration testing?

System Integration Testing (SIT) tests the interactions between different systems and may be done after system testing.

• It verifies the proper execution of software components and proper interfacing between components within the solution.
• The objective of SIT Testing is to validate that all software module dependencies are functionally correct and that data integrity is maintained between separate modules for the entire solution.
• As testing for dependencies between different components is a primary function of SIT Testing, this area is often most subject to Regression Testing.

What is Component integration testing?

Component Integration Testing tests the interactions between software components and is done after component testing.

• The software components themselves may be specified at different times by different specification groups, yet the integration of all of the pieces must work together.
• It is important to cover negative cases as well because components might make assumption with respect to the data.

Component Integration Testing tests the interactions between software components and is done after component testing.

• The software components themselves may be specified at different times by different specification groups, yet the integration of all of the pieces must work together.
• It is important to cover negative cases as well because components might make assumption with respect to the data.

What is Incremental testing in software?

The incremental testing approach has the advantage that the defects are found early in a smaller assembly when it is relatively easy to detect the cause.

• Another advantage is that all programmers are integrated one by one, and a test is carried out after each step. 
• A disadvantage is that it can be time-consuming since stubs and drivers have to be developed and used in the test.
• Within incremental integration testing a range of possibilities exist, partly depending on the system architecture:
  • Top down: Testing takes place from top to bottom, following the control flow or architectural structure (e.g. starting from the GUI or main menu). Components or systems are substituted by stubs.
  • Bottom up: Testing takes place from the bottom of the control flow upwards. Components or systems are substituted by drivers.
  • Functional incremental: Integration and testing  takes place on the basis of the functions and functionalities, as documented in the functional specification.