Software Application Testing Explained

Software application testing identifies the quality, completeness and correctness of developed software. An undisputable fact though is that software application testing can never cover all aspects of the given programmer and locate all errors or bugs on one hundred percent. There are different methods applied when performing such test, but since ever software is unique, there is no procedure to follow step by step.

The process of developing a software is rather complicated and it's inevitable to have problems in it that can potentially interrupt the smooth operation of the product. Of course, the goal of any tester is to be the first one to spot a given flaw, so that it doesn't get released in the market version and it's not seen by the client. But considering the fact that we are humans and as such, we will always make mistakes, there will always be bugs in any software, no matter how long it's tested. To add to that, programmers are forced to work on tight schedules and at high pressure, so the probability for making errors gets even bigger. That's why software application testing is so important, although it will never fix all problems. For life-critical software (such as flight control or reactor monitoring), software application testing can cost 3 to 5 times as much as all other activities combined.

As mentioned, there are different software application testing methods and two of the most widely used ones are load testing and stress testing. There is a common misconception that those terms mean the same thing, when they absolutely do not. Stress testing is about applying an higher load while denying the system from its resources needed to process this load. The main point here is to stress a system to the breaking point in order to find bugs that will make that break potentially harmful. Of course, no one expects the system to process the given overload without the resources needed, but what is expected is for the software no to loose data or stop responding. On the other hand, load testing is about putting the system to an average load in order to check the software's reliability and performance.

An important fact about software application testing is that it's best to start performing those tests as early as possible as this reduces errors. But if we have to examine what's causing the bugs in the first place, experts suggest that the first issue is the specification, which stats show as the largest bug producer. In some cases, specs aren't written at all, or they are not thorough enough, or it's changed in the process without notifying the programmers. The next largest bug creator is the design, in which programmers lay out their plan. Sometimes the design is rushed, changed without notice or not well communicated.