Introduction
The QA team uses functional testing as a technique to verify that the application meets its functional requirements. This blog post is intended for the QA team, provides a practical approach with real-world examples to confirm that the application functions as intended from the perspective of the end user.
What is Functional Testing?
A black-box technique called functional testing is used to verify that the software’s functionalities are up to par with business needs. Without looking at the core code, it determines whether the system generates the desired result for a given input.
QA Techniques with Examples
1. Requirement-Based Testing
The process of creating test cases that closely correspond with the functional specifications or user stories of the product is known as requirement-based testing. This approach guarantees thorough coverage of all specified requirements.
Example: If a requirement states, “The system must send a verification email upon user registration,” the corresponding test case would validate the successful delivery of this email.
Test Case:
- Action: Register a new user with a valid email.
- Expected Result: The registered email address receives an email containing a verification link.
Additional Test Cases:
- Action: Register a new user with a valid email.
- Expected Result: The registered email address receives an email containing a verification link.
- Action: Register a new user with an invalid email format.
- Expected Result: Registration is rejected with an appropriate error message.
- Action: Attempt to register a user without filling mandatory fields.
- Expected Result: Registration is blocked, and error messages highlight missing fields.
2. Positive and Negative Testing
A system needs to be tested using both valid and incorrect data to guarantee reliable operation. Correct inputs are used in positive testing to verify that the software operates as intended. Negative testing, on the other hand, makes use of unexpected or inaccurate inputs to confirm that the system can gracefully manage mistakes and stop undesirable behavior.
- Positive Test: A user makes a purchase using a valid credit card. The expected outcome is a successful transaction and a confirmation screen.
- Negative Test: A user attempts to use an expired credit card for a purchase. The expected outcome is a clear error message that guides the user to use a valid card.
- Test Cases:
- Positive Test: User logs in with the correct username and password.
- Expected Result: User successfully logs into their account.
- Negative Test: User enters the wrong password multiple times.
- Expected Result: Account is locked after a specified number of failed attempts.
- Positive Test: User logs in with the correct username and password.
3. Smoke Testing
The QA team does smoke testing following every new build to rapidly verify that the software’s essential features are working. In order to ascertain whether the build is stable enough for more thorough testing, this high-level testing serves as an initial filter.
Example:
- Can a user log in?
- Does the homepage load without crashing?
- If a user hits “add to cart,” does the item actually go into the cart?
Additional Test Cases:
- Can a user log out successfully?
- Can a user search for a product and see results?
- Is the navigation menu functional and responsive?
4. Regression Testing
This is a crucial quality assurance procedure in which you manually confirm the software’s current features following upgrades or code modifications. The goal is to identify any new problems or regressions that may have been brought about by the latest updates.
Example: Suppose a developer adds a new search filter to your e-commerce site. A regression test would involve checking if the existing filters still work and if the checkout process remains unaffected by this new code.
Additional Test Cases:
- After updating the payment module, verify if coupon codes are still applied correctly during checkout.
- After the UI redesign, check that all form submissions are processed without errors.
5. UI Functional Testing
This kind of testing focuses on the interface to confirm that input validations are applied appropriately and that all on-screen items operate as intended. The goal is to ensure a smooth and accurate user experience.
Example: For a user registration form, you would:
- Test that the “Phone Number” input field rejects letters and enforces a mandatory entry.
- Ensure the country dropdown menu presents all the expected countries.
- Verify that clicking “Submit” on an incomplete form triggers clear and accurate error messages.
Additional Test Cases:
- Verify that the password field hides input characters and enforces minimum length.
- Check that tooltips appear correctly on hovering over icons.
- Confirm that buttons are disabled until mandatory fields are filled.
6. Boundary Value Testing
This method is used to identify errors at the boundaries of acceptable input ranges. To make that the system handles every scenario appropriately, testers look at values that fall within the permitted range as well as ones that are slightly outside of it.
Example: Consider a quantity field that only allows a value from 1 to 100.
- A test case with the input 0 should be rejected.
- Inputs of 1 and 100 should be accepted.
- An input of 101 should be rejected.
Additional Test Cases:
- For an age input allowing 18 to 65:
- Input 17 should be rejected.
- Inputs 18 and 65 should be accepted.
- Input 66 should be rejected.
- Password with a length limit of 8 to 16 characters:
- Passwords with 7 characters should be rejected.
- Passwords with 8 and 16 characters should be accepted.
- Passwords with 17 characters should be rejected.
Conclusion
In the end, the QA team verifies the software’s functioning and makes sure it fulfills its promises through functional testing. Through the deliberate application of a variety of approaches, such as requirements validation and boundary testing to examine edge cases, we can ensure that the software is dependable and user-ready.
