Best Functional Testing Tools

As the name itself implies, manual testing is the process of testing software manually, while searching for bugs or anomalies in an application. With manual testing, testers follow a written test plan that describes the set of scenarios and steps to execute tests and verify the expected results. In contrast, functional testing allows you to test the software using a variety of methods including unit testing, integration testing, end to end testing, regression testing, and more. Unlike manual testing, functional testing can be done manually or by using automations.

UAT, otherwise referred to as user acceptance testing, is testing completed by end users or by the paying customer, whereas functional testing is testing done from a functional viewpoint by a business. In addition, UAT uses a series of different test steps, which verify whether specific requirements are working for the user. On the other hand, functional testing tests specific requirements and specifications of the software. While functional tests test the function of software and what it does, UATs test against some criteria of acceptance.

The 3 different types of functional tests are:

1. Unit testing: Unit testing is a type of software testing where the individual unit or component of the software is tested.

2. Integration testing: After you’ve tested out all of your functions, the next step is to put the functions together and test to make sure that they work. With integration testing, you are testing to make sure that integrations work correctly. Integration testing includes two different approaches - bottom-up and top-down. Integration tests take more effort to create than unit tests, however they are important when you start to put functions together.

3. Automation/acceptance testing: This type of testing is used to make sure that your product is acting how it should and whether it’s ready to be deployed.

There are several different types of functional tests. Some of them include:

• Unit testing: This type of testing is used to test an entire software program, in order to make sure the individual parts work properly on their own.

• Component testing: Component testing checks individual parts of an application.

• Smoke testing: This is a type of acceptance testing that provides an initial check that a new software build and its critical functionality are stable.

• Sanity testing: Sanity testing is a form of regression testing that is typically performed by QA professionals on new versions of stable builds to validate either new functionality or bug fixes.

• Regression testing: This type of testing is used to make sure the software continues to function as expected.

• Integration testing: Through integration testing, QA professionals verify that individual modules of code work together properly as a group.

• API testing: With API testing, testers validate that API connections and responses function as intended, including how they handle data as well as user permissions.

• UI testing: This type of testing entails QA professionals interacting with the graphical interface of a software program.

• System testing: System testing involves QA professionals testing the software in its entirety, as a complete product.

• White-box testing: This testing is used by organizations to test several aspects of the software, such as predefined inputs and expected outputs, as well as decision branches, loops, and statements in the code.

• Black-box testing: In contrast to white-box testing, black-box testing involves testing against a system where the internal code, paths, and infrastructure are not visible.

• Acceptance testing: The purpose of acceptance testing is to ensure that the end user can achieve the goals set in the business requirements.

• Alpha testing: Alpha testing is a type of acceptance testing that uses internal team members to evaluate the product.

• Beta testing: Beta testing occurs with a select group of end users after the internal team tests the product and fixes bugs.

• Production testing: Production testing is used after a product has gone into production and aims to discover and triage user-reported defects as quickly as possible.

Functional testing is critical in validating the quality and functionality of the software. Functional tests are also important because they allow quality assurance teams to verify the software functionality based on software requirements specification (SRS) and ensure the system functions as per user specifications. Additionally, functional testing helps determine whether the system is fixed for release and is error-free.

UI testing, also known as GUI (graphical user interface) testing, is a form of functional testing that takes into consideration the look, feel, and ease-of-use of an application, mainly to meet a customer’s demands. Because it tests the aspects of any software that a user comes into contact with, it requires testing the visual elements to verify that they are functioning according to requirements in terms of functionality and performance, and therefore is considered to be a type of functional testing.

When you choose a functional testing tool, it is best to make sure the following basic features are included:

• Automated crash detection and remediation
• Easy integration into your CI/CD pipeline
• Object recognition, using machine learning and AI, identifies complex objects
• Integrations with JIRA and other test management tools
• Traceability reports and metrics
• Integration with issue tracking tools
• Reusable and modular test cases
• Scalability and collaborative capabilities
• Accessibility testing for your applications
• Supports multiple languages for test scripts
• User-friendly
• Secure

There are many benefits to functional testing. Some of the top benefits include:

• It produces a defect-free product.
• It improves the quality of the product.
• It ensures that all requirements are met.
• It ensures security and safety.
• It ensures that the customer is satisfied.
• It ensures that the software/product work as expected.
• It ensures the proper working of all the functionality of an application/software/product.