Glossary
Web3 Testing
Web3 Testing is the process of evaluating decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain systems, focusing on smart contract functionality, security, and performance within decentralized networks. It involves testing the interaction with blockchain protocols, ensuring the security of transactions, and verifying that the dApp operates correctly under decentralized conditions, often using specialized tools to handle the unique […]
White Box Testing
White box testing, also known as structural or glass box testing, involves testing a software application’s internal structure, code, and logic. In contrast to black box and grey box testing, the tester has detailed knowledge of the internal mechanisms and workings of the system under test. This approach allows for a more thorough examination of […]
VR Testing
VR Testing involves evaluating virtual reality applications to ensure their functionality, performance, and user experience meet expectations. This includes verifying that all VR interactions and features work correctly, the application performs smoothly without lag or stuttering, and the immersive experience is comfortable and intuitive for users, addressing factors like motion sickness and ease of navigation.
User Statistics
User statistics refer to data related to user behavior, interactions, or demographics within a particular system. This data is typically stored in various analytics platforms, logs, and databases (DBMS). It is highly valuable for creating accurate load profiles for systems that are already in operation, helping to inform performance testing and optimization efforts.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
End-users conduct the final testing phase to prove a software application meets requirements before it is released.
Use Case
A use case is a detailed, step-by-step description of how a system (or business process) is used, typically involving an actor and the system’s responses. While it can be used for testing, it is not limited to that purpose. A use case also includes the expected outcomes or system reactions at each step, and may […]
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UI Automation Testing
Automated user interface testing is aimed at verifying that UI elements and the underlying functionalities they trigger work correctly. This type of testing focuses on the interface level, rather than the network protocol level, ensuring that not only are the buttons and other UI elements functioning as expected, but also that the associated actions and […]
Transactions per Second (TPS)
A performance metric that evaluates the number of a user transactions within a second.
Transaction
In the context of client-server interaction, a “transaction” refers to a set of operations or requests performed with the server within one logical unit of work or task. For example, an application can send multiple requests to retrieve data from the server, and these requests can be considered as a single transaction. The transaction is […]
Throughput
A performance metric is related to the amount of data transmitted through a network within a period.
Think Time
Time a user spends thinking or deliberating between interactions with a software application.
Testing Methodology (Test Plan)
A framework and principles to plan, design, execute, and manage software testing.
Testing Levels
Different phases of testing are performed on software applications, including unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing.
Testing Environment
The setup used to conduct software testing simulates the production environment and includes servers, databases, network configurations, tools, virtual machines, as well as containerization and orchestration tools. For functional testing, a large setup is not needed in 99% of cases.
Testing Automation
Automated tools and scripts are used to execute tests and generate reports, reducing manual effort and human error. The term “automation testing tools” is more appropriate in this context, as “testing automation” is essentially the same as “automated testing,” and the term “testing automation” could be misleading.
Tester Roles and Responsibilities
Tasks and duties related to people responsible for software testing. They may include planning, designs, test execution, etc.
TDD
Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development approach that prioritizes testing before writing the actual code (primarily at the unit level).
System Testing
Testing that evaluates the work of a complete software system or application.
System Shutdowns
System shutdowns may involve shutting down servers, DDoS-attacks, applications, or network devices to perform maintenance tasks or address security vulnerabilities.
Synthetic Testing
Testing where some simulated or artificially generated transactions or interactions are used to evaluate the software and hardware work.
Stress Testing
Stress testing checks whether a system can work with high loads, excessive traffic, or resource limitations. It also defines the Software’s upper limits.
Static Testing
Static testing involves reviewing software documentation, designs, and code without running the program. While it helps identify various types of defects early in the development process, its effectiveness in uncovering performance-related issues is limited. This is because static testing primarily focuses on detecting flaws in the system’s architecture and design, rather than directly addressing performance […]
Stage Testing
QA testing in a staging environment involves evaluating a software application in a setting that closely mirrors the production environment. This environment is used to ensure that the software functions correctly and meets quality standards before it is released to end-users. QA teams test for bugs, performance issues, and functionality, simulating real-world usage to validate […]
Spike Testing
Performance testing approach that evaluates a system’s ability to handle sudden and huge increases in workload.
Software Unit
A discrete component or module of Software with a particular function within a more extensive system. Units are usually tested individually.
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
The process or methodology used to design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain software applications.
Software Automation
Automated tools and scripts perform testing, deployment, and other software development tasks.
SOC 2 Certification
SOC 2 certification demonstrates an organization’s compliance with the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 framework, which assesses how the organization manages customer data based on the five trust service principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
Smoke Test
A smoke test is an initial check to ensure critical software functionalities work, while sanity testing is a narrower, focused check to verify that specific issues have been fixed after changes.
Security Compliance
Practices and standards to protect an organization’s information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse.
Scalability Testing
Scalability testing evaluates whether a system can continue to perform more operations per time under increasing load or as the amount of data grows. The primary goal is to determine if the system scales effectively with added pressure, which may involve scenarios like adding or removing nodes in a cluster in response to changing loads, […]
Sanity Testing
Applied after minor changes or bug fixes to check the core software’s functionality, without going into details.
SaaS Certification
This certification proves proficiency in deploying, managing, and securing Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions.
SAP Transactions
SAP transactions are shortcut codes (T-codes) used in SAP software to quickly access specific functions or screens within the system, streamlining various business processes like finance, HR, and supply chain management. They simplify navigation by allowing users to perform tasks efficiently without navigating through complex menu paths.
RPA Testing
The testing of robotic process automation (RPA) workflows, bots, or automation scripts. It is used to define inputs, expected results, and outputs.
Robotic Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software robots or “bots” to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks across various applications and systems. By mimicking human interactions with digital systems, RPA streamlines processes, increases efficiency, and reduces errors, allowing organizations to focus on more complex and value-added activities. RPA is often used for tasks […]
Risk Management Certification
Certification that proves one’s proficiency in identifying and mitigating risks within an organization’s operations, projects, or systems.
Response Time
A key performance metric measures the system’s responsiveness by checking how much time it needs to respond to a user’s request or input.
Requests per Second
A metric of RPS (Requests per second) measures the number of requests a system can handle within a one-second interval.
Reliability Testing
The process of evaluating the software’s reliability under various conditions and usage scenarios to determine its probability of failure throughout the development lifecycle. This includes related tests such as recovery testing, stability testing, stress testing, and failover testing to ensure the software consistently performs well and handles failures effectively.
Regression Testing
A part of software testing checks whether a system is crash-resistant and functional after a code change.
Regression Test Suite
A collection of test cases used to test code changes or added features and find out whether they don’t damage the code to which the changes have been made.
Recovery Testing
The process of evaluating how software recovers from crashes, failures, or other disruptions under load. It involves simulating failures to assess the software’s ability to restore functionality and performance, and measuring the time and effectiveness of the recovery process.
Retesting
The process of rerunning previously executed tests to verify that issues have been fixed and there are no new defects.
RDP
Remote Desktop Protocol by Microsoft that enables users to remotely access and control a computer or virtual machine over a network connection with a graphical interface.
Ramp-down Period
The period, typically at the end of the test, when the load gradually decreases from a higher level to zero. However, there can be exceptions, such as during spike testing, where the load drops from a peak back to a previous stage level instead of going directly to zero.
Ramp-up Period
The period when the load gradually increases from one level to a higher level. There may be multiple ramp-up periods during a test, where the load rises incrementally from zero to the first stage, then to the next, and so on.
Quality Gates in Software Testing
Checkpoints prove that the software quality criteria are met within the exact step of the development process, at which point one can switch to the next phase.