What is Software Testing? Why is it so important?

The world we are observing is full of Software and we have adapted ourselves to heavily use those logical, mathematical-based, algorithmic text full of computer languages like Java, C, Python, Swift, C#, etc.

Let me first highlight (what is Software and Software Testing?) in brief and then we will see why testing them is important for real-world uses.

What is a Software?

In general, the software is a set of instructions that we give to computers through the programs we write for performing some specific tasks. This is a generic term used to describe computer programs. The theory of software was first proposed by Alan Turing in 1935 in his essay “Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem.”

What is Software Testing?

Testing anything means confirming that whether the actual results match the expected results. The same principles are applied in the case of software to ensure that the software system is Defect-free. Testing is a long process and has various procedures of execution. These steps make sure that each and every software component or system component passes the expected standard of performance set either by the industries or by the customers before delivering the market product.

These steps and processes also help to identify errors, gaps, or missing requirements that are contrary to the actual requirements. Testing is either done manually or using automated tools.

Why Testing any Software is Important

We all know that software testing is very important but the question may arise as that why it is important? Software testing is important due to the following reasons:-

• Software testing helps us to find out the defects as well as errors that we can’t recognize during the development of s/w.
• You can also say that testing is necessary to check whether the s/w or application produces the correct output.
• It is also necessary to check the quality of the software. S/w testing also helps us to check the quality of the product.
• Software testing is also very beneficial to know about the customer’s reliability and also their satisfaction with the product.
• S/w testing is required in order to provide an effective performance of the particular software or application.
• S/w testing helps us to provide high-quality software with low maintenance as well as cost. It also ensures the accuracy and consistency of the product.

The moto or objective of software testing can also be summarised as :

• The main objective of s/w testing is to show incorrectness in the s/w. The testing is considered to succeed when an error is detected.
• Testing is the process of executing a program with the intention of finding errors.
• Good testing is one that has a higher probability of finding an undiscovered error.
• Software testing is performed for the following objectives:

1. 1. Software quality improvement: It is confirmation about the software design requirements. It finds out defects in the designing of the software.
   2. Verification and validation: Verification is done to ensure that the s/w correctly implements a specific function or not. While validation is a set of activities that are done to ensure that the s/w that has been built is met customer requirements or not.
   3. Software reliability estimation: Software reliability is defined as the probability of failure-free s/w operation for a certain period of time.

Now there is a very important term defined when we talk about software testing i.e Software Testability. Let us check out what that means.

Software Testability

Software testability defines that how you can test software easily. Various metrics are used to measure the s/w testability. There are some following characteristics of testability-

• Stability
• Simplicity
• Decomposability
• Controllability
• Observability
• Understandability

When we test any software, then we have some guidelines that are mandatory to follow for ensuring the genuineness of testing that acts as a hallmark.

These are some guidelines for s/w testing to keep in mind:

• You should test both functions as well as non-functional requirements of the s/w.
• A third party should conduct the testing independently. It also helps to give effective results.
• Automatic testing tools should also support testing.
• One thing is there to keep in mind that testing is never 100% complete.

Conclusion

From the last decade, we have seen rapid and exponential growth in the software industries that have made the testing of software a challenge. This has also opened doors for various job opportunities in the market like Software Testers, Testing engineers, etc. Reliability and Quality are the two most important aspects in this field as most of the machinery that is working in day-to-day life bet the bottom dollar on software.