Dynamic Testing – Software Testing

Dynamic testing is a type of software testing that involves executing the software and evaluating its behavior during runtime. It is also known as functional testing, as it focuses on testing the software’s functionality and how it behaves under different inputs and conditions. In this article, we’ll learn about its objectives, levels, processes, advantages, and disadvantages.

What is Dynamic Testing?

Dynamic Testing is a type of Software Testing that is performed to analyze the dynamic behavior of the code. It includes the testing of the software for the input values and output values that are analyzed. It is performed to describe the dynamic behavior of code. It refers to the observation of the physical response from the system to variables that are not constant and change with time.

Objectives of Dynamic Testing

1. Find errors and bugs: Through comprehensive testing, find and expose flaws, faults, or defects in the software code and its functionality so that they can be fixed as soon as possible.
2. Verify the behavior of the system: Verify that the software operates as expected and complies with company requirements, industry or regulatory standards, user expectations, and any applicable business regulations.
3. Assessing Performance: To make sure the software satisfies performance requirements, evaluate its performance by monitoring reaction times, throughput, and use of resources under various scenarios.
4. Assure Trustworthiness: Examine the software’s dependability by determining how well it performs regularly under typical operating conditions, free of unexpected faults or crashes.
5. Accuracy of Test Data: Verify the precision and consistency of the data handled by the software to guarantee reliable and uniform information handling.
6. Assess Scalability: Examine whether the application can grow to handle more users, workloads, or data volumes without seeing an obvious decline in performance.

Levels of Dynamic Testing

Several levels of dynamic testing are commonly used in the software development process, including:

1. Unit testing: Unit testing is the process of testing individual software components or “units” of code to ensure that they are working as intended. Unit tests are typically small and focus on testing a specific feature or behavior of the software.
2. Integration testing: Integration testing is the process of testing how different components of the software work together. This level of testing typically involves testing the interactions between different units of code, and how they function when integrated into the overall system.
3. System testing: System testing is the process of testing the entire software system to ensure that it meets the specified requirements and is working as intended. This level of testing typically involves testing the software’s functionality, performance, and usability.
4. Acceptance testing: Acceptance testing is the final stage of dynamic testing, which is done to ensure that the software meets the needs of the end-users and is ready for release. This level of testing typically involves testing the software’s functionality and usability from the perspective of the end-user.
5. Performance testing: Performance testing is a type of dynamic testing that is focused on evaluating the performance of a software system under a specific workload. This can include testing how the system behaves under heavy loads, how it handles a large number of users, and how it responds to different inputs and conditions.
6. Security testing: Security testing is a type of dynamic testing that is focused on identifying and evaluating the security risks associated with a software system. This can include testing how the system responds to different types of security threats, such as hacking attempts, and evaluating the effectiveness of the system’s security features.
   

Dynamic Testing Process Phase

1. Test Case Design: It defines the test objectives, scope and criteria. It defines test data and expected outcomes and develops test cases based on requirements and specifications. It generates test cases that address various programmes features.
2. Test Environment Setup: It sets up the settings and infrastructure required for testing. It configured the network, hardware and software in the test environment. Additionally, it makes sure that the test environment matches the production environment by installing and configuring the required test tools and test harnesses.
3. Test Case Execution: Using the specified test data, it runs the test cases in order to verify the software’s behavior. It keeps track of and logs the actual outcomes, comparing them with the predicted results to find any differences. It runs test scenarios in both positive and negative modes.
4. Test Analysis: It evaluates the general behavior of the system and finds faults by analyzing the test case outcomes. Any inconsistencies or flaws discovered during test execution are documented and reported. It works along with development teams to figure out and address concerns that are reported.

Advantages of Dynamic Testing

1. Disclosure of Difficult and Complex Defects: It discloses very difficult and complex defects.
2. Improvement in Software Quality: It increases the quality of the software product or application being tested.
3. Security Threat Detection: Dynamic testing detects security threats and ensure the better secure application.
4. Early-Stage Functionality Testing: It can be used to test the functionality of the software at the early stages of development.
5. Ease of Implementation: It is easy to implement and does not require any special tools or expertise.
6. Testing with Different Inputs, Data Sets, and User Profiles: It can be used to test the software with different input values, data sets and user profiles.
7. Functionality and Performance Testing: It can be used to test the functionality of the code and performance of the code.

Disadvantages of Dynamic Testing

1. Time-Consuming Process: It is a time consuming process as in dynamic testing whole code is executed.
2. Increased Budget: It increases the budget of the software as dynamic testing is costly.
3. Resource Intensive: Dynamic testing may require more resources than static testing.
4. Less Effective in Some Cases: Dynamic testing may be less effective than static testing in some cases.
5. Incomplete Test Scenario Coverage: It is difficult to cover all the test scenarios.
6. Difficulty in Root Cause Analysis: It is difficult to find out the root cause of the defects.

IMPORTANTS POINTS:

Some important points to keep in mind when performing dynamic testing include:

1. Defining clear and comprehensive test cases: It is important to have a clear set of test cases that cover a wide range of inputs and use cases. This will help to ensure that the software is thoroughly tested and any issues are identified and addressed.
2. Automation: Automated testing tools can be used to quickly and efficiently execute test cases, making it easier to identify and fix any issues that are found.
3. Performance testing: It’s important to evaluate the software’s performance under different loads and conditions to ensure that it can handle the expected usage and the expected number of users.
4. Security testing: It is important to identify and evaluate the security risks associated with a software system, and to ensure that the system is able to withstand different types of security threats.
5. Defect tracking: A defect tracking system should be implemented to keep track of any issues that are identified during dynamic testing, and to ensure that they are addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
6. Regular testing: It’s important to regularly perform dynamic testing throughout the software development process, to ensure that any issues are identified and addressed as soon as they arise.
7. Test-Driven Development: It’s important to design and implement test cases before the actual development starts, this approach ensures that the software meets the requirements and is thoroughly tested.