Techniques of Smoke Testing with Advantages 2022

 

What is the Smoke test?

Smoke Testing is one of the testing techniques that fall under the umbrella of verification since it's utilized to verify and test the operation for the software in the context of the built. The testing takes place at the initial stages of the testing process in order to ensure that all the main blocks are functioning and that there are no blocks that the testers must work in functional testing.

What is the reason we require Smoke Testing?

The testing process is typically carried out during the beginning or first stages of software when it is released for testing and testing of QA team. Imagine a scenario for an eCommerce program, for instance, the software is installed in the test environment to be tested however during the test it turns out that the users are unable to sign in to the application in order to continue and carry out any tasks, or task. 

We can also say that the users are unable to use the software because the first step of logging in is not functioning. It is not necessary to conduct extensive and thorough testing of the other modules when the essential functionality isn't working properly. 

In these circumstances, testing is conducted to minimize the amount of time and effort the testing team that is wasted in the testing process when the build isn't sufficient stable to conduct tests.

The main motives for this testing to be carried out are as follows:

It is helpful to identify the most important issues within the application at the beginning only.

It reduces the amount of time and effort the QA team, which could be wasted in the event that the build isn't stable.

It assists in early detection of any defects.

It aids in determining the security of software applications.

Smoke Testing Techniques

It's usually done manually or by automated methods based on the nature of work and the company's guidelines.

1. Manual smoke testing

Typically, smoke testing is done manually to determine if the crucial functions of the software are functioning properly. Manual testing is similar to that of the General Health Checkup and uncovers the top quality and crucial problems in the early phases of testing software by swiftly going through the software. 

It is performed manually through the execution of a set number of tests to assess the reliability of the application and determine if it is ready to go further with a thorough testing.

2. Automation smoke testing

It's a component of Regression testing. Now the testers automate test cases prior to the build is distributed for testing. Testing cases may be automatized with different automation frameworks that are available on the market. 

Automated test scenarios are extremely beneficial as they aid in reducing the manual effort of the testing team each when a new version is released. After the test scenarios for smoke tests have been made automated QA team members can run the task using the automated test suite that gives speedy results, without manual intervention to determine the reliability of the application.

What is the process of Smoke Testing Work?

When it is completed and tested, it is released to be tested (on the test environment) and then handed over to members of the QA team.

After receiving the software build The testing team then creates tests according to the specifications in order to verify the reliability that the software build has.

Only the most important and crucial test cases are run by the testing team by hand or using automated scripts.

Following the test scripts are executed in the test environment it is determined whether this build has enough stability for moving toward Functional or more thorough testing , or if it does not work, it's considered to be unstable, and returned to the developers, and no further tests are conducted on the build.

Benefits

A few of the benefits are as follows:

·      One of the major benefits of smoke tests is that they aids in the early detection of defects that are found in the crucial functions that make up the entire system.

·      Smoke testing can help reduce the possibility of failure because the flaws are discovered earlier.

·      Smoke testing is very simple to conduct since no special efforts by the test team are needed.

·      Smoke testing can save the time and effort of the team of testing.

·      It assists to improve the generalization of software's quality.

·      It only requires a certain amount of test cases to be tested, which cover a majority of positive scenarios.

·      Smoke testing can also aid in the compliance of standards as stated within the SRS.

Advantages

Some of the negatives are listed in the following paragraphs:

·      Documentation is essential for smoke testing. Therefore, a special testing team is needed for this.

·      Smoke testing may result in an inefficiency of time when the software build isn't stable.

·      If there are minor modifications to the application, carrying out the smoke test across the entire application from the beginning to the end is not recommended.

·      Sometimes , even after the smoke testing of the entire application, crucial issues can arise during integration and testing of the system.

·      Any issue or bug discovered during smoke testing can result in mistakes later on.

·      In every software project the time taken to complete the project is directly proportional to the cost and smoke testing can be fully scripted. This means that a specific manpower is required which, in turn, can increase the cost of the project.

Conclusion

The description above clearly explains the concept of smoke testing and why it conducted. Before releasing software applications to users, different kinds of tests are carried out at various stages. It is among the most essential types of testing . It has an easy and straightforward goal of detecting flaws early in order to confirm that the crucial functions of the software function well. It is a part of Acceptance testing, and is a test that can be performed by developers or testers.