Simple - Sanity tests are not intended to be complex but instead, easily designed and performed.ĭefined or exploratory - Sanity tests may well be predefined in a format such as a checklist, or set of simple test cases. Some distinguishing features of sanity tests are: That is, a quick and early way to check functional results.
SHROUDED IN SANITY SANITY LEVEL SOFTWARE
In the more casual and merged definition of software QA, sanity testing would be the same as in software testing.
SHROUDED IN SANITY SANITY LEVEL CODE
A sanity test to walkthrough a section of code could yield some very important early defects that might otherwise be missed. For example, in a review session, you might see a section of code that doesn’t look quite right. In the class definition of software QA, sanity checking could be applied not only in dynamic tests such as unit testing, system testing, etc., but also in static tests, such as software reviews. (Figure 2)įigure 2 – The Relationship Between QA and QC True software QA involves process definition, metrics, defect prevention and other activities in addition to software testing - which is actually software Quality Control (QC). The reason this is unfortunate is because software QA in the classic definition is much more than testing. Unfortunately, the terms “software testing” and “software QA” started to become synonymous over 20 years ago. In software testing, sanity tests can be an early form of testing, either informally or formally. In other words, you don’t have to wait for an independent tester to perform a software sanity test.
Software testing is a prime opportunity for sanity tests, but it is important to understand that sanity tests can also be performed by developers. What is a Sanity Test in Software Testing? But, the original concept of a sanity from other disciplines is that of an approximation just to see if the basic function generally makes sense. In your mind, you expect the tax to be approximately 10% of the purchase price, an easy calculation to make. You check the pre-tax total, then the after-tax total. You may run a quick test to buy something and then pay for it. Let’s say you know the tax rate is 9.95%. For example, if you are testing the checkout and payment function of a mobile app, you want to make sure taxes are computed correctly. A sanity test might be one quick test, such as a calculation check. However, it is not unusual for regression tests to start out as sanity tests.Ī sanity test is often a quick check on something to see if it makes sense at a basic, surface level. Sanity tests are often fewer in number and more focused than regression tests. In the larger view, regression tests are typically more rigorous and larger in scope than sanity tests (See Figure 1).įigure 1 – The Relationship Between Sanity Tests, Smoke Tests and Regression Tests In many ways, you could see “sanity test” and “smoke test” as synonyms. Sanity testing is a quick and basic test (or set of tests) to determine if a particular application or component is behaving reasonably correctly.Īt the outset, we need to understand there is shared territory between the terms “sanity test”, “smoke test” and “regression test”. Let’s start with this working definition of sanity testing, which also describes both the meaning of sanity testing and the purpose of sanity testing: Sanity Testing is a term not found in many of the standard sources for software testing terminology, yet it is a term used not only by software testers, but also in other domains as well. This is why a casual approach to sanity testing is not assumed. In reality, the problem domains and applications can be very complex and highly critical.
All too often, people assume simple functionality when discussing testing of any type. It is important to understand at the outset that this article assumes no particular context in functionality, but does assume a rapid iteration approach to software lifecycles. If so, then you have applied sanity testing to your own thoughts and ideas. Just as a quick analogy, have you ever asked yourself, “Am I thinking about this correctly?”, “Am I imagining things that are not actually true?”, “Are my ideas and plans even somewhat feasible?”, “Are these results reasonable?” We will examine how sanity testing can help provide quick and actionable feedback to know if an application, website, or system is behaving as expected at a basic level. In this article, we will explore the nature of sanity testing in software development and maintenance projects.
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