A Complete Guide To System Functional Testing

Functional testing is an important aspect of software testing services. It is described as the method of black box testing that is performed to confirm the functionality of the application. Functional testing ensures that the needs, goals, and objectives of the project are satisfied properly by the website or web application. This type of testing procedures is not concerned with the processing of the web application; they are only concerned with the results of the processing. During the testing process, the Black Box Testing technique is used for implementing the external logic of the system that is not known to the tester. Today we are here with the guide to system functional testing. Let us dive in the details to know everything.

What is Functional Testing?

Functional testing is defined as the type of black box testing to verify all the functions of the software application. This testing is mainly involving all the operations of black box testing, but it is not concerned with the code of the application. It only focuses on the operations of software applications like signup, login, logout, information fetching, etc.

Functional testing tests the application based on the inputs, and at the end of the process, it compares the inputs with the outputs. The testing process tests the following aspects of the application:

• Database
• Security
• Automated program interface (API)
• Server applications
• Client applications
• Other functions of the application

The test can be done manually as well as using automation. In modern times automation testing is recommended by the experts for having good testing results.

What is the importance of functional testing?

Every testing procedure has its importance and so as functional testing important for the application. The following are the various benefits you can avail from functional testing services.

• The functional testing tests the mainline functions of the application.
• The process involves basic usability testing of the application. It tests whether the user can navigate the website or software freely or not.
• It helps to check the accessibility of the application for the end users.
• This testing technique is used to check the error conditions on the website. It checks that the error messages are displaying well of not.
• It helps you to check the various forms and information fetching processes related to the database.
• It also tests the various navigational items available on the application to ensure that there are no broken links available.

The above-stated benefits or we can say the advantages of using functional system testing. So, opt for functional testing for the better functionality of the application to provide the best experience to the end users.

Process of functional testing

In the way to perform the functional testing properly, you must follow the specified steps to make the process successful.

• At the very first step, you have to figure out what are the goals and requirement to perform the testing process.
• After knowing all the objectives, you must create the input data for the testing process.
• On the third step based on the input data, the output is generated for the functionality aspects under the process.
• Execute the prepared test cases.
• Compare the outputs and inputs to figure out the change in both of them. And then take the required actions to meet the goals of the application.

Requirements for test cases

Every different scenario for testing needs different test cases. But there are few requirements to create the test cases for the testing process. It requires cases involve the following four parts:

• Test Summary
• Pre-requisites
• Test steps
• Expected results

The above four parts must be involved while making a strategy for the functional testing process. Lets us understand the importance of each part involved in the process.

Test Summary

The summary is a short description of the testing process, which includes the input and expected output. It also includes the tools and process to conduct functional testing.

Pre-requisites

These are the various resources you need to perform the system functional testing process.

Test steps

Test steps are the various steps that existed in the testing process to make it possible. You need to follow all the steps very carefully so that you can get the best results.

Expected results

These are the outcomes of the testing process. The actual result may vary from the expected results of the test cases, but it is always important to know what you expect from the various activities of the software application.

Functional testing tools

The system functional testing can be performed manually as well as with the help of automated tools. There are so many automated tools available these days to perform functional testing procedures. The following are the list of the best automated functional testing tools:

• Selenium testing tools
• QTP
• JUnit
• SoapUI
• WATER

The above list of automated testing tools is very popular and also proved to give the expected results all the time. You can explore more tools to make your list of tools.

Conclusion

In the software development life cycle system, functional testing is considered as a process to test the functionality of the applications. It helps to ensure the various functions of the system are working fine or not. It collects the various goals and objectives of the application to test the functionality of the testing. The process is very important to know the various errors in the functions of the application. Its main motive is to make sure that the end users are getting proper information, and with every click, they can perform the specified task easily. As compared to manual testing processes experts always recommend the automated testing procedures to save the time, efforts, and money of the organizations.

The above-stated guide specifies the various things you need know from the introduction to the advantages and modern techniques to perform the functional testing process. If you have something to share about the functional testing with us, then feel free to write in the comment section.