Testing is an essential component of the software development life cycle (SDLC) in that it confirms applications are stable, accurate and ready for user interaction. While the other testing approaches, sanity testing in Software testing is one most important things but it becomes ignored. Sanity testing is one of the prime things that manual testers should be thorough with to deliver good quality software.
Sanity testing is a quick and focused form of testing that evaluates whether a specific software functionality works as expected after minor code changes or builds. Unlike full regression testing, it's a surface-level check to determine if proceeding with more thorough testing is worthwhile. Think of it as a "quick health check" to ensure the software is stable enough for detailed testing.
The key purpose of sanity testing is to confirm that any recent changes (bug fix, enhancement, new feature) have not dispensed with the existing functionality. It acts as a gatekeeper, allowing testers to uncover if there are any major problems to fix before testing more exhaustively and taking up time performing full regression tests. When a sanity test fails the software build, it is not accepted and sent back to the development team for correction without leading to further testing.
Sanity testing is defined by its specialization, speed, and immediate follow-through. It focuses on specific functionalities instead of the entire app. Because of the focus, this becomes invaluable to make sure that those key parts in your application are not changed and to avoid compromising the user experience and software behaviors.
Before explaining the particular aspects of sanity testing, let us differentiate it from some other test methodologies that confuse when using them.
Sanity testing is typically performed in several key scenarios:
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You have to decide on which scope you perform sanity testing before getting started with the sanity testing. This involves identifying:
Having a checklist can streamline your testing process. Your checklist should include:
After completing your tests, it’s important to communicate your results effectively. Share your findings with the development team, including:
If any issues are identified, the development team will typically address them, after which you’ll need to re-run the sanity tests to ensure that the problems have been resolved. This re-testing phase is critical to confirm that fixes have not introduced new issues and that the application is now functioning as intended.
Sanity testing should be straightforward and focused. Avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary complexities. Stick to critical functionalities and recent changes to maximize efficiency. Simplicity helps ensure that you stay on track and cover the most important areas of the application.
Thorough documentation is key. Maintain a record of your sanity testing process, findings, and any communication with the development team. Good documentation practices enhance the overall testing process and improve collaboration, providing clarity and accountability for both testers and developers.
Work closely with the development team to understand the changes being made. This collaboration can provide valuable insights into which areas require the most attention during sanity testing. Open lines of communication expedite the testing process and improve the quality of feedback, leading to faster resolutions.
While sanity testing is often a manual process, consider leveraging automation tools for repetitive tasks or to speed up the process. Automated tools can help you execute tests quickly, especially for large applications, freeing up time for more complex testing tasks that require deeper analysis.
And your sanity testing cases should evolve as the application does. Keep the list of top features and update it periodically as new functionalities are being implemented or significant changes in existing ones. Maintaining your tests means you make sure they are still useful and actually testing something…and also helps you to move fast when the application changes.
But in sanity testing, you should concentrate on high priority functions which affect the user experience. Concentrate on the basic features that users use most to make them stable and responsive.
Specify your sanity tests "pass" or "fail". Defining clear success criteria reduces ambiguity in the project and ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page with respect to outcomes.
For this reason, you might also want to consider sanity testing part of your CI/CD pipeline. Embedding sanity tests into the CI/CD flow can automate most of the sanity-tests enabling quicker validation for changes made in the development lifecycle.
While sanity testing is beneficial, it’s not without its challenges:
So, sanity testing is not only one of the checkboxes on your testing checklist; it is a must-follow guidance in the process of delivering high-quality software. This technique is critical for competent manual testing, for without it we would not be able to determine their basic operational functions that are still working when the rest of the software has moved on.
In short, sanity testing is used to ensure the functionality of a newly added feature or built into already existing software to get an understanding of whether the bug has been fixed or whether other issues have appeared. We can achieve this by knowing its intent, deploying it correctly and fine-tuning our practices over and over again - to maintain or even exceed user standards. We should be proud of being testers, quality guru and protector of the user experience in a continuously remodeling digital world.
While smoke testing checks core functionalities of the entire application, sanity testing focuses specifically on newly modified features to ensure they work as expected.
Perform sanity testing after bug fixes, minor code changes, or new feature implementations to quickly verify if the application is stable enough for detailed testing.
Yes, while traditionally manual, sanity testing can be automated using tools and integrated into CI/CD pipelines for faster validation, though manual oversight is still valuable.
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