Lessons from Regression Testing
The act of regression in software testing is a process of retesting modified or software defects that are fixed. Most time this process can be rigorous, exhaustive, and thorough especially for repeated defects or core features.
Regression testing is a black-box testing technique that is performed to confirm that a recent program or code change has not adversely affected existing features of the software and that the on-going code modifications do not impact the system’s functionality. A little change could lead to a total breakdown of the software under test.
In order to avoid stories that touch, it is required that every software goes through regression testing before production. Regression testing ensures that the program or software performs as expected and not the other way round. When performing a regression test, the tester should ensure the following:
i. Take note of important features and functionalities of the software
ii. Address areas where defects have frequently occurred
iii. Carefully choose your test cases to fit into changes being addressed in the two above.
iv. Do not jump process, make sure to complete all the test steps reproducibly.
v. Check for mandatory processes, fields, or omissions in the testing process.
vi. Analyze the test results and push appropriate bug fixes.
Thus the process continues.
My conclusion is this, Manual Regression testing could be tiring and exhaustive especially for large applications, Automated testing is recommended in this scenario. Testing using the automation process for regression testing is faster, flexible, and more accurate.
Consider this test scenario for a movie application. The user is to delete unique images for 10,000 videos and replace all deleted images with a default image. (from a CRM).
A default image replacement is performed automatically each time an image is deleted. Imagine you as the tester is to go through each image to replace one after the other, how stressful this will be. But in the case of automated testing, this process could be automated by looping through each image id and replacing them with the default image through its URL.
In short, it's safe to say, haven gone through the manual process of performing regression testing on large applications, the best technique, and a more effective approach to these repetitive tasks is automation.
Have fun testing
