Kind of Testing

• Black box testing - not based on any knowledge of internal design or code. Tests are based on requirements and functionality.
• White box testing - based on knowledge of the internal logic of an application's code. Tests are based on coverage of code statements, branches, paths, conditions.
• unit testing - the most 'micro' scale of testing; to test particular functions or code modules. Typically done by the programmer and not by testers, as it requires detailed knowledge of the internal program design and code. Not always easily done unless the application has a well-designed architecture with tight code; may require developing test driver modules or test harnesses.
• incremental integration testing - continuous testing of an application as new functionality is added; requires that various aspects of an application's functionality be independent enough to work separately before all parts of the program are completed, or that test drivers be developed as needed; done by programmers or by testers.
• integration testing - testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together correctly. The 'parts' can be code modules, individual applications, client and server applications on a network, etc. This type of testing is especially relevant to client/server and distributed systems.
• functional testing - black-box type testing geared to functional requirements of an application; this type of testing should be done by testers. This doesn't mean that the programmers shouldn't check that their code works before releasing it (which of course applies to any stage of testing.)
• system testing - black-box type testing that is based on overall requirements specifications; covers all combined parts of a system.
• end-to-end testing - similar to system testing; the 'macro' end of the test scale; involves testing of a complete application environment in a situation that mimics real-world use, such as interacting with a database, using network communications, or interacting with other hardware, applications, or systems if appropriate.
• sanity testing or smoke testing - typically an initial testing effort to determine if a new software version is performing well enough to accept it for a major testing effort. For example, if the new software is crashing systems every 5 minutes, bogging down systems to a crawl, or corrupting databases, the software may not be in a 'sane' enough condition to warrant further testing in its current state.
• regression testing - re-testing after fixes or modifications of the software or its environment. It can be difficult to determine how much re-testing is needed, especially near the end of the development cycle. Automated testing approaches can be especially useful for this type of testing.
• acceptance testing - final testing based on specifications of the end-user or customer, or based on use by end-users/customers over some limited period of time.
• load testing - testing an application under heavy loads, such as testing of a web site under a range of loads to determine at what point the system's response time degrades or fails.
• stress testing - term often used interchangeably with 'load' and 'performance' testing. Also used to describe such tests as system functional testing while under unusually heavy loads, heavy repetition of certain actions or inputs, input of large numerical values, large complex queries to a database system, etc.
• performance testing - term often used interchangeably with 'stress' and 'load' testing. Ideally 'performance' testing (and any other 'type' of testing) is defined in requirements documentation or QA or Test Plans.
• usability testing - testing for 'user-friendliness'. Clearly this is subjective, and will depend on the targeted end-user or customer. User interviews, surveys, video recording of user sessions, and other techniques can be used. Programmers and testers are usually not appropriate as usability testers.
• install/uninstall testing - testing of full, partial, or upgrade install/uninstall processes.
• recovery testing - testing how well a system recovers from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.
• failover testing - typically used interchangeably with 'recovery testing'
• security testing - testing how well the system protects against unauthorized internal or external access, willful damage, etc; may require sophisticated testing techniques.
• compatibility testing - testing how well software performs in a particular hardware/software/operating system/network/etc. environment.
• exploratory testing - often taken to mean a creative, informal software test that is not based on formal test plans or test cases; testers may be learning the software as they test it.
• ad-hoc testing - similar to exploratory testing, but often taken to mean that the testers have significant understanding of the software before testing it.
• context-driven testing - testing driven by an understanding of the environment, culture, and intended use of software. For example, the testing approach for life-critical medical equipment software would be completely different than that for a low-cost computer game.
• user acceptance testing - determining if software is satisfactory to an end-user or customer.
• comparison testing - comparing software weaknesses and strengths to competing products.
• alpha testing - testing of an application when development is nearing completion; minor design changes may still be made as a result of such testing. Typically done by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers.
• beta testing - testing when development and testing are essentially completed and final bugs and problems need to be found before final release. Typically done by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers.
• mutation testing - a method for determining if a set of test data or test cases is useful, by deliberately introducing various code changes ('bugs') and retesting with the original test data/cases to determine if the 'bugs' are detected. Proper implementation requires large computational resources.

UAT

What is User Acceptance Testing?
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) - also called beta testing, application testing, and/or end user testing - is a phase of software development in which the software is tested in the "real world" by the intended audience or a business representative. Whilst the technical testing of IT systems is a highly professional and exhaustive process, testing of business functionality is an entirely different proposition.

Tasks of User Acceptance Testing

When performing UAT, there are seven (7) basic steps to ensure the system is tested thoroughly and meets the business needs.
1 – Analyze Business Requirements
2 – Identify UAT Scenarios
3 – Define the UAT Test Plan
4 – Create UAT Test Cases
5 – Run the Tests
6 – Record the Results
7 – Confirm Business Objectives are met


Documents Used by the Business Analyst

One of the most important activities performed by the Business Analyst is to identify and develop UAT test scenarios. These scenarios are derived by analyzing the documents that were previously developed during the early phases of the project.  These documents include:

- Business Use Case
- Business Process Flows
- Project Charter
- Context Diagram
- Business Requirements Document (BRD)
- System Requirements Specification (SRS)
- Testing Guidelines and Techniques
- Other Vendor’s Deliverables

Documents Created by the Business Analyst

Once UAT Test Scenarios are identified, the Business Process Unit will create three deliverables:
- UAT Test Plan
- UAT Test Cases
- After running the tests, a Defect Log captures problems

UAT Test Plan
The UAT Test Plan documents the strategy that will be used to verify and ensure an application meets its requirements to the business. The UAT Test Plan is a document which outlines the plan for user acceptance testing of the project deliverables. This document is a high level guide, and will refer to test cases that will be developed and used to record the results of user testing.

UAT Test Cases
The User Acceptance Test Cases help the test execution team to test the application thoroughly. This also helps ensure that the UA testing provides sufficient coverage of all the UAT scenarios. The Use Cases created during the Requirements definition phase may be used as inputs for creating test cases.

The User Acceptance Test Case describes in a simple language the precise steps to be taken to test something

UAT Defect Log
The UAT Defect Logis a document for capturing and reporting defects identified during UAT. Defects are documented so that they can be evaluated and resolved.

Information included in the Defect Log is:

-          Severity (e.g., High, Med, Low)
-          Status (e.g., Open, Closed, Deferred)
-          Date Reported/Fixed
-          Problem Description

Payment Gateway

Payment gateway connects your website or business application to the banking infrastructure.

A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of information between a payment portal (such as a website, mobile phone or interactive voice response service) and the Front End Processor or acquiring bank.

It is usually a third-party service that is actually a system of computer processes that process, verify, and accept or decline credit card transactions on behalf of the merchant through secure Internet connections. The payment gateway is the infrastructure that allows a merchant to accept credit card and other forms of electronic payment.