Software Testing - End-to-End Testing

Software testing involves verification of all the major components of the software. End to end testing is a technique used in the software development life cycle (SDLC) to validate the features of the software which are based on the real life use cases from the beginning step to the end.

What is Software End to End Testing?

The end to end testing is performed to simulate the scenarios which are based on real life. It helps to verify the complete software including its sub modules. The process of end to end testing is not very easy. Each software is developed on various layers namely front end, backend, API, network etc and contains several smaller sub components.

If any of these components cease to work properly then the entire software is considered unfit for use. The end to end testing ensures the reliability and proper functionality of each of the sub-units to ensure the smooth functioning of the entire software.

Thus the end to end testing takes into consideration the verification of the complete software(both the front end and back end). It is recommended to automate most of the end to end test cases to increase the test coverage, and guarantee proper working of all the layers.

Types of Software End to End Testing

The different types of the software end to end testing are listed below −

1. Horizontal E2E Testing

This type of testing is done to verify whether a particular layer or unit works uniformly across the multiple components of the software. For example, for an e-commerce application, the horizontal testing verifies if it functions well in various devices namely android, tablets, laptops, iphones etc.

2. Vertical E2E Testing

This type of testing is done to validate if a specific feature functions correctly both from the front end and from the back end layers. It focuses on testing the basic synchronization between those two entities. For example, for an e-commerce application, the vertical testing verifies if a particular functionality, say customer order summary details, is updated every time both in the UI, and as well as in the database.

Advantages of Software End to End Testing

The advantages of the software end to end testing are listed below −

• The end to end testing ensures that the software performs at all the levels starting from the front end to the back end across various platforms. This type of testing reduces the additional test cycles, thereby saving a lot of time, effort and cost.
• The end to end testing validates the software along with its sub units, resulting in increasing the test coverage and test efficiency.
• The end to end testing detects defects from the early stages of the SDLC, and reduces the probability of finding bugs later in the production.

Disadvantages of Software End to End Testing

The disadvantages of the software end to end testing are listed below −

• It is difficult to work on end to end testing for complicated software. As the software scales up, it requires extensive planning and time to complete all the end to end test cases.
• As the software grows up in size, the end to end testing eats up a lot of time, resources and testing environments. Unidentifical test environments and data sets may affect the test outcomes. Maintenance of various test environments during different stages of testing requires additional cost, and time.
• As the software undergoes frequent changes, the end to end test cases need to be updated to make them as per the latest requirements. Thus the maintenance cost is incurred.

Best Practices to be Followed for Software End to End Testing

The best practices to be followed for the software end to end testing are listed below −

• The software end to end test cases should be prioritized as per the criticality of the features they are targeted to verify.
• The repetitive end to end test cases should be considered for automation to ensure faster execution and feedback.
• The software end-to-end test cases should be monitored on a regular basis so that they are able to catch bugs from the initial phases of the SDLC.
• The software end to end testing encourages an environment of collaboration among all the project stakeholders and creates a holistic approach towards the software development process.
• The software end to end test cases should be reviewed often to ensure that they are developed as per the latest requirements, and are still relevant.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software End-to-End Testing. Weve started with describing what is software end to end testing, what are the different types of the software end to end testing, what are the advantages of software end to end testing, what are the disadvantages of software end to end testing, and what are the best practices to be followed for the software end to end testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software End-to-End Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what youve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.