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Software Testing - Negative Testing

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Software is developed by following the various phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC) to maintain its quality and the software testing is performed to ensure that the delivered software is fit to be moved to production. The negative testing is performed to verify how the software behaves with an unanticipated input data sets, and criterias.

What is Software Negative Testing?

The negative testing is done to confirm that the software works properly and responds correctly with an unintended or unexpected inputs. Its main objective is to verify how the software reacts to unpredicted data. It is performed to break the system, and to validate the outputs generated from the software using undesirable inputs.

At the time of negative testing, the software processes incorrect data as inputs. It ensures that the software works perfectly well in spite of dealing with unexpected data sets. It is also called the failure testing or error path testing. It determines the negative behavior of the software by creating the correct set of negative test cases.

Some of the examples of the negative test cases include verification of the upper, and lower data inputs. It also involves how the software reacts to incorrect data into a control field. It does not allow the users from adding additional characters by displaying the correct error messages. It ensures that all the software information is correct prior to the processing of the critical data. It tests how the software reacts when data is entered with a single quote. It also compares the performance of software between the current, and previous versions of the software.

Characteristics of Software Negative Testing

The characteristics of the software negative testing are listed below −

The software negative testing identifies the probable security lapses, and particular handling of the procedures.
The software negative testing identifies the security violations, and mishandling of information.
The negative testing identifies the defects which if undetected may cause software crashes.
The negative testing identifies the weaknesses which may be exploited by hackers.
The negative testing determines the stability of the software while it encounters a set of inputs which are beyond the thresholds.
The negative testing detects the problems in the software which may cause failures.

Purpose of Software Negative Testing

The purpose of the software negative testing are listed below −

The software negative testing is done to determine how the software responds to unanticipated inputs.
The software negative testing indicates the uniformity of the software with the respect to various permutations of the incorrect data sets.
The software negative testing is conducted post the positive testing to determine more defects, and to improve the software quality.
The software negative testing measures the performance of the software with invalid data sets used by the user.

Need of Software Negative Testing

The need of the software negative testing are listed below −

The negative testing helps to deliver a software having a much lesser probability of finding defects in the production.
The negative testing ensures a good quality software for the customer.
The negative testing confirms that everything is taken care of before the software is moved to production.
The negative testing is applicable to all critical software namely finance, stocks etc.

Why do Testers Sometimes miss the Software Negative Testing?

The testers sometimes miss the the software negative testing for the reasons listed below −

The testers may sometimes miss the software negative testing because it may delay the testing timelines.
The testers may sometimes miss the software negative testing because they find it unproductive and less effective than positive testing.
The testers may sometimes miss the software negative testing because they are inexperienced, and lack the necessary skills, and expertise to perform it.

Techniques used for Software Negative Testing

The techniques used for the software negative testing are listed below −

Examples of Software Negative Testing

Some of the examples of the software negative testing are listed below −

Login Page Scenarios − Testing of the login page with blank password, invalid username, incorrect credentials etc.

Upload Image Scenarios − Testing of the image upload page with an image which is beyond the permissible limits or having the incorrect image extensions etc.

Upload Document Scenarios − Testing of the document upload page with incorrect document extensions etc.

Navigation Scenarios − Testing of the navigation scenarios using invalid routes.

How to Perform the Software Negative Testing?

The software negative testing can be performed with the steps listed below −

Step 1 − Come up with all the necessary scenarios, and use cases that might adversely affect the software.

Step 2 − Prioritize the negative parameters added to the negative test cases to prevent loss of time, and resources.

Step 3 − Come up with the test cases along with the required test data to validate whether the software crashes at any point.

Step 4 − Every security weakness should be considered at the time of prioritizing the testing parameters in the test cases.

Advantages of Software Negative Testing

The advantages of the software negative testing are listed below −

The negative testing confirms if all the aspects of software are covered.
The negative testing enhances the overall quality of the software.
The negative testing ensures that only valid, and correct data are used in the software, thereby ensuring that the database contains the right sets of information.

Disadvantages of Software Negative Testing

The disadvantages of the software negative testing are listed below −

The negative testing requires additional cost, time, effort, and resources.
The negative testing may delay the software development process.
At times, the negative testing may be unnecessary.
The negative testing can be performed only by testers who are experienced, and have the necessary knowledge, and expertise.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Negative Testing. Weve started with describing what is software negative testing, what are the characteristics of the software negative testing, what is the purpose of the software negative testing, what is the need of the software negative testing, why do testers sometimes miss the software negative testing, what are the techniques used for the software negative testing, what are some of the examples of the software negative testing, how to perform the software negative testing, what are the advantages of the software negative testing, and what are the disadvantages of the software negative testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of the Software Negative 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.

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