Software Testing

Glossary of Terminologies in Quality Assurance

Artifacts – A files created or used during the testing, like logs, images, documents etc.,
Automation Testing – A type of automated testing performed using some software tools to ensure actual and expected results are matching.
Accessibility – Ensuring that an application is accessible to the people having disabilities (color blindness, hard of hearing etc.
Alpha Testing – A type of testing performed to identify bugs before the product is released for real users.
AdHoc Testing- An unplanned random testing performed to explore and break the application without the product knowledge.
Agile methodology – An incremental approach to manage a project by diving into multiple phases.
API Testing – A type of testing which is performed to test applications interface to validate if it meets the expectations.

Bug – A defect identified by the tester during testing, which is accepted by the development team.
Beta testing – A type of testing performed on an application by real users for end user validations.
Block box testing – A type of testing that is performed without the access to source code of the application.

Crash logs – Logs that are generated during any crash observed in the native application due to code break.
Compatibility testing – A type of testing performed to verify if the application is capable of running on various platforms, devices, browsers etc.
Crowd Testing – An outsourced model providing access to their services and product for a group of voluntary users (Testers) with related skill sets to contribute by testing the applications.

Defect – The deviation between the actual and expected output.
Debugging – The process of identifying and correcting the existing errors in an application under test.
Deliverables – All the necessary aspects of project delivery as per contract and includes agreed changes.

Exploratory – A type of testing where the tester explores an application to identify and document the defects.
Error – A mistake in coding.

Functional Testing – Testing performed to verify the potential aspects of the application.
Failure – If the application does not meet the expected requirements, then it is termed as failure.
Fault – Condition that causes system or software failure.

Guided Exploratory – A reference document-based testing process to verify an application to assess the functionality of the features that are in scope for testing.
Gray box testing – A combination of black and white box testing types, to verify how input affects the required output of an application.

High level test scenarios – A document that consists of high-level business critical scenarios to execute for the application in test.
Human Error – A mistake resulting from insufficient knowledge of application, skill sets, incorrect installation, or negligence.

Issue – Error or flaw that is observed in an application that needs to be resolved.
Integration Testing – Testing the application end to end after combining the units or components.

Known Error – An error for which is already known for which a temporary or permanent alternative has been defined.
Kick – off Meeting – A meeting conducted before the start of a project to determine and finalize the scope, goals, and objectives of the project.

Localization Testing – A type of testing, which is designed for a specific locality, to verify functional support for that locale.
Load Testing – A type of testing an application by inserting heavy load to verify if it handles a huge amount of data.

Multi Device Testing – Testing an application on multiple devices to verify the behavior on different screens, platforms, and operating systems.
Manual Testing – A testing type where testers test an application manually.
Mobile application testing – Testing an application on a mobile device, to verify its usability and functionality.

Non-Functional Testing – Testing the application for its non-functional requirements like the behavior of the system, performance, and reliability.
Negative Testing – Testing any application to verify how it behaves for random and unexpected inputs.

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Out of Scope – The features or issues that are not included in the current release / build for testing.
Outcome – The results after a test that has been executed.

Priority – Anything that should be resolved or taken care of immediately.
Performance testing – A testing type which is used to determine if the application meets the performance requirements like page load, responsiveness, or occurrence.
POC – Proof of concept, a document in which the actual idea, concept and solution is showcased as a proof.
Production Environment – Using an application other than the development environment. It’s also called live.

Quality Assurance – A process to verify if the software or application is of precise level of quality.
Quality Control – A technique used to verify the quality of requirements.

Regression Testing – A testing type to verify that the new functionality is not affecting the current features of the application.
Release – A version of an application has been tested completely and is ready to be released to the customers.
Retest – Testing a particular functionality again and again to verify their correctness.

Sanity Testing – A type of testing performed to verify if the major functionality of the application is working as expected.
Scope of Testing – The features or functionalities that are included in the current test build or project.
Severity – Keyword used to determine the impact of any issue in the application.

Test Case – A document containing a defined set of steps to be executed to verify the flow or features of the application while testing.
Test Scenario – A document which describes the details of objectives that a user must verify during testing.
Test Coverage – The total number of devices, OS, OEM, platforms, bugs, and browsers etc that are achieved after execution of the test cycle.
Test Data – The set of inputs used during testing an application.

Unit Testing – A type of testing which is used to verify the smallest modules of an application, individually.
Use Case – A document consisting of requirements written in sequence.
Usability Testing – A testing type used to verify how good is the application to use.
User Acceptance testing – A testing type performed by end users before the delivery.

Verification – A process of verifying if the correct product has been built.
Validation – A process of verifying if the product is built correctly.
Volume Testing – Testing to verify how an application behaves with a large volume of data.

Walkthrough – A team meeting, in which the design and requirements are presented to the team members for understanding.
White box testing – A type of testing that is performed with the access to source code of the application.
Web application testing – Testing an application on the web browsers to verify its usability and functionality.

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