A Complete Guide to Non-Functional Testing

The purpose of non-functional testing, a form of software testing, is to check the program's non-functional characteristics.

00:12 07 February 2023

The purpose of non-functional testing, a form of software testing, is to check the program's non-functional characteristics, such as its dependability, capacity under stress, performance, and accountability. Non-functional testing's main objective is to evaluate the software system's processing speed using non-functional criteria. Non- Functional testing never precedes the testing of functional testing's parameters.

Due to its critical role in client satisfaction, non-functional testing is just as vital as functional testing.

Difference between Non-functional Testing and Functional Testing

What they test is essentially what distinguishes functional testing from non-functional testing.

Functional testing ensures that the various aspectsand capabilities of the application work as intended. Non-functional testing looks at several other facets of the application's functionality.

An app's functionality is tested during functional testing. The effectiveness of these functions is tested by non-functional testing.

Why Non-Functional Testing?

Testing, both functional and non-functional, is necessary for freshly developed software. While non-functional testing examines an application's capacity to operate in an external environment, functional testing examines the accuracy of internal functionalities.

It paves the way for the setup, implementation, and operation of the software. Non-functional testing is used to gather and provide the measurement and metrics for internal study and development.

Non-functional testing provides an in-depth understanding of the technologies and product behavior. It aids in lowering the software's manufacturing risk and related expenses.

Goals of Non-Functional Testing

• Non-functional testing ought to improve the product's usability, effectiveness, serviceability, and portability.
• Assists in lowering manufacturing risk and expense related to the product's non-functional features.
• Improve the installation, configuration, execution, management, and monitoring processes for the product.
• Gather data and generate metrics for use in internal analysis and development.
• Expand and improve understanding of current technology and product behavior.

Non-Functional Testing Parameters

The non-functional testing specifications are as follows:

1. Security: Security is a parameter that describes a system's defenses against intentional and accidental breaches both internally and externally. Through security testing, this is analyzed.
2. Reliability: Consistency in which software regularly completes the necessary duties without making a mistake. This is tested via reliability testing.
3. Efficiency: A software's capability, quantity, and reaction time.
4. Usability: The ease with which a user can interact with, understand use, and create inputs and outputs for a system. Testing for usability confirms this.
5. Availability: The parameter determines how dependent the user is on the system when it is in use. This is confirmed by stability tests.
6. Scalability: This term refers to how significantly a software program's processing capacity may be increased to accommodate an increase in demand. Through scalability testing, this is investigated.

Advantages of Non-Functional Testing

• It provides a higher level of security. Systems are protected from online dangers by security, which is an essential component.
• It ensures that the system can handle any number of concurrent users by guaranteeing its loading capacity.
• It improves system effectiveness.
• Compared to other testing methods, less time is invested.
• Test cases do not need to be written multiple times because they are never changed.

Disadvantages of Non-Functional Testing

• Non-functional tests are repeated after every program update.
• As a result of software changes, users must pay to re-examine the software, making it exceedingly expensive.

Wrapping Up

Software testing does not have a one-size-fits-all approach. To claim that a functional technique is superior to a non-functional method or vice versa would be excessively restrictive.

Both functional and non-functional tests are essential because the gains provided by non-functional testing are not as significant, and many teams give it a lesser priority. If performance suffers, a user could become irritated yet they might still be able to utilize the software.

Nevertheless, non-functional tests are important, and your team should work to include them. Performance and accessibility are only two examples of the many non-functional qualities and components that a great testing suite will verify.