Optimizing Functional Testing: Key Best Practices

By Anuj Dhir  Published On May 6, 2023
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Functional testing is a critical step in the software development process to ensure that a system meets its intended functionality. However, effective functional testing requires a well-defined strategy and adherence to best practices. In this blog, we explore key best practices for optimizing functional testing, including understanding requirements, writing test cases, collaborating with stakeholders, testing early and often, using real data, and continuously improving the testing process.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your testing efforts are effective, efficient, and drive successful outcomes.

  • 1) Understand the requirements & defining clear testing objectives: Ensure that you have a clear understanding of the functional requirements before you start testing. This will help you stay focused; ensure that you are testing the right areas of the system and design effective test cases.
  • 2) Write test cases: Before you start testing, it's important to write the test cases you'll be using. Test cases should cover all the functional requirements of the system and define clear acceptance criteria for each test case.
  • 3) Collaborate with stakeholders: Collaborate with stakeholders, including developers, business analysts, and end-users, to make sure that your tests are covering all the functional requirements of the system.
  • 4) Create a test plan: Create a test plan that outlines the testing process, including who will be involved, the test cases that will be used, and the timeline for testing.
  • 5) Use sandboxes (Test in a realistic environment): Use Salesforce sandboxes to create a testing environment that mirrors your production environment. This will help you identify and resolve issues before they impact your users.
  • 6) Test early and often: Start testing as early as possible in the development cycle and continue testing throughout the process. This will help you catch issues early and avoid costly rework later on.
  • 7) Test with real data: Use real data in your tests to make sure that your system is handling real-world scenarios correctly. Use multiple data sets to test the system's ability to handle different inputs.
  • 8) Test boundary conditions: Test boundary conditions to ensure that the system is behaving correctly when data is at the limits of its range. This includes testing minimum and maximum values.
  • 9) Use negative testing: Test with negative scenarios to ensure that the system is correctly handling invalid data or unexpected input.
  • 10) Test with multiple browsers/devices: Test with multiple browsers and devices to ensure that the system is functioning correctly across different platforms.
  • 11) Test with different user roles to ensure that the system is behaving correctly for different user types.
  • 12) Use exploratory testing: Use exploratory testing to identify issues that may not be covered by your test cases. This includes testing the system in an unstructured and ad-hoc manner.
  • 13) Use testing tools: Use testing tools to improve the efficiency and accuracy of your testing. This includes tools for test management, bug tracking, and automation testing.
  • 14) Use traceability matrix: Use a traceability matrix / code coverage tools to ensure that all the requirements are covered by the tests and that there are no gaps in your testing coverage.
  • 15) Use a testing checklist: Use a testing checklist to ensure that all the necessary tests are conducted during the sanity and smoke testing phase.
  • 16) Prioritize test cases: Prioritize your test cases based on their importance and potential impact on the system. This will help you focus your testing efforts where they will have the most impact.
  • 17) Document your tests: Document your tests so that they can be easily reproduced and updated as needed. This will help you maintain a record of your testing process and ensure that your tests are effective over time.
  • 18) Record and report issues/defects: Record and report any issues/defects you find during testing. This will help ensure that issues are addressed in a timely manner and that the system is functioning as expected.
  • 19) Retest after bug fixes: After you fix a bug/defect, make sure to retest the affected areas to ensure that the fix was successful and did not introduce new issues.
  • 20) Being Vocal: While doing testing and everything else around it is important, vocalizing your thoughts of what you think about the feature/function or asking the right questions like how it will work/any impacts that it could have on the existing functionality is as important to understand the product/functionality and to eventually test it right.
  • 21) Continuously improve: Continuously improve your testing process based on feedback from stakeholders and the results of your testing. This will help you identify areas for improvement and ensure that your testing process is effective over time.
  • 22) Conduct regular regression testing to ensure that changes to the system do not negatively impact existing functionality
  • 23) Test the system's error handling to ensure that error messages are clear and useful.
  • 24) Conduct acceptance testing with end-users to ensure the system meets their needs.
  • 25) Use metrics to measure the success of testing, including the number of tests conducted, the number of issues found, and the time it takes to conduct the tests.
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Anuj

Anuj Dhir

Business Analyst | Senior Test Lead at TechForce Services 3X Salesforce Certified | 3X TOSCA Certified