Functional Testing Vs Non-Functional Testing: Difference You Should Know at First

For some time, you must have heard a lot about the relative importance of software testing. How testing software is crucial to match the exact requirements, offer a user-friendly experience, enhance speed, and overall functionality? But do you know the base of software testing as it from does it starts and what component does it include? Here in this blog, we will be discussing and comparing functional testing vs non-functional testing. These are the base components of testing an application as per the requirement of enterprises.

So, let’s begin on this.

What is Functional Testing?

Functional testing involves testing all functionalities of the application against the specific and expected requirements. Professional testing agents manually test each function of the app to check whether it runs appropriately.

Different forms of testing types are involved in functional testing in conformity with the strategic requirements of the enterprise.

It is also called Black Box Testing, which is not concerned with the source code of the application. The detailed testing scenario involves checking the functionalities of the user interface, security, APIs, database, server, and more.

Know the Different Types of Functional Testing?

Here, we have the different types of functional testing:

  • Sanity Testing: Testers evaluate a specific functionality to ensure it is working correctly. Testers identify issues, fix bugs, and verify that the functionality works properly after making changes.
  • Smoke Testing: Testers perform this testing before mission-critical testing to identify which functionalities are working correctly. This helps save time and effort by ensuring that only problematic features are tested further.
  • Regression Testing: After initial bug fixes, testers use this method to verify that the build software is free from errors or irregularities.
  • Integration Testing: Testers check whether two or more components are properly integrated with the application and ensure that the app functions correctly after integration.
  • User Acceptance Testing: Testers consider user comfort and requirements before accepting the application. Actual users test a trial version of the application to check its functionality, and testers address any identified errors or required changes to improve the application.

What is Non-Functional Testing?

When software is developed and given to users for accessing it. At such times, several non-functional things are considered, how is the speed of the app? What does it perform under load or stress conditions? Is the quality of software appropriate? And, things like that.

The answer to all such questions is performing non-functional testing. It is all about checking the behaviour, speed, performance, stress, and quality aspects of the application based on strategic testing methods.

Know the Different Types of Non-Functional Testing

Non-functional testing is divided into three aspects of testing methods.

1. Performance Testing

Performance testing of software is classified into different types as follows:

  • Load Testing: Testers examine the application under particular load conditions to determine how much load it can handle in an actual response time environment. This process ensures the application remains robust when multiple users access it simultaneously.
  • Volume Testing: Testers perform this form of software testing to assess how much data volume the application can handle in a real-time environment. They also evaluate the reliability and correctness of the information.
  • Stress Testing: Testers evaluate the application to check how it handles heavy workloads. This test determines how the application manages stress in a real-time environment.
  • Endurance Testing: Testers assess the durability of the software by applying a repeated set of user loads.

2. Usability Testing

In this form of software testing, the user interface is tested to see how user-friendly it is for customers to operate the same.

3. Security Testing

Testers prefer security testing to check if the software can prevent malicious data attacks from hackers. Mainly speaking, it includes different components like checking the authentication, authorization, roles of admin, moderator, composer, and more.

Functional Testing Vs Non-Functional Testing

Now that you have got an idea of what forms the basis of functional and non-functioning testing. It is time for you to know the key differences between the two to understand the real comparison.

  • Functional testing checks what the app really is in terms of functionality and features. Whereas, non-functional testing checks the how intentions of software related to its performance and use.
  • Functional testing is based on user requirements and non-functional testing is specified by the development team.
  • Functional testing is conducted before making the application live. On the other side, non-functional testing is performed based on the user journey.
  • Functional testing relies more on the technical side of the app. Non-functional testing is more about performance, load, usability, and scalability.

Final Analysis

Functional and non-functional testing both are important for the success of a business application. It is relevant to perform both under the supervision of an experienced and leading software testing company. For this, you can rely on the professional expertise of TestingAgency, which is a pioneer testing company.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Latest in Software Testing?

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the latest components in the software testing ecosystem. Both the technologies are trending to automatically test the application based on functional and non-functional elements accordingly.

2. What Skills to Look In a Software Testing Agent?

An experienced software tester must possess few demanding skills like DevOps & Agile Methodologies, web & mobile technologies, SDLC, testing tools & techniques, programming, automation, etc.

3. At What Cost Software Testing Can be Done?

The cost of software testing depends mainly on the application and its features, reach, functionalities, complexities, and requirements of the enterprises. Testers take all such factors into consideration to create a strategic testing plan and determine the cost accordingly.