What is Integration Testing? Definition, Tools, and Examples
According to a study, poor testing quality costs software organizations a whopping $2.8 trillion US dollars. But, the actual cost is far greater than the monetary loss. As per Smallbiztrends, 88% of smartphone applications are deleted by the user once they encounter a software glitch. In order to avoid such monetary loss, organizations stress more on their software testing process.
What is Integration Testing
Since modern-day software is composed of separate components or modules, they need second-level testing to test the synchronicity and compatibility of components with each other. This testing is called integration testing of application modules. You can do it primarily by checking the connectivity and communication issues amongst different software modules.
Objectives of Integration Testing
- To analyze the working of integrated software modules
- To ensure smooth integration between modules and third-party tools
Advantages of Integration Testing
- Independent testing process.
- High code coverage.
- Bug detector.
Examples of Integration Testing
Scenario 1:
Assuming, you have a mail application with modules:
- login page
- Mailbox module
- Delete mail module
Scenario 2:
Suppose you want to check integration between different modules of a banking application for amount transfer functionality.
Steps to follow:
- First, log in as “P” and transfer an amount of $200 to a user named “Q.”
- Check for the “amount transferred” confirmation message on the screen.
- Cross-check if the balance of “P” is reduced by $200 after the transaction.
- Now, log out as “P” and login as “Q.”
Types of Integration Testing
- Big-Bang Integration testing
- Bottom-Up Approach
- Top-Down Integration Testing
- Sandwich Testing
Integration Testing Tools
- VectorCast/Ada
- Citrus
- Ldra
- Tessy
- Protractor
Best Practices for Integration Testing
- Start integration testing as early as possible
- Keep business logic separate from integration testing.
- Log extensively
Conclusion
Integration testing is an essential part of your STLC. Proper execution of it saves you from post-release updates and bug fixes. We, at Simform, have experienced multiple projects where integration testing came off as an easier gateway to finding defects between module’s interactions.
Originally published at Simform: What is Integration Testing? Definition, Tools, and Examples