What is Functional Testing?
Functional testing is a type of testing that validates the end-user features of the software. It ensures that the software's characteristics match the end-user requirements and the software is bug-free.
In functional testing, you test the product's functionality from an end-users perspective without concern for the software's code, architecture, or implementation. It is a type of black-box testing.
Functional testing can be done either manually or using automation.
Once you complete functional testing and consider the software to have crossed the quality threshold, it is submitted for non-functional testing.
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What do you test during Functional Testing?
The purpose of functional testing is to check the end-user features of the software system. It consists of testing:
- Features
- All the features of the application are tested, including border and error conditions.
- Basic Usability
- Principal usability tests are performed, including checks to verify whether:
- UI elements like text and images are correctly displayed
- Users can navigate through the screens without a problem
- The application is responsive on different devices
- The software is usable by people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups
Steps involved in Functional Testing
- Understand the end-user requirements
- Create a test plan
- Create a test case
- Execute the test case
- Validate the result
- Report the defects
Primary Functional Testing Techniques:
- System Testing
- Acceptance Testing
- Smoke Testing
- Sanity Testing
- Regression Testing
- Basic Usability Testing
Advantages of Functional Testing
- Comprehensive functional testing can ensure a high-quality product.
- Since it is a black-box testing method, testers need not have coding skills.
- Since testing is focused on the end-user specifications, it is a good
Disadvantages of Functional Testing
- It can only be performed after the application development is complete.
- Because it is a black-box testing technique, it is susceptible to unnecessary testing.
- If the software requirement document is unclear, it can lead to unnecessary bugs or untested scenarios.
- No guarantee to traverse all code paths.