What Is Smoke Testing? - A Brief Guide

Smoke testing is a method of determining whether a newly released build is stable. It assists a QA or testing team in determining whether they may proceed with further testing. It also ensures that the builds received from development are functional.

What Is Smoke Testing?

Smoke Testing is a type of software testing typically performed on early software builds to guarantee that the program's critical capabilities are fully functional.

It is the software's final check after a build and before it is released. Before critical testing, this type of testing identifies primary and vital issues in an application.

Smoke testing, also known as build verification testing or build acceptance testing, is a non-exhaustive software analysis that ensures that a program's most basic functionalities perform while avoiding finer details.

Features of Smoke Testing

You should be familiar with the following fundamental aspects of smoke testing:

• It's also known as Build Verification Testing because the build is verified by testing the application's most essential features before being submitted to the next testing stage, depending on the test results.
• It's an important step in the software development process that involves testing the application's most important functionalities.
• Smoke tests can be done manually or automatically, depending on the test needs.
• It can be used at multiple stages of software testing, including integration, system, and acceptability testing.
• This is a restricted amount of test cases, non-exhaustive testing. Smoke testing is usually done using positive situations and genuine data, and the entire procedure is documented.

When to Do Smoke Testing?

Smoke testing is typically performed whenever new software functions are developed and integrated with an existing build. This determines whether or not all-important functions are operational. Developers do it in the development environment to ensure that the application is correct before sending it to QA. QA engineers do smoke testing after the build is sent to the QA environment for testing. The QA team selects the primary functionality in the application to do smoke testing whenever a new build is released.

How Is Smoke Testing Performed?

Smoke testing is carried out in the same way as other types of testing. The following are the actions you can use to smoke test the software:

1. The development team creates builds, which are subsequently delivered to the testing team to be tested.
2. When the QA team receives the builds, they develop test cases for testing purposes based on the requirements.
3. A tiny test suit is made up of several smoke tests. A smoke test suite should comprise a modest amount of tests to be efficient and purpose-built.
4. In smoke test suits, automation can be efficient and helpful; thus, automate the smoke test if necessary. There are numerous smoke testing automation frameworks available.
5. Execute the test cases and clean up the test environment to begin the next round of testing. Stopping a server, deleting files, and emptying database tables are examples of this.

Smoke testing is done by quality assurance (QA) testers after the developers release each new build of an application. If the code passes the smoke test, the software development team moves on to more precise testing like unit and integration tests. If the smoke test fails, the testers have identified a serious problem that will cause all subsequent tests to fail. QA then requests that developers release a new build. This single broad initial test is a more successful technique for improving software code than conducting specific and accurate tests early in the development process.

Smoke testing is also done from the standpoint of the user's experience (UX). This method includes determining whether the build is useable and the functionality of the user interface (UI) and login mechanism. Other important features include determining whether an action option matches the planned action. For example, does the item appear in the basket if a user adds the product to a shopping cart in an e-commerce web application?

The Advantages of Smoke Testing

The advantages of smoke testing are as below:

• In the early stages of testing, you can identify bugs, problems, and flaws.
• Reduces the dangers that arise when numerous components are combined.
• Simple to implement and increases software quality
• Testers and developers save time and effort.
• Only a few test cases are required.
• Improve the speed with which new and regression bugs are resolved.
• It has the advantage of providing quick feedback.
• Manual interference is reduced.
• QA team effectiveness should be improved.
• The smoke test works by taking your code, building it, running it, and double-checking. However, it will not prove whether or not your software is fully functional.

Conclusion

To summarise, smoke tests are an easy, authentic, and successful way to detect bugs quickly. Developers and others in software projects can use smoke tests to improve code quality.