Regression testing

REGRESSION TESTING is defined as a type of software testing to confirm that a recent program or code change has not adversely affected existing features.

Regression Testing is nothing but a full or partial selection of already executed test cases which are re-executed to ensure existing functionalities work fine.

This testing is done to make sure that new code changes should not have side effects on the existing functionalities. It ensures that the old code still works once the latest code changes are done.

Need of Regression Testing

The Need of Regression Testing mainly arises whenever there is requirement to change the code and we need to test whether the modified code affects the other part of software application or not. Moreover, regression testing is needed, when a new feature is added to the software application and for defect fixing as well as performance issue fixing.

How to do Regression Testing

In order to do Regression Testing process, we need to first debug the code to identify the bugs. Once the bugs are identified, required changes are made to fix it, then the regression testing is done by selecting relevant test cases from the test suite that covers both modified and affected parts of the code.

Software maintenance is an activity which includes enhancements, error corrections, optimization and deletion of existing features. These modifications may cause the system to work incorrectly. Therefore, Regression Testing becomes necessary. Regression Testing can be carried out using the following techniques:

Regression Testing Tools

If your software undergoes frequent changes, regression testing costs will escalate. In such cases, Manual execution of test cases increases test execution time as well as costs. Automation of regression test cases is the smart choice in such cases. The extent of automation depends on the number of test cases that remain re-usable for successive regression cycles.

Following are the most important tools used for both functional and regression testing in software engineering:

To get maximum ROI of automation, observe the following

Selenium: This is an open source tool used for automating web applications. Selenium can be used for browser-based regression testing.

Quick Test Professional (QTP): HP Quick Test Professional is automated software designed to automate functional and regression test cases. It uses VBScript language for automation. It is a Data-driven, Keyword based tool.