How To Do Regression Testing?

Regression Testing is a vital part of QA  and Software Testing. Despite this, some Software Testers tend to rush the process or even skip it entirely because it is termed as time-consuming. But, with the right approach, it can be achieved by avoiding the challenges.

When a Software Application is released in the market, developers, and Testers ensure that all features are working as per requirement. But as time goes on, the Software needs to be updated with new features and functionalities to enhance the user experience.

The issue with any updates is, they tend to affect the entire application when they are initially integrated. Though the new features are thoroughly tested, they can turn out to be the cause of the existing features not working as optimally as earlier.

This is why Regression Testing is important. If you are a software developer, you want to be able to update your software without affecting the existing functionalities. Regression Testing is the process of looking for defects/regression in the existing features.

Here, Software Testers run all the functional and non-functional tests to ensure that the newly developed code does not create any bugs or break optimally Functioning Software. The primary purpose is to ensure that the software performs as per expectation even after the change.

Tips to Improve Regression Testing

Here are a few ways adopted by Top software Testing Companies like ours to change the way testers and developers approach Regression Testing.

Build Your Regression Suite

Software Testers need to build a regression suite to conduct regression testing effectively. A regression suite is an overview of the various functionalities that the desired Software Application consists of. These are essentially Test scenarios that QA engineers are compelled to Test.

A Regression suite can be created using existing Test Cases for Functional Testing, Integration Testing, Unit Testing, etc. In short, the test cases you have developed from the beginning.

They can be used in your Regression suite as you have already tested these functionalities and you know they are meeting the expectations. A Regression suite will grow along with the Software Application and might culminate with several Regression Test Cases for you to deal with.

And when the number of Regression Test Cases keeps on increasing as the software system grows, it creates a scope for automated Regression Testing.

Select Your Approach

How much of the Regression Testing process you automate depends on the approach you adopt. You can either adopt a structured approach or an exploratory approach.

A structured approach involves writing up all your test cases and stick to them while testing. In an exploratory approach, however, you can write test cases when the need arises and the process is free. However, experts have recommended that the ideal approach falls somewhere in between.

Automation becomes essential for Regression Testing because it allows the agile team to perform tests more efficiently. As the software grows and develops, previously set up tests may not be completely relevant to the current product attributes.

Therefore, it becomes important for Testers to apply their minds, review the test cases, and evaluate the results. Hence, the approach you take must be a perfect balance between following a consistent approach and exploring new areas.

Selecting Test Cases for Regression Suite

You can select Test Cases for your regression suite based on the following aspects:

• Analyze if the function is core to your product and if other functionalities revolve around this function. If yes, it should always be tested and must go into your regression suite.
• Check if the feature is new and if it has been tested against other feature updates before. As new codes are vulnerable, you need to test them thoroughly before adding them to the suite.
• You need to check if the desired code is dependent on the environment. If yes, it means the code is vulnerable and must go into your suite.

• Verify if the desired code consisted of bugs earlier. Emphasize a previously faulty code can be beneficial and such code can be moved into your regression suite.

Deciding the Frequency of Test Runs:

After you have built your Regression Test Suite, you need to decide how frequently you want to run the regression tests. Ideally, Regression Testing must be performed whenever a change or update is made to the code.

In case your Software Application is large and your Regression suite has several Test Cases, automation is the only way to go about this process. You can decide the frequency of your test runs based on the number of Test Cases that are automated.

Following these tips effectively helps you improve the process of regression testing significantly.

Perform Regression Tests Faster with Automation

As iterated earlier, one of the reasons why Testers tend to skip Regression Testing is to save time. With automation, this concern is addressed to a larger extent. By automating the majority of Regression Testing, you can accelerate and achieve quality.

As one of the Best Software Testing Companies, Sapizon Technologies possess the setup to implement this with precision. You can now book a free consultancy with our testing experts to understand how we will make your software product better and help you elevate your business.