Cross functional tests

Also referred as non-functional, they check that the application performs successfully well in terms of capacity, availability, security and so on to meet users' needs.

Many projects do not treat their requirements the same way as other tests. Users will be very upset if their credit card is stolen or website is down due to capacity problems.

Stress

• Purpose: Stress testing checks the system's behavior under intense loads and conditions, exceeding its specified limits. The goal is to identify the breaking point and ensure the system fails gracefully.
• Implementation: Use tools like JMeter, LoadRunner, or Locust to generate extreme loads. For example, if a website typically handles 1,000 concurrent users, test it with 5,000 or 10,000 to see how it behaves. Monitor system metrics like CPU, memory, and response times to determine bottlenecks.

Performance Testing

• Purpose: To ensure the system performs optimally under load and stress.
• Implementation: Use tools like JMeter or LoadRunner to simulate multiple users accessing the system simultaneously. Monitor response times, throughput, and system stability under varying load conditions.

Deployment

• Purpose: This ensures that the software can be successfully installed, deployed, and run in the target environment. It validates factors like installation scripts, configuration, or dependencies.
• Implementation: Use automated deployment tools like Jenkins, CircleCI, or Travis CI to deploy the application to a test environment. This environment should mirror the production environment. Run a suite of smoke tests to ensure basic functionality post-deployment. For complex systems with dependencies, tools like Docker can help ensure consistent deployments by using containers.

Usability Testing

• Purpose: To validate the user-friendliness and intuitiveness of the software interface.
• Implementation: Conduct sessions where real users interact with the application. Monitor and gather feedback on their experience, focusing on aspects like navigation ease, UI design, and error messages clarity.

Security Testing

• Purpose: To identify vulnerabilities and ensure that data and resources are protected from threats.
• Implementation: Employ tools like OWASP ZAP or Burp Suite to scan for vulnerabilities. Conduct penetration tests, simulate attacks (e.g., SQL injection, XSS), and assess authentication and authorization mechanisms.

Compatibility Testing

• Purpose: To confirm that the software operates as expected across various environments, devices, browsers, and configurations.
• Implementation: Test the software on different devices (mobile, desktop), operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux), browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari), and screen resolutions. Tools like BrowserStack or Sauce Labs can be used for comprehensive compatibility testing.

Reliability Testing

• Purpose: To ensure that the software is dependable, stable, and operates without failures over time.
• Implementation: Monitor the application for long durations under consistent load, identify and track system failures, and measure the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). Recovery procedures after crashes should also be tested.

Connection

• Purpose: It aims to ensure that connections (often network connections) are established smoothly and maintained under different scenarios, ensuring the software communicates effectively with other systems, databases, or services.
• Implementation: Identify various connection points (like API endpoints, database connections) and simulate different conditions such as interrupted connectivity, slow connections, or sudden surges in connection requests. Tools such as Wireshark or Charles can help monitor and simulate network conditions.