Sanity Testing Complete Tutorial

Learn everything about sanity testing, its advantages, disadvantages, tools and why is sanity testing important in this guide.

Sanity testing, also known as smoke testing, is a type of software testing that focuses on testing the most critical or essential functionalities of software to ensure that they are working as intended.

It is a preliminary round of testing that aims to quickly check the software’s basic functionalities, identify any critical defects or errors, and decide whether further testing is required.

Sanity testing is especially useful in agile development environments where software is continuously updated and released in short cycles.

In this article, we will delve deeper into what sanity testing is, its importance, how it differs from other types of testing, and some best practices for conducting effective sanity testing.

What is Sanity Testing?

Sanity testing is a type of software testing that is performed to verify that a small change or modification in the code or functionality of a software application has not adversely affected the rest of the application.

Sanity testing is a quick check that is conducted to ensure that the basic functionality of the software is working as expected and that the recent changes have not introduced any new defects.

Sanity testing is usually performed after a small change or bug fix has been made to the software. It is a fast and lightweight testing technique that is used to confirm that the basic functionality of the software is still working as expected and that the change or modification has not caused any major issues.

Sanity testing is typically limited in scope and focuses on testing the most important and critical functions of the software.

It is not as comprehensive as other types of testing such as regression testing, which aims to test the entire application.

Sanity testing is usually performed by testers or developers who are familiar with the software and can quickly identify any issues with the recent changes.

Sanity Testing: Tools

There are several tools that can be used to perform sanity testing of software applications. Some common tools include:

1. Manual testing: This involves manually testing the software by executing test cases and verifying the results.
2. Automated testing tools: These tools allow you to automate the testing process by running test scripts that can be executed repeatedly. Some popular automated testing tools include Selenium, HP Quality Center, and TestComplete.
3. Testing frameworks: These are libraries or frameworks that provide a set of tools and functions for testing software applications. Examples include JUnit for Java, NUnit for .NET, and PyTest for Python.
4. Test management tools: These tools allow you to organize and manage your testing activities, including creating and executing test cases, tracking defects, and generating reports. Examples include TestLink, Zephyr, and TestRail.
5. Defect tracking tools: These tools allow you to track and manage defects or issues that are discovered during testing. Examples include JIRA, Bugzilla, and Mantis.

Why is Sanity Testing Important?

Sanity testing is a type of software testing that is used to verify that a software system is functioning as expected, and to ensure that the system is not completely broken after a change has been made.

It is typically performed after a small change has been made to the system, such as the introduction of a new feature or the fixing of a bug.

Sanity testing is a quick and basic test that is used to verify that the system is functioning correctly and is not completely broken.

It is not a thorough or comprehensive test, but rather a quick check to ensure that the system is stable and that any changes that have been made have not caused any major issues.

Sanity testing is an important step in the software development process because it helps to identify any major issues or regressions in the system early on, before more extensive testing is performed.

By catching issues early, sanity testing helps to save time and resources that would otherwise be spent on more extensive testing and debugging.

Sanity Testing: Advantages

There are several advantages to performing sanity testing as part of the software development process:

1. It is a quick and efficient way to verify that the system is functioning as expected after a change has been made.
2. It helps to catch major issues or regressions early on, before more extensive testing is performed.
3. It helps to save time and resources by identifying issues early in the development process.
4. It helps to ensure that the system is stable and ready for further testing.
5. It helps to improve the overall quality of the software by identifying and fixing issues early on in the development process.
6. It helps to reduce the risk of introducing new issues or regressions into the system.
7. It helps to improve the confidence of the development team in the stability and quality of the system.

Sanity Testing: Disadvantages

There are a few potential disadvantages to using sanity testing as part of the software development process:

1. It is not a comprehensive test, and as such, it may not identify all issues or defects in the system.
2. It may not be sufficient to uncover all regressions or issues introduced by a change to the system.
3. It may not be effective at identifying issues that do not have a significant impact on the overall functionality of the system.
4. It may not be suitable for identifying issues in complex or highly interconnected systems.
5. It may not be sufficient to ensure that the system is ready for deployment or release.
6. It may not provide enough information to determine the root cause of an issue or defect.