The performance of your web or mobile application means everything. That may sound overly simplistic, but it is the ultimate truth within the testing industry. Every testing team is in pursuit of an app that operates and performs seamlessly and without issue.
The types of testing you put your app through directly correlates to how well it functions; the more rigorous and intentional the testing strategy, the better. Among the multitude of testing methods — including types such as regression testing, scenario testing, and IP spoofing — dynamic testing can be an incredibly helpful tool to ensure your app functions the way it should.
In this blog, we will discuss what dynamic testing is, types of dynamic testing, dynamic testing methods, and the advantages and disadvantages in deploying this type of testing within your test strategy.
What is Dynamic Testing?
Dynamic testing is a type of testing that analyzes the dynamic behavior of code within software. It is used to test against variables that are not constant or change sporadically to ensure software functionality and identify performance issues.
During instances like peak web traffic events, dynamic testing helps ensure an application’s functionality operates as desired and without faults after installation. These tests can be manually run or implemented into an automated testing process, often integrated within CI/CD pipelines such as the Perfecto Bitrise integration for mobile automation.
When implementing dynamic testing, there are a few things that need to be taken into account:
- Code Execution — The application’s code needs to be compiled and should be error-free before being run on the test environment.
- Test Execution — Test cases should be prepared in the early stages of dynamic testing. Identify the features that need to be tested and then execute them within the test environment.
- Test Input —Leverage input based on end-user specifications to execute the code.
- Observation — Review the dynamic test output and compare it with the expected output. The difference in the two (or lack thereof) will determine the behavior of the system. Matching outputs means a passed test; outputs that don’t match should be considered a failed test and should be reported as a bug.
Related Reading: Test Smarter, Not Harder: A Guide to Efficient Testing
Types of Dynamic Testing
Dynamic testing can come in a variety of forms. The type you choose to implement into your testing strategy will largely be based on your testing objectives and priorities. Below are the different types of dynamic testing at your disposal.
Functional Testing
Simply put, the functionality of your application is important. Using functional testing analyzes how it functions based on the requirement specifications. Every module of your app should be tested by giving an input and an assumed output to compare the expected result with the actual result. You can divvy up functional testing a few ways:
- Integration Testing — Ensures each component works together and interacts well together by integrating any number of components to test data flow.
- Unit Testing — Validates every software module while testing code accuracy. Ensures every component can operate independently.
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT) — Performed just prior to application release to ensure the system meets real-user conditions and business specifications.
- System Testing — Also known as end-to-end testing. Tests the entire system top to bottom to check all features and functions meet requirements.
Non-Functional Testing
Here we check the engine that drives your application. Non-functional testing ensures the software meets end-user requirements. This means analyzing the app’s performance, usability, maintainability, and effectiveness.
- Performance Testing — An essential form of testing that determines how your app performs under varying conditions. The most effective methods of simulating these conditions are load testing, stress testing, and speed testing.
- Usability Testing — Checks the ease-of-use of your app for the end user.
- Security Testing — Identifies potential vulnerabilities to the system. This testing is vital to ensure your app is protected from malware attacks, data leaks, or unauthorized access.
Methods of Dynamic Testing
When it comes to dynamic testing, there are three approaches you can take based on your testing sensibilities and preferences.
Black Box Testing
This method has engineers test the application against pre-determined requirements and specifications. No knowledge of internal code implementation is required — meaning programming knowledge is not necessary.
Black box testing does not require testers to know about internal structures; it improves the objective nature of the test because the tester will use an input in a certain test case and check its functionality to determine if it provides the expected output or not.
White Box Testing
As you might guess, white box testing is the opposite of black box testing in that it does require coding knowledge of the tester. This is because white box testing must test internal coding implementation for the systems. These tests must examine code line-by-line to identify any errors. Since input and output are already known, these test cases are made from the source code.
Gray Box Testing
What do you get when you mix white box and black box testing? Gray box testing! This method of dynamic testing is thus named because it is a combination of the aforementioned white and black box testing; testers will need to perform both types of tests. That means testers know the internal code (at least partially).
Related Reading: A Guide to Solving the Toughest Mobile Testing Challenges
Dynamic Testing Advantages
Establish System Confidence
Dynamic testing examines functionality across the board for your app, and doing so ensures your app is working properly. The quality of the software is increased due to improved communication between app components.
Early Defect Detection
Because dynamic testing should be conducted early (and often) in the development stage, it greatly helps identify any potential defects without wasted time further down the process.
System Performance Identification
Employing dynamic testing and its non-functional components, you inherently analyze the system’s performance. This examines your app’s speed, response, stress, and loading time under a wide range of real-world conditions.
Dynamic Testing Disadvantages
Prerequisite Skills
The testers on the team are going to need in-depth coding knowledge that includes unit and integration testing. That isn’t always the easiest (or most cost-effective) resource to come by.
Costly
Because dynamic testing occurs after coding, potential fixes and reworks to the code can prove to be expensive if done further down the line.
Time-Consuming
Dynamic testing requires numerous resources. With establishing test cases being chief among them, dynamic testing does have the potential to take up a lot of time.
Bottom Line
Dynamic testing is an impactful, multi-faceted approach to testing your web or mobile application. It goes a long way in instilling confidence as the release to your app approaches by ensuring functionality and identifying any potential errors or defects. This is particularly important in today’s mobile-driven digital shift, where applications must perform reliably across countless devices and platforms.
The best way you can get the most out of your dynamic testing is using Perfecto’s cloud lab that offers the industry’s largest and fastest device cloud that contains every device you could ever want to test on. Execute more than ten thousand tests a day while increasing device coverage, reduce operational costs, and leverage reliable test environments.
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