Sanity testing is a quick and focused set of tests conducted after a new software build or minor code change. The ultimate goal of sanity testing is to verify that the core functionalities are still operational and have not been broken by recent changes. It is like building a house — it would not be complete if the doors would not open, the lights would not turn on or the plumbing did not work.
Sanity testing is like a gatekeeper that ensures that the build is stable enough for further testing. It is a basic health check for your software. It is not designed to uncover every possible bug, but rather to identify any major issues that would prevent further testing from proceeding effectively. Sanity testing saves valuable time and resources down the line by catching critical problems early on.
Here's what sanity testing typically involves:
Running Smoke Tests: Smoke tests are a subset of sanity testing that focus on verifying the most essential functionalities of the software. If these core functionalities fail during smoke testing, the build is typically rejected and no further testing is conducted until the resultant issues are resolved.
Checking Key User Flows: Sanity testing ensures that basic user journeys within the software still function as intended. This might involve logging in, navigating menus and performing simple actions to verify the overall responsiveness and stability of the build.
Regression Checks: While not a full regression test, sanity testing includes basic checks to identify any regressions (new bugs) introduced by the recent code changes. This might involve re-testing functionalities that were previously working correctly to ensure they haven't been unintentionally impacted.
💡 Catch all the regressions before they turn into bugs and crash applications later on. Explore HyperTest now.Sanity testing is a lightweight process, typically conducted by testers or developers themselves. It is designed to be quick and efficient, allowing rapid feedback on the stability of the new build.
Why Sanity Testing?
Sanity testing is as a powerful tool in the software testing process, acting as a quick and efficient check on the health of a new software build. Unlike comprehensive testing procedures, sanity testing focuses on verifying core functionalities and basic user flows. But its importance cannot be underestimated! Sanity testing provides several key benefits:
Early Bug Detection: Sanity testing prevents wasted time and resources on further testing a potentially unstable build by identifying critical issues early on. Imagine spending hours on regression testing only to discover a fundamental login issue — sanity testing helps catch such roadblocks before they derail the entire testing process.
Improved Efficiency: Sanity testing is a lightweight process, often completed by developers or testers themselves. This frees up resources for more in-depth testing efforts to be conducted on stable builds, leading to a more efficient allocation of time and personnel. This also helps reduce associated costs.
Faster Development Cycles: Sanity testing ultimately contributes to faster development cycles by catching major issues early and preventing wasted effort on unstable builds. This allows teams to iterate quickly, incorporate fixes and deliver software features to users at a more rapid pace.
💡 Achieve faster development cycles by catching all the regressions early on in the staging environment only and never let them move to production. Ask us how?Sanity testing is thus a gatekeeper, ensuring only stable and functional builds proceed to further testing stages. This targeted approach streamlines the development process, promotes early bug detection and ultimately paves the way for the delivery of high-quality software products to users!
Features of Sanity Testing
Sanity testing boasts several key features that make it a valuable tool in the software development process:
Quick and Efficient: Sanity testing prioritises speed which is unlike any other comprehensive testing. It utilises a lightweight approach for rapid execution and feedback on the build's stability for further testing decisions.
Targeted Focus: It doesn't aim to cover every aspect of the software. Instead, it focuses on verifying core functionalities and critical user flows, ensuring they haven't been broken by recent code changes. It prioritises in-depth verification of critical functionalities to ensure their stability after code changes.
Unscripted and Agile: Sanity testing thrives on flexibility. Testers use their knowledge to design test cases on the fly, adapting to the specific changes in the new build. Formal scripts are typically not required in this process.
Early Bug Detection: Sanity testing helps identify critical issues early on by focusing on core functionalities. This prevents wasted time and resources on further testing an unstable build.
Subset of Regression Testing: While not a replacement, sanity testing borrows principles from regression testing. It focuses on verifying core functionalities but with a narrower scope, making it a quicker and lighter-weight process.
Build-Specific Focus: Sanity testing is tailored to the specific changes introduced in the new build. The test cases are designed to target the areas potentially impacted by the code modifications, ensuring targeted verification.
Challenges and Solutions of Sanity Testing
While sanity testing offers a valuable safeguard in the software development process, it's not without its challenges. Here's a closer look at the roadblocks you might encounter and potential solutions to overcome them:
Challenge 1: Defining the Scope:
Issue: It is usually tricky to determine the exact scope of functionalities to cover in sanity testing. Testers need to strike a balance between verifying enough to ensure stability and keeping the testing process swift. An overly broad scope can negate the advantage of speed, while a narrow scope might miss critical regressions.
Solution: A documented list of core functionalities considered critical for the software's basic operation should be maintained. This list should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect evolving priorities. Focus sanity testing on these core functionalities and any areas directly impacted by recent code changes.
💡 Cover your application from end-to-end testing all the scenarios, including the edge cases, ask us howChallenge 2: Lack of Automation:
Issue: Sanity testing often relies on manual testing due to its unscripted nature and its focus is on adapting to specific code changes. This can be time-consuming and prone to human error, especially when dealing with repetitive tasks.
Solution: While complete automation might not be feasible, consider automating repetitive tasks like user logins or data entry within the sanity testing process. This frees up tester time for more strategic evaluation of functionalities and reduces the risk of errors from manual repetition. Tools that offer record-and-playback functionalities to capture manual test cases, allowing for some level of reusability should be explored.
Challenge 3: Subjectivity and Bias:
Issue: Since sanity testing often involves testers designing test cases on the fly, there is a risk of subjectivity and bias creeping in. Testers might prioritise functionalities they are more familiar with or overlook edge cases.
Solution: Clear guidelines and checklists for sanity testing should be established to ensure consistency and objectivity. Encourage collaboration among testers to share knowledge and perspectives, involving pair testing to minimise individual biases. Historical bug data should be used to identify areas more prone to regressions and prioritise testing those functionalities during sanity checks.
Challenge 4: Limited Bug Detection:
Issue: Due to its focused nature, sanity testing might not detect all potential bugs, especially those related to non-critical functionalities or complex interactions.
Solution: Sanity testing should not replace more comprehensive testing procedures. It serves as a first line of defence. Sanity testing should be integrated with a testing strategy that includes regression testing, API testing and UI testing to ensure thorough evaluation of the software's functionalities and performance.
Sanity testing offers a quick and efficient way to assess a build's stability. You can use the power of sanity testing while minimising its limitations by understanding the challenges involved and implementing the solutions outlined above. This ensures a smooth development process, early detection of critical issues and ultimately, the delivery of high-quality software.
Advantages Of Sanity Testing
Ensuring quality after every code change is imperative. While comprehensive testing procedures are essential, they can be time-consuming. Here's where sanity testing is a champion, offering a swift and efficient quality check for new software builds. Sanity testing boasts a range of advantages that contribute to a smoother development lifecycle:
Early Bug Detection: Sanity testing is a vigilant gatekeeper, identifying bugs early in the development cycle. This prevents wasted time and resources on further testing an unstable build. By catching regressions (reintroduced bugs) early on, sanity testing allows developers to address issues promptly thus minimising their impact on the development timeline.
Improved Efficiency: Sanity testing follows a streamlined approach. It typically involves testers or developers themselves using their knowledge of the application to design test cases. This eliminates the need for lengthy script creation associated with other more comprehensive testing procedures. The quick execution and feedback cycle of sanity testing allows teams to make informed decisions about build stability and allocate resources for further testing more effectively.
Faster Development Cycles: Sanity testing ultimately contributes to faster development cycles by identifying issues early and preventing wasted effort on unstable builds. Imagine a scenario where a critical bug delays a major feature release. Sanity testing helps teams to iterate quickly, incorporate fixes and deliver software features at a more rapid pace. This translates to quicker time-to-market and increased user satisfaction.
Reduced Risk of Release Issues: Software releases riddled with bugs can be disastrous for user experience and brand reputation. Sanity testing acts as a safety net, greatly reducing the risk of major issues slipping through the cracks and reaching production. Sanity testing provides a level of confidence before deploying the software to a wider audience by ensuring core functionalities are operational after code changes.
Cost-Effectiveness: Sanity testing is a relatively lightweight process compared to comprehensive testing procedures. The reduced time investment associated with sanity testing translates to cost savings in the long run. Sanity testing helps reduce the re-work required to fix issues, by preventing bugs from reaching later stages of development, thus reducing development costs.
Disadvantages of Sanity Testing
We have already explored the challenges associated with sanity testing, but its limitations extend beyond execution hurdles. Here's a closer look at some inherent drawbacks to consider:
Limited Scope: Sanity testing focuses on core functionalities. While this ensures stability, it might miss bugs lurking in less important areas or complex interactions. This necessitates following up with more comprehensive testing procedures to guarantee thorough evaluation.
False Sense of Security: A successful sanity test is no guarantee for a bug-free application. Its limited scope can create a false sense of security, thereby leading to overlooking critical issues that might surface during more rigorous testing stages.
💡 We caught 8M+ regressions for our clients in the year 2023 and helped their operations to run smoothly, unaffected by those regressions. Look at the industry-specific data hereReliance on Tester Expertise: The effectiveness of sanity testing hinges on the tester's knowledge and experience. Inexperienced testers might struggle to identify the most impactful areas to focus on, potentially missing key functionalities or edge cases during the testing process.
Documentation Overhead: While not as extensive as formal test scripts, maintaining clear documentation of functionalities tested during sanity checks is important. This ensures consistency and facilitates knowledge sharing among testers, but it adds an overhead compared to entirely unscripted testing approaches.
Sanity Testing Tools
Sanity testing, with its focus on core functionalities and rapid execution, plays a vital role in the development process. But manual testing for sanity checks can be time-consuming. Here's where sanity testing tools are valuable allies, offering automation, improved efficiency and a more streamlined approach:
1. Selenium - Sanity Testing Tool:
While primarily known for web application automation, Selenium can be used for sanity testing. Scripting user interactions allows for simulating user flows and verifying core functionalities.
2. LoadRunner (Micro Focus)- Sanity Testing Tool:
This tool can be used for basic sanity checks in addition to its comprehensive load testing capabilities. It allows for simulating user logins and basic functionalities to assess build stability.
3. SoapUI (SmartBear)- Sanity Testing Tool:
SoapUI facilitates creating and executing automated sanity tests for projects heavily reliant on web services. It verifies basic functionalities of web services, ensuring they function as expected after code changes.
Conclusion
We can now safely say that sanity testing is a valuable and nuanced process in the software development lifecycle. While it boasts advantages, its limitations necessitate pairing it with more comprehensive testing procedures. Challenges can be mitigated through clear guidelines and the strategic use of sanity testing tools.
We at HyperTest helps development teams to streamline development, catch issues early and ultimately deliver high-quality software. For more information on HyperTest, visit our website now!
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