Software Testing - Destructive Testing

---

---

Software Testing is done to enhance the overall quality of the software. The destructive testing is a testing technique where the software is made to fail intentionally to check its stability, and to identify the various points of failure in the software.

What is Software Destructive Testing?

The software destructive testing also known as software bebugging is done to test its stability, performance, robustness, compatibility, security etc. It helps to know about the undesirable, uncertain, and unusual user characteristics within the software.

In the software destructive testing, a group of predefined failure tests are executed to analyze the characteristics of them under multiple loads. The destructive test cases can be easily executed, and understandable. This type of testing is specially adopted in industries which deal with mass production, where the cost incurred while destroying a nominal number of samples is trivial. It is not an economic form of testing where a very less number of items are actually created, for example construction of a house.

The entire process of destructive testing is recorded on a high speed camera till the time abnormalities are observed. They can be identified using a sound detector or a barometer which would generate a signal in case of errors on those high speed cameras. The whole process of destructive testing can be conducted even without the knowledge of the software requirements, however if the tester is aware of them, it will allow him to plan better before actually performing.

Importances of Software Destructive Testing

The importances of the software destructive testing are listed below −

• The destructive testing is done to detect security threats for the software by simulating various attack use cases. Thus the developers work on improving the overall security of the software.
• The destructive testing is conducted to check if the software is built as per the standards, and regulations.
• The destructive testing detects all kinds of errors in the software by exposing it to severe conditions and incorrect inputs.
• The destructive testing builds the user's confidence, and trust in the software.
• The destructive testing identifies defects early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), thereby reducing the chances of them occurring at the later stages, when it is more costly to fix.

Outputs of the Software Destructive Testing

The outputs of the software destructive testing are listed below −

• It determines the correct behavior of the software.
• It determines the incorrect behavior of the software.
• It identifies the unacceptable usage of the software.
• It gets all kinds of inappropriate input data.
• It detects all sets of correct outputs generated by the software.

Software Destructive Tests Reviewed

The software destructive test cases can be reviewed by following the processes listed below −

Failure Point Analysis

This method can be applied with the help of the business analysts and is used to evaluate the errors that occur at various stages.

Peer Review

This method can be applied with the help of another tester in the same team who evaluates the test cases, and then reviews them.

Business Review

This method can be applied with the help of the customers who have a very different perspective on the usage of the software.

Exploratory Testing

This is done to get an idea of the items to be tested, tests which are repeated, and test coverage.

Methods of Software Destructive Testing

The methods of software destructive testing are listed below −

• Mutation testing
• Load Testing
• Security Testing
• Stress Testing
• Fault Injection Testing
• Fuzz Testing

Techniques of Software Destructive Testing

The techniques of software destructive testing are listed below −

White Box Testing

White Box Testing is a kind of testing in which the interiors of the code are checked to evaluate how the software behaves in various circumstances.

Security Testing

Security Testing is a kind of testing in which the software is verified against all kinds of security threats.

Defect Testing

Defect Testing is a kind of testing in which first new errors are introduced in the software. Then its behavior is evaluated.

Smoke Testing

Smoke Testing is a kind of testing in which all the important functionalities of the software are verified.

Advantages of Software Destructive Testing

The advantages of the software destructive testing are listed below −

• The software destructive testing detects the fragility of the software under unusual circumstances.
• The software destructive testing enhances the overall quality of the software.
• The software destructive testing identifies the potential risks in the software.
• The software destructive testing builds customer confidence, satisfaction, and trust, and earns good feedback from them.
• The software destructive testing reduces cost by detecting errors in the early stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

Disadvantages of Software Destructive Testing

The disadvantages of the software destructive testing are listed below −

• The software destructive testing sometimes causes severe destruction to the software or its parts, resulting in increasing the cost of repair, and delay in the production deployment.
• The software destructive testing may require the use of specialized tools which are costly to acquire.
• The software destructive testing is not sufficient to cover all the possible scenarios, and use cases.
• The software destructive testing does not always cover real life scenarios, and use cases.
• The software destructive testing can not be applied for all kinds of software.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Destructive Testing. We’ve started with describing what is a software destructive testing, what are the importances of the software destructive testing, what are the outputs of the software destructive testing, how are the software destructive tests reviewed, what are the methods of the software destructive testing, what are the techniques of the software destructive testing, what are the advantages of software destructive testing, and what are the disadvantages of software destructive testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Destructive Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.