Software Testing - Independent Testing

Software testing is conducted by the internal teams, external teams, and independent groups of testers. The internal team is responsible for development and testing of the software, the external team refers to the testers from the clients side, and the independent team refers to an independent agency or a certain individual.

What is Software Independent Testing?

Software independent testing is a group of tests conducted by a particular independent cooperation, individual, or an agency to check if the software is working as intended. The term independent is used since the testing is carried out neither from someone from the development or from the customer end.

The independent testing is performed either from the government side, or from some organization, or in a self-sustaining laboratory. It can be adopted for testing web, and mobile applications. Sometimes, the independent testing is also performed by a third party team, which is known as the evaluation facilities or contrast testing.

Purpose of Software Independent Testing

The purpose of the software independent testing are listed below −

• The software independent testing is performed to check if it is working as per the end users requirements, and is able to provide solutions to the customers needs.
• The software independent testing is done to verify whether the software is working under all the expected conditions. It detects errors which can affect the softwares performance, stability, reliability, security etc.
• The software independent testing improves the overall quality, and improvement of the software.
• Software independent testing is an integral part of software quality assurance which helps to identify defects at the early stages of the software development life cycle(SDLC).
• The software independent testing helps to build an environment of trust, confidence and faith of the customer on the software.

Features of Software Independent Testing

The features of the software independent testing are listed below −

• The software independent testing adds to the overall quality, and effectiveness of the testing process. It does not incur additional costs, or cause delay in the development. It is useful in detecting defects which may be missed by the testers from the internal and external team.
• The software independent testing determines how the software can cope with the market demands, and respond to the competition.
• The software independent testing does not require the additional cost of setting up the hardware and software. Sometimes, automation is applied during this testing phase to manage time and cost.
• The software independent testing is conducted by experienced and skillful individuals who are experts in this field, so that it can be completed in a very short time without delaying the release of the software to the market.

Levels of Independent Testing

The levels of the independent testing are listed below −

• The testing is conducted by the developer who has actually developed the software code.
• The testing is conducted by another developer who is from a different team.
• The testing is conducted by testers along with the developers.
• The testing is conducted by another independent test team from a different department under the same organization.
• The testing is conducted by some independent testers from the other organizations.

Advantages of Software Independent Testing

The advantages of the software independent testing are listed below −

• The software independent testing detects more defects than the testers belonging to the same development team.
• The software independent testers are unbiased, and they are driven by more distinct assumptions, and hence capable of detecting more errors, or defects in the software.
• The software independent testers are impartial.
• The software independent testing is economic, and has a budget allocated for the training, tools, resources etc needed to complete it.
• The software independent testing works towards improving the software quality.
• The software independent testing is conducted by knowledgeable and expert testers.
• The software independent testing can be conducted either manually or by automation.
• The software independent testing does not take much time for completion before releasing the software to the market as it is carried by proficient independent testers who also have automation skills as well.

Disadvantages of Software Independent Testing

The disadvantages of the software independent testing are listed below −

• The software independent testing is conducted at the later stages, and hence largely impacted by the delay in the development at the early stages of the SDLC.
• In software independent testing, the developers are not involved and all issues, or problems faced by the independent testers have to be solved by themselves without any assistance.
• Occasionally, in the software independent testing, the communication is not handled properly.
• The software independent testers are not aware of the project goals and objectives.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Independent Testing. Weve started with describing what is software independent testing, what is the purpose of the software independent testing, what are the features of the software independent testing, what are the levels of the independent testing, what are the advantages of software independent testing, and what are the disadvantages of software independent testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Independent Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what youve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.