
When it comes to software testing, ensuring that the most basic functionalities of an application are working properly before diving into more extensive testing is critical. This is where smoke testing comes in — a concept that every software tester should be familiar with. In this blog, we’ll explore what smoke testing is, its purpose, benefits, and best practices, so you can confidently incorporate it into your software quality assurance (QA) process.
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In simple terms, smoke testing is a type of software testing that focuses on verifying the basic functionality of an application after a build or update. It’s often referred to as a “sanity check” or a “build verification test.” The idea is to quickly check whether the most important parts of the software work properly before more detailed or comprehensive testing is performed.
Smoke testing is usually performed after a new build or version of an application is released to ensure that it doesn’t have any critical issues that would prevent further testing. Think of it as “checking if the software catches fire” after a change — if it does, it’s not ready for more extensive testing. If not, testers can proceed with more detailed checks.
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Basic Functionality Focus: Smoke testing ensures that the core functionality of the software works. For example, in a web application, this might include checking if the website loads, if users can log in, or if critical pages are accessible.
Shallow Testing: Unlike other types of testing, smoke testing doesn’t go deep into any functionality. It’s more of a superficial check to ensure the most critical components are intact.
Quick Feedback: The goal of smoke testing is to provide quick feedback to the development team. The test should be quick enough to run in minutes, giving testers enough time to assess whether a build is worth testing in more detail.
Smoke testing is typically conducted when:
A New Build Is Created: After developers release a new build, the QA team runs smoke tests to confirm that the application doesn’t have any show-stopping issues.
Before Major Testing Phases: After successful smoke tests, the software is considered stable enough to undergo more in-depth testing such as functional, integration, and system testing.
After Significant Code Changes: If there have been major updates or changes to the code, a smoke test helps determine if the core functionality is still working properly.
Manual Smoke Testing: In smaller projects, smoke tests might be manually executed. Testers perform basic checks by navigating through the application and testing key features.
Automated Smoke Testing: For larger projects, smoke tests can be automated. Automated testing tools like Selenium, TestNG, and JUnit can run smoke tests quickly and frequently, helping to reduce testing time significantly.
Quick Identification of Critical Failures: Since smoke tests focus on the core functionalities, they help detect high-priority failures early.
Faster Release Cycles: By catching errors early in the process, smoke testing helps ensure that builds are stable, which speeds up the release cycle.
Increased Confidence for Further Testing: A successful smoke test allows testers to confidently move on to more rigorous testing, knowing that the most crucial functions are working.
Lower Testing Costs: With early identification of critical bugs, the overall cost of testing is reduced, as the QA team doesn’t waste time on builds that are broken.