The software world is huge, and it consists of a lot of opportunities that businesses can use for their applications. Testing quite simply is the backbone of every project. The process of the STLC (Software testing life-cycle) Is a series of well-defined activities that can be used for a fundamental and successful application process to ensure its quality. Furthermore, every step involved in the testing procedure has different goals and deliverables at the end of its phase. It simply means that testing is a method that formalises the testing process in a good manner. Right from planning to deploying to maintenance, software testing technologies involve a lot of different stages. When faced with the task of producing high-quality software that meets the clients’ expectations, timeframes and cost estimation, understanding the procedure of this development cycle becomes crucial. 

What are Software Testing and its phases? 

With everything that we do, there needs to be a certain testing methodology for the stability of the product. The development itself is a word that describes that a certain period is to be allotted for the testing procedure or for anything to happen easily. Which software testing employing a poor testing methodology will only result in negative outcomes and unstable products. Software testing is a procedure that helps to solve complex functionalities of varying sizes and scales and solve any pitfall that can occur. To ensure the success of particular software, it is important to understand the fundamentals and the basics of the phases. 

What are the 5 important Phases – 

Every project has a start, middle and end, and all these need the same kind of attention, importance and testing techniques. They might be different in some way, but all of these matter from end to end. It means that a company must develop a set of testing techniques that must be incorporated without any chance of success. Right from testing very small pieces of code to testing the whole application, phases can help. And, we are here to tell you exactly why –

1. Unit Testing – In computer programming, unit testing is a very common term used by software developers and a very regular basis. A unit test tests the small pieces of code that can be logically located in a system. It means that unit testing involves the bifurcation of the several components that exist in your software and checking each component in a very minute form to understand the crux of the software. It means that it is a software testing method by which individual units of source code are tested with controlled data, usability procedures, and operating procedures to determine whether they are fit for use. 
2. Integration Testing – It is the testing procedure that determines the safety of the application. It is executed to identify bugs in the interface and the interactions between two software units or modules. Sometimes also called integration or I&T, This testing phase involves individual software modules that are combined and tested in a group with specific functional requirements through the compliance of a system. It focuses on the units or individual components tested in a group at the time of integration between integrated components. In simpler terms, it determines the correctness of the interface by exposing faults in different units. 
3. Functional Testing – Performed by the best QA developers and testers, this type of testing in the world writes scripts to validate the small units of the application. The name itself explains that the app determines the working and functionality of the application. It is a software testing system in which components are tested against the functional requirements and specifications by comparing the actual output with the expected output. Here, providing appropriate text input by a black box testing bass helps examine the output and the internal program structure. Functional test processes are designed to ensure that a piece of code a software operation is verified for its proper working. It ensures that the customer or the end-user is satisfied and all the requirements are met for defect-free software. 
4. Regression testing – Regression testing is the procedure that involves re-running functional and non-functional tests in the existing software applications to make sure that a change or addition in the codes hasn’t affected the existing functionality of the app. Regression testing is a type that involves test cases that are executed in a manner that is not impacting the existing codes. It is a type of black-box testing technique that avoids any changes or sprints taken into account. It also helps improve the quality of the application code through the updates at the release point. Undoubtedly, coding is impacted by the code changes; however, verification with the changes in the codebase does not impact the existing software. 
5. Acceptance Testing – Apart from the engineering subdisciplines, acceptance testing is an automated qa testing software method where tests are conducted to determine the requirements of a specification for better acceptability. It is a type of black box system that performs real-time scenarios to verify and meet all the specifications in the stages of product development. It is a system that helps determine the user requirements through a confirmed set and procedure that is the final level of software testing. After all the testing are performed on the application, acceptance testing is the functional trial performed on a product or Prototype as a part of the final activity.

Conclusion 

Every QA and software testing like HikeQA is looking to meet certain requirements, timeframes and cost estimation that can only benefit them in the long run by adopting certain methodologies. These phases and methodologies will help you keep yourself safe and your product safer by avoiding costs or miscellaneous expenses.