7 Types of Regression Testing Methods You Should Know

It is common for organizations to introduce minor modifications from time to time in their products.

However, adding these changes affect the application in many ways such as its functionality, performance, bugs, etc.

Therefore, it is essential to keep the testing method on whether the software is present in the market or a small change has been included. Performing this type of testing is known as regression testing.

What is Regression Testing?

Regression testing is a method that is carried out by performing units of code repeatedly so as to assure that the constant code modifications are not affecting the system’s functionality.

These modifications can be performed in various forms such as bug fixes, functionality, integrations, patches, etc.

While, there are various software developers who strongly think that there is no requirement to retest a product unless there are some difficulties appearing in its functionality, but that does not hold true in all cases.

Performing regression testing can act as a true blessing as there are no possibilities of facing unexpected surprises.

Benefits of Regression Testing

While the basic aim behind performing regression testing is to recognize defects that might have got developed due to the changes added, performing this test benefits in plenty of ways such as:

• Improve chances of discovering bugs caused due to new changes added in the software
• Helps in recognizing undesirable side effects that might have been produced due to a new operating environment
• Assures better performing software due to early identification of defects and errors
• Extremely beneficial in situations when continuous changes are added in the product
• Helps in managing high product quality

Types of Regression Testing

There are a number of methods by which this testing can be performed. However, this depends on factors such as the kind of changes added, bugs fixed, etc.

Some of the popular types of regression testing incorporate:

1) Corrective Regression Testing:

This kind of testing is practiced when there are no changes introduced in the product’s specification. Moreover, the already existing test cases can be easily reused to perform the desired test.

2) Retest-all Regression Testing:

This kind of testing is very tedious and seems to waste a lot of time. The approach includes the testing of all phases of a particular product as well as reusing all test cases even where the alterations/modifications have not been done.

This type of testing is not at all fit when there is a small change, that has been included in the existing product.

3) Selective Regression Testing:

It is performed to analyze the impact of new code appended to the already existing code of the software.

When this kind of regression testing is performed, a subset from the existing test cases is used, to decrease the effort needed for retesting and the cost involved.

For instance, a test unit is a re-run in case there is some change included in the program entities such as functions and variables.

4)Progressive Regression Testing:

This type of regression testing works efficiently when there are several changes done in the program specifications as well as new test cases are created.

Conducting this testing helps in assuring that, there are no features that exist in the previous version that has been jeopardized in the new and updated version.

5) Complete Regression Testing:

Complete regression testing is the best to be practiced in case there are many changes that have been made to the already existing code.

Moreover, this type of testing is particularly used when the new change has a certain impact on the source code of the software.

Performing this type of testing is highly beneficial to recognize unexpected issues.

Once this testing is completed, the final system can be made available to the user.

6) Partial Regression Testing

Partial regression testing is performed to test issues when new codes are appended to already existing code.

The idea behind partial regression testing is to ensure that a system is functioning as it is supposed to be after the addition of new code.

7) Unit Regression Testing

It’s the most essential part of unit testing. Mostly done in isolation, mainly focused on code unit, and all the dependencies and communications are will be blocked at the time of the test.

It is necessary to ensure that the type of regression testing that requires to be conducted is chosen appropriately.

This depends on several factors such as areas of recurrent errors, the criticality of the features, etc.

But, what remains on the priority is assuring that the software passes the best functionality and proves to be a beneficial addition to the industry.

Challenges of Regression Testing

Regression testing forms a critical phase of STLC but brings along various challenges for the testers.

• Takes a lot of time: it is time-consuming, it needs rerunning a full set of test case again for a complete or some special set of code.
• Complex: Updates make your code more difficult, they even improve the set of test cases for regression testing.
• Communicating Business Value: Regression testing assures that updates bring no defects in the existing code.  But considering the time exercised to complete regression testing, it becomes difficult to make non-technical clients know the value of regression testing.

How to Perform Regression Testing?

The scope of this testing keeps growing with the addition of new functionalities and changes in the code.

Keeping in the mind the scope of regression testing testers prefer to employ automated tools for regression testing. But you can also conduct it manually.

Steps to follow while conducting this testing.

• Remembering the above discussion–“How to choose test cases”, make a test suit for your regression testing.
• You can decide to automate these test cases.
• Keep updating your regression test suit, as and when needed.
• Execute regression test suit, whenever there is any code modification, bug discovery, functionality update, or whenever a circumstance occurs to retest your code.
• Create a test report with the proper status reporting.

Also Read: Significance Of Regression Testing In The Agile Development

Wrapping up

Software regression testing is the core aspect to enhance the ultimate quality of the application and ensuring that the user experience is at its best. The appropriate regression testing tools further append significant value in recognizing the errors early on and making the pipeline fruitful. Therefore the more established your regression test plan is the more structured are your costs, error mitigation, and processing.

Looking for regression testing services then connect with TestUnity. Our dynamic team speeds up your regression test process with manual and automated regression testing methods.

TestUnity

Testunity is a SaaS-based technology platform driven by a vast community of testers & QAs spread around the world, powered by technology & testing experts to create the dedicated testing hub. Which is capable of providing almost all kind of testing services for almost all the platforms exists in software word.