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02/08/2022

Software Integration Testing Systems: Types and How to Perform Them

Q: Can you provide an example of software integration testing in simple words?

Sure :) Let’s take a simple video-streaming app as an example. It has the following features: Signup/login, Subscription plans, and the Streaming video page. After downloading the app, a user sees the signup/login forms to enter their data. Once the authorization is completed, the list of subscription plans is automatically shown. A user should only select a plan, complete the online payment, and enjoy watching video content. But various hidden bugs and errors may occur. Any of them creates a barrier for a user to pay for a subscription. Thus, even the smallest fault may lead to losses for the company. Integration testing is essential to identify and fix such errors to let users enjoy the content.

February 8, 2022
QA & testing
Zmitser Hryhoryeu

There are several integration testing strategies in software testing requiring your attention. Usually, a software product consists of several such modules…

Software Integration Testing Systems

There are several integration testing strategies in software testing requiring your attention. Usually, a software product consists of several such modules built by different developers. The idea of software integration testing is to identify bugs in the interaction between these software elements and is primarily aimed at checking the data exchange between these modules themselves.

From this article, you will learn:

✔️ Peculiarities of integration checking;
✔️ What types of software integration testing are usually involved;
✔️ The pros and cons of the most widely used testing methods;
✔️ Non-obvious traps in integration testing.

Why Should Integration Testing in Software Development be Done?

Every single unit should undergo certain stages of testing, but despite this, defects can remain for several reasons. Here are some benefits of software integration testing:

✔️ Taking into account that various modules are usually built by different specialists, their programming logic and the vision, in general, may differ;
✔️ Improper exception processing can cause problems;
✔️ Interfaces of program modules and the database can contain errors.

Thus, integration testing in software testing plays a huge role. Keep reading to learn about the types and methods of this QA check.

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What Benefits Do Businesses Gain from Integration Testing?

The distinguishing feature of integration testing is focusing mainly on interfaces and data flow between modules. But this is not the only advantage. Below are the main disadvantages of testing app units as a whole.

Enhancing the code coverage

With the growth of a project, it is getting quite challenging to identify untested functions, although such a necessity arises regularly. Integration testing enables covering more code and improving the reliability of performed tests.

Identifying system-level issues

It allows us to make sure that all integrated modules work as intended. Besides, it detects errors connected with the interface between the components.

Simplifying further integration

This type of testing helps various modules to interact with 3rd-party tools and API. As a result, further integration causes fewer challenges.

Speeding up the development process

The tester has an opportunity to perform tests once the units are available. This considerably spates time and makes it possible to launch an app sooner.

Best Types of Integration Testing Systems for Software

Integration testing is recommended before carrying out system tests, since integration issues are usually related to the architecture, and fixing them at late application development stages can bear significant expenses in the future. Here are the most widely used types of integration testing in software.

Big bang method

The essence of this approach lies in integrating all available units and testing them all together.

Such a strategy has the following advantages:

✔️ One of the best solutions for small systems;
✔️ This strategy has been used for numerous apps and proved its efficiency.

At the same time, the big bang approach is not applicable for any software due to several reasons:

✔️ Some errors, especially in larger systems, can be missed;
✔️ As this approach needs the availability of all units, the test can be started only after developing every single module;
✔️ Integration testing time often depends on the acceptance test;
✔️ Risky modules are not subjected to additional testing;
✔️ Peripherals related to the modules cannot be tested independently.

Top-down strategy

This is an incremental method that involves testing in the direction of high-level units to low-level ones. Modules undergo testing one by one and then are integrated for final checking the app’s functionality.

Pros of top-down testing:

✔️ Detecting and localizing bugs cause fewer challenges;
✔️ It becomes possible to get an early prototype;
✔️ Critical modules are given priority;
✔️ Design flaws can be fixed first.

Cons of top-down strategy:

✔️ Checking low-level components may take more time. This causes delays in providing test results or some gaps in the testing;
✔️ Too many stabs involved may complicate the process.

Bottom-up approach

The code examination of this type is conducted in the opposite direction. First, low-level components have to be checked, and then it goes to high-level ones.

Among the advantages of this method, the following points should be highlighted:

✔️ There are fewer challenges associated with finding and localizing faults;
✔️ Troubleshooting requires less time and effort.

Meanwhile, there are still some issues:

✔️ Critical components can be tested only at late stages. Fixing them may require extra time;
✔️ This is not the best choice for software containing a lot of low-level modules and/or you need an early prototype.

Hybrid strategy

This method combines the two mentioned above approaches. The main idea is, to begin with, the middle layer and conduct tests in both directions: upwards and downwards. Hybrid integration involves drivers and stubs. The hybrid method is a popular choice for large projects and long-term apps, but it is quite costly.

What You Should Also Know About Integration Testing

It is not enough just to employ software integration testing methods to make the most of this stage. The following aspects are essential:

✔️ Determining the scope of work to choose the right strategy for integration tests. The main thing is to make sure that the strategy covers the entire application;
✔️ Carefully checking the software architecture to determine critical modules that require special attention;
✔️ Any received test data should not be ignored. It is always necessary to report even the slightest issues for their further solving;
✔️ The option to communicate with the software developers is often required when carrying out Integration testing. This helps to get a more accurate understanding of the interfaces and peculiarities of the application.

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How to Properly Perform Software Integration Testing

Basic stages of integration testing include:

✔️ Creating the testing plan is a detailed guide for testers;
✔️ Formulating test data and building test cases using the specified tools;
✔️ Implementing scripts for launching test cases;
✔️ Carrying out test cases and fixing errors;
✔️ Repeating the test cycle until successful integration.

The procedure of integration testing differs insignificantly from the process of checking each component separately. Before starting the process, a list of all app components should be prepared.

The result may look as follows:

✔️ rendering logic;
✔️ database;
✔️ the display of content;
✔️ authentication mechanism;
✔️ language, etc.

Components that you probably cannot control also should be introduced. Next, being guided by the user-oriented approach to security and integration testing after finding weak points of the app, it becomes possible to solve the detected issues in the shortest time.

Most Important Integration Testing Tools

As a rule, a quality assurance team uses various software integration testing types simultaneously with the building process, this is the most efficient way that considerably saves time and helps to avoid added bugs. After each separate unit has been built and tested, the inspection of different modules conjunctions starts. Integration tests may be conducted manually or with the help of a specific tool. But to automate the tests, the following services are usually used.

Selenium

This is a tool and portable automated web application testing software. The platform supports multiple languages, including Python, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, and enables us to run tests with different hybrid data.

AssertJ

AssertJ-core and many related open-source libraries and tools allow working with assertions on typed objects in a flexible way. AssertJ has a lot of features, it is easy to transfer the project to it, there are plugins for generating assertions by class, and there is also allure integration.

Pytest

Pytest is the top environment for Python. Using this software, it is easy to carry out small tests, at the same time, it provides convenient opportunities for scaling up and is perfect for carrying out tests of complex multi-level apps and various libraries.

REST-Assured

This is a popular Java library for testing the REST API. This solution appeared approximately 10 years ago and became popular due to its simplicity and convenient functionality. The platform is especially useful for structure checks, PVDs, and conducting smoke tests.

Mockito

This is a popular framework that is frequently used by quality assurance engineers for writing tests. It is considered to be one of the top frameworks for Java. Besides, this framework has a simple API for being integrated with a long list of tools.

RFT

RFT is a tool for simplifying the making of scripts aimed at the recreation of human testers’ behavior. It supports integration with other software solutions of the developer to enhance the efficiency of tests. Bides simplifying testing scripts, the tool features a storyboard mode, data-driven checking, and easy test scripting.

JUnit

This is another Java-oriented integration testing solution. Another feature that makes this software especially popular is the function of automatically checking the test results and providing immediate feedback. JUnit is usually involved in big test suites for simplifying maintenance.

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Final Thoughts

Integration testing is just the second phase of the full testing cycle, which comes after unit testing. At the same time, the importance of this stage is difficult to overestimate, since, at this stage, the interactions between units of a mobile or web application are tested. The overall performance of software will depend on how to separate modules work together. That is why it is vital to entrust integration testing to a team of professionals.

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FAQ

Can you provide an example of software integration testing in simple words?

Sure 🙂 Let’s take a simple video-streaming app as an example. It has the following features: Signup/login, Subscription plans, and the Streaming video page. After downloading the app, a user sees the signup/login forms to enter their data. Once the authorization is completed, the list of subscription plans is automatically shown. A user should only select a plan, complete the online payment, and enjoy watching video content.

But various hidden bugs and errors may occur. Any of them creates a barrier for a user to pay for a subscription. Thus, even the smallest fault may lead to losses for the company. Integration testing is essential to identify and fix such errors to let users enjoy the content.

What integration testing methods show the best result?

It is impossible to say what type is the best. Every project has its own peculiarities, that is why the choice of a method differs in each individual case. To identify the most useful strategy, specialists take into account a lot of details related to a particular app.

Can my app be launched without the integration check, isn't unit testing enough?

These methods are not interchangeable. As a rule, integration testing usually follows the unit check, when it is necessary to make sure that there are no bugs in the overall functionality. The smaller the coding unit, the more detailed picture integration testing in software testing can show. The difference between the mentioned above types is unit testing does not cover the interaction issues.