Why is testing necessary?

In this section, we will take a closer look at the most basic concepts and principles that are used in the testing process. We will find out what testing is, why it is needed and who performs it. We’ll also consider the goals, principles and main stages of testing. We’ll try to feel the psychological attitude of a real tester and finally debunk a few myths about testing. I’m sure you will be interested.

Let’s start with what “testing” is. To begin with, let’s abstract from dry academic definitions and look at this concept from the point of view of everyday use.

When we test something, we ask ourselves a simple question: “Does this work as we expect?” or, in other words: does the actual behavior of the test object meet our expectations? If the answer is yes – great, if not – we are deceived in our expectations, which means that something needs to be corrected.

Testing is necessary because we all make mistakes. Some of them may be minor, while others may have the most devastating consequences. Everything that is produced by a person can contain errors (this is how the world works). That is why any product needs to be validated – tested before it can be used effectively and safely.

The same is true for software. Software is computer programs, functions, as well as their accompanying documentation and data related to the operation of a computer system. Computer technologies penetrate deeper and deeper into our daily life. Software controls the work of many things around us – from mobile phones and computers to washing machines and credit cards. In any case, we all faced some kind of errors in programs: a text editor that hung tightly while working on a diploma project, an ATM that “ate” a card, or just a website that would not load in any way – all this does not make our life easier.

However, not all errors are equally dangerous – for different software systems, the risk levels may differ.

Risk:

– a factor that can lead to negative consequences in the future; as a rule, it is expressed in terms of the probability of occurrence of such consequences and their impact on the system.

– what has not happened yet and may not happen at all; potential problem.

In addition, the level of risk will depend on the likelihood of negative consequences. For example, the same minor error, say a typo, can have completely different levels of risk for different programs:

– a typo in the description of interests on a personal page on a social network is unlikely to have significant consequences, except that it will make your friends smile;

– the same simple misprint made in the description of the activities of a large company posted on its website is already dangerous, since it indirectly testifies to the unprofessionalism of its employees;

– a typo in the code of a program that calculates the exposure levels during the operation of an X-ray machine (for example, 100 instead of 10) can have the most dire consequences – bringing harm to the health and safety of people will result in a loss of confidence in the company and lawsuits that will cost you a fortune.