As an example, suppose one component in one system (A) is changed which impacts the data sent to another system (B). Perhaps these interfaces are all known to a tester so they perform the tests and see that integration and interoperability is achieved correctly. Integration testing is a key level of testing to find defects where software components and system interface definition of pairwise integration testing together. Testing functions in isolation is important, but falls short of testing software behavior in ways it will actually be used in conjunction with other items. We have already covered the degree of 2, the classic 2-wise or pair-wise tests. A pairwise test suite with a thoroughness of 2 includes each 2 (or pair) of values in at least one of the test cases.
Furthermore, integration testing can be seen in many ways which also increases the challenge. Often, introductions of pairwise testing involve symbol-heavy mathematics, Greek letters and a lot of jargon. Pairwise testing also has several alternative names which may or may not have the same meaning.
Step #1:
One thing we have learned over the years, supported by credible research, is that software failures are much more likely to manifest where interactions occur. Pairwise testing is well-suited for testing that different combinations of customization will work. From a user’s point of view, pairwise testing is light-weight and simple to apply to even the larger cases. Integration testing is often confused with unit testing, which also tests parts of the whole — but the difference lies in when you perform the test and how you carry it out.
- This is more likely when multiple programmers work together and collaborate on a single project.
- We have already covered the degree of 2, the classic 2-wise or pair-wise tests.
- Pairwise testing is probably applicable to testing your software or hardware system, and it will probably exercise the system to such an extent that it will uncover bugs.
- Most projects are big enough that development is broken down into numerous parts or modules.
- Pairwise can help us create better test cases with optimum effort without exhausting the system.
We need to write those in manually and wrap the tests in an array that our testing system can use. Software or hardware might also be configured by the customers after it has been delivered. In this case, all parts of the hardware or software must be delivered to the customer for him er her to configure. Notice that these models are not actually working cars or working planes.
Highly Configurable Systems
Determine where pairwise testing fits into the testing suite overall. As a tester, I prefer to do all-pairs testing and boundary value analysis at the same time, then assess customer or system workflows. Test each grouping first for defects, then combine them, to have confidence that the finished product functions as expected.
We have got ourselves 8 unique combinations for a sample that has 96 combinations. This is how the Pairwise testing technique reduces the number of test cases without compromising the test coverage. An integration test is done to demonstrate that different pieces of the system work together. Integration tests can cover whole applications, and they require much more effort to put together. They usually require resources like database instances and hardware to be allocated for them.
The QA team only checks a subset of input/output values — not all — to generate effective test coverage. This technique proves useful when there are simply too many possible configuration options and combinations to run through. Pairwise testing is a P&C based method, in which to test a system or an application, for each pair of input parameters of a system, all possible discrete combinations of the parameters are tested. By using the conventional or exhaustive testing approach it may be hard to test the system but by using the permutation and combination method it can be easily done. The first step of pairwise testing is telling a pairwise testing tool what to test.
One of the primary ways integration is achieved today is through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). While many people mainly think of APIs in a web-based or mobile application context, APIs are also used to interface with operating systems and other system components and applications. ‘Enabled’, ‘Choice Type’ and ‘Category’ have a choice range of 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Multiplying the two largest values (3 and 4) indicates that a pair-wise tests would involve 12 tests. The pairwise test cases, generated by Microsoft’s «pict» tool, are shown below.
Pairwise testing fits nicely into the testing phase of software or hardware development. Pairwise testing is usually used as a synonym for t-wise testing, even though t-wise testing is a better term as it clearly refers to any thoroughness. This article follows the custom of using the term pairwise testing to mean any thoroughness. There are a number of pairwise testing benefits and challenges within a software QA strategy. Relying on their knowledge of the application, the tester checks that several characteristics work as expected, and if they don’t, notes what defect appears. A form of integration testing that targets pairs of components that work together, as shown in a call graph.
In this example, the integration takes on a spider web appearance (Figure 8), except spider webs have more order to them! The ability to adequately test integration and interoperability depend on the ability to know where the integration exists. However, this knowledge is often missing or limited which leads to untested interfaces and missed defects.
