A Complete Guide on Smoke testing 2023

Smoke testing, also known as "Build Verification Testing", is a type of software testing that checks the critical functionalities of a program. It is a non-exhaustive testing with a set of basic tests to confirm whether the major functionalities of a system or application are working correctly.

The term 'smoke testing' originated from the hardware testing, where you would turn on a new piece of hardware for the first time and if it started smoking, you'd know there was a problem. In the context of software, smoke testing is often the first testing that is done after a new build or version of the software is created.

How To Conduct Smoke Testing

Smoke testing aims to determine whether the basic and critical functionalities of a software application are working correctly and whether the application is stable for further testing.

Here's a simple step-by-step process on how to conduct smoke testing:

1. Understand the Software's Main Functionality: To begin with, get a clear understanding of the application’s most important features and functionalities. This is typically the core of the application and what it's primarily meant to do.

2. Identify Test Scenarios: Determine the key functionalities that must work for further testing to be meaningful. For example, in an online shopping app, you might choose the "create an account," "search for a product," "add to cart," and "checkout" functionalities as your smoke tests.

3. Prepare Test Cases: Document the scenarios to be tested and create simple test cases for those scenarios. The test cases should be straightforward and cover only the essential functionality.

4. Execute Test Cases: Execute the prepared test cases either manually or using an automated test suite. The choice between manual and automated depends on several factors including project size, budget, and timeline.

5. Record Results: Note the results of each test case. If a test fails, that means the build is not stable and it should be sent back to the development team for fixing.

6. Decide on the Stability of the Build: If all test cases pass, the build is typically considered stable enough for further, more detailed testing. If there are any failures, it's considered unstable and should be fixed before any further testing is conducted.

Smoke tests are typically automated so they can be quickly and efficiently run each time a new build or version of the software is created. Automation allows for quick detection of integration issues and functional errors.

Remember that smoke testing does not cover the entire software application in detail, but it is an effective way to find major issues early in the testing process, thereby saving time and resources.

Why smoke testing Is Important?

Smoke testing plays a critical role in the software development process for a variety of reasons:

1. Early Defect Identification: By conducting smoke tests after a new build or update, teams can quickly identify and rectify any major issues or defects that may have been introduced. Catching these problems early on can save significant time, effort, and resources later in the development cycle.

2. Saves Time and Effort: Smoke testing checks the stability of a build before it is sent for detailed testing. If the build fails the smoke test, it is sent back for bug fixing, which saves the time and effort that would have been spent in vain on testing an unstable build.

3. Verification of Critical Functionality: Smoke tests ensure that the critical functionalities of a system are working as expected. This can provide a degree of confidence in the system and its capabilities.

4. Facilitates Progressive Development: In iterative and incremental development methodologies, such as Agile and DevOps, smoke testing enables teams to make regular improvements and still maintain a functioning product at the end of each iteration.

5. Enables Continuous Integration: Smoke testing can be integrated into a CI/CD pipeline to automatically validate new changes and updates, ensuring that the software remains stable with continuous integration of code.

6. Risk Mitigation: By finding critical issues early, smoke testing helps to mitigate the risk of serious functional issues appearing later in the development cycle or post-release. This can also reduce the cost associated with bug fixing in the later stages of development.

7. Quality Assurance: Regular smoke testing ensures a certain level of quality in the software, contributing to a better end-user experience.

In short, smoke testing is a preventive measure that saves a lot of troubleshooting time and provides reassurance that changes in the new build did not break major functionality. It acts as a gatekeeper, preventing a problematic build from undergoing more expensive and time-consuming forms of testing.

Sanity Testing Vs. Smoke Testing: What Is it & Differences

These two are common types of software testing, each serving unique purposes in the software development lifecycle.

Smoke Testing

Smoke testing is designed to catch any glaring errors that may exist in the functionality of a software program. This type of testing is typically conducted before more specific, in-depth testing methods are employed. Smoke tests are usually automated and are executed on initial builds to determine if they are stable enough for further testing.

Sanity Testing

Sanity Testing is a type of software testing performed after receiving a software build, with minor changes in code, or functionality, to ascertain that the bugs have been fixed and no further issues are introduced due to these changes. The goal of sanity testing is to determine that the proposed functionalities work roughly as expected. If sanity testing fails, the build is rejected to save the costs involved in more rigorous testing.

The primary difference between sanity and smoke testing is that the former is narrow and deep, focusing on the detailed testing of some limited features, while the latter is wide and shallow, focusing on the basic features of the entire application.

To summarize, both types of testing are conducted to avoid wasting time and cost associated with rigorous testing of software applications that are not ready for in-depth testing. However, they serve different purposes: smoke testing is used to verify the stability of the entire system for further testing, while sanity testing is used to check new functionality or bug fixes in an existing software build.

When to run a Smoke test

Smoke tests are typically run at specific points in the software development and deployment process.

Here are some scenarios where a smoke test would commonly be run:

1. After a New Build or Release: The most common time to run a smoke test is right after a new build or release of the software. This helps to quickly identify if the build is stable enough to undergo further testing. If the smoke test fails, the build can be rejected to prevent wasting time on a build that's not ready.

2. After Integration of New Features: If new features have been added to the software, you might run a smoke test to ensure that these features haven't caused any critical issues with the basic functionality of the software.

3. Post Bug Fixes: After bug fixes have been implemented, you would typically run a smoke test to ensure that the fixes haven't inadvertently broken something else.

4. Before Regression Testing: Running a smoke test before regression testing helps ensure that the basic functionalities are working fine and the build is stable enough for more exhaustive testing.

5. Prior to Software Deployment: Running a smoke test before deployment, especially in production, can provide a level of confidence that the software will work as expected.

6. As part of a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipeline: In modern software development methodologies like Agile and DevOps, smoke tests can be part of a CI/CD pipeline. Whenever changes are made and integrated into the main branch of code, the CI/CD system can automatically run smoke tests to ensure stability.

The frequency of smoke testing largely depends on the development methodology, team preferences, and the nature of the application itself. In agile environments where changes are continuous, smoke testing is often conducted daily or even multiple times a day.