System integration testing is a branch of software development process where program units are combined, and group tests carried out in multiple ways. Integration testing help to expose problems in program components interface before they cause trouble in the real-world execution of the program. Integration testing is basically a portion of Extreme Programming (XP) for software development based on continual testing and revision processes.
System Integration Testing support engineering efforts which are necessary for maintenance, fielding, integration, testing, and other software development activities. These aspects are critical for modernization of technical capabilities concerning situational awareness, force protection, intelligence, infrastructure development, and integrated imagery.
How System Testing is Carried Out
There are two main methods of executing system integration testing; top-down method and bottom-up method. Bottom-up integration testing starts with unit testing and then followed by tests on higher level combinations known as modules in a progressive manner. In top-down integration testing, the testing begins with the highest modules and then followed with lower modules in a progressive manner.
Unit testing and integration testing are both used to test the software functionality but cannot work in isolation to replace functional testing.
Application Quality Assurance
Software quality assurance (SQA) provides a means of checking the software engineering methods and processes to ensure quality. There are various ways of achieving that and may include conformance to standards like CMMI and ISO 9000, etc.
SQA monitors the entire software development process from requirements definition, software design, source code control, coding, code reviews, testing, software configuration management, product integration, and release management. SQA is arranged into goals, abilities, commitments, measurements, activities, and verifications.
According to ISO/IEC 15504 v.2.5 (SPICE), software quality assurance must provide an independent assurance where all work products, processes, and activities comply with predefined parameters.
Software testing
Software testing includes any activity that evaluates a particular attribute or program capability. It tests the system on its capability to deliver required results. It is imperative for programmers and software testers for evaluating software quality. Unfortunately, software testing has remained an art due to the technicality of understanding its principles. It is almost impossible to completely test a program with moderate complexity since the process is more than debugging. The purpose of software testing is for quality assurance, reliability estimation, or verification and validation. Testing can also be used as a generic metric and can be categorized under correctness testing and reliability testing. Software testing requires a tradeoff between quality, time, and budget. To learn more, please visit QA Consultants for additional information, resources and references.
