A Taxonomy of Testing Types

Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Webcast Series

A surprisingly large number of different types of testing exist and are used during the development and operation of software-reliant systems. We have identified nearly 200 of these general types of testing and there are many additional types that are application-domain specific. While most testers, test managers, and other testing stakeholders are quite knowledgeable about a relatively small number of testing types, many people know very little about most of them and are unaware that others even exist. One way to understand so many types of testing is to classify them into a taxonomy that groups similar testing types together. One way to organize them is by the types of questions they answer. Specifically, types of testing can be categorized by the five Ws and two Hs: what, when, why, who, where, how, and how well. Understanding these different types of testing is important because different types of testing tend to uncover different types of defects and multiple testing types are needed to achieve sufficiently low levels of residual defects. Whereas not all of these testing types are relevant on all projects, a complete taxonomy can be very used to help discover the ones that are appropriate and ensure than no relevant type of testing is accidentally overlooked. Such a taxonomy can also be useful as a way to organize and prioritize one's study of testing. This tutorial introduces the attendee to our taxonomy of testing types, thereby clarifying the grand scope of testing and enabling the attendee to better select the appropriate types of testing to for their specific needs.