Manual Testing vs Automation Testing: Which one should you choose? cover

Manual Testing vs Automation Testing: Which One Should You Choose?

Frontend Testing vs Backend Testing: What’s the Difference?

Software Stress Testing: A Essential Guide for Effective Software Testing

How to report an issue using a bug report template? cover

Bug Report Template | A Step-by-Step Guide to Reporting Issues in Software

Data is the new asset for any business use case for drawing insights. Similarly, Automation Testing is the new standard that tech companies set for testing their software products.



XPath plays a vital role in any of the uses above, in scraping data from multiple websites or testing products and functionality. XPath allows testers like us to navigate around various locators of the web page with the help of numerous properties such as ID, Tag Name, Group Index, and Predicates.



This blog post walks you through various examples of XPath locators and their definitions.



We have shown the Java implementation of the XPath locator in our cheat sheet for Selenium locators. Let&#8217;s begin with this comprehensive XPath cheat sheet, which will be quite helpful while performing <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing">automated testing</a> or scraping data through Selenium.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_XPath">1 What is XPath?</a></li><li><a href="#The_XPath_Syntax">2 The XPath Syntax</a></li><li><a href="#Different_types_of_XPath_in_Selenium">3 Different types of XPath in Selenium</a><ul><li><a href="#Absolute_XPath">3.1 Absolute XPath</a></li><li><a href="#Relative_XPath">3.2 Relative XPath</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#XPath_Expressions_in_Selenium">4 XPath Expressions in Selenium</a></li><li><a href="#XPath_Selectors_in_Selenium">5 XPath Selectors in Selenium</a><ul><li><a href="#Descendant_Selectors">5.1 Descendant Selectors</a></li><li><a href="#Attribute_selectors">5.2 Attribute selectors</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Axes_in_XPath">6 Axes in XPath</a></li><li><a href="#Functions_in_XPath">7 Functions in XPath</a></li><li><a href="#Operators_in_XPath">8 Operators in XPath</a></li><li><a href="#Browser_console_to_locate_XPath">9 Browser console to locate XPath</a></li><li><a href="#Wrapping_Up">10 Wrapping Up</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">11 Frequently Asked Questions:</a><ul><li><a href="#What_is_the_easiest_way_to_find_XPath">11.1 What is the easiest way to find XPath?</a></li><li><a href="#Which_XPath_is_faster_in_Selenium">11.2 Which XPath is faster in Selenium?</a></li><li><a href="#Which_XPath_is_best">11.3 Which XPath is best?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="a9l6r">What is XPath?</h2>



XPath is the path of elements on the HTML tree. XPath allows us to use different selectors on the HTML page.



We represent the current webpage in XPath by using(.) and (/) to represent child elements to navigate through different elements in HTML and XML documents.



<h2 id="an6t2">The XPath Syntax</h2>



Since we’ve discussed XPath, let’s check how we can generate XPath. The example below shows XPath syntax with single and multiple attributes.



XPath Syntax for Single Attribute



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">//tag[@AttributeName = ‘Attribute Value’]</pre>



XPath Syntax for Multiple Attributes



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">//tag[@AttributeName1=’Attribute Value’ and @AttributeName2=’AttributeValue2’]</pre>



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">//tag[@AttributeName1=’Attribute Value’ or @AttributeName2=’AttributeValue2’]</pre>



<h2 id="5jra6">Different types of XPath in Selenium</h2>



XPath allows us to navigate through the webpage in two different types:



<ol type="1"><li>Absolute XPath</li><li>Relative XPath</li></ol>



<h3 id="ah60n">Absolute XPath</h3>



This locator uses the whole expression from the parent tag and starts with a single tag representing child elements.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image21_f18e3ccf352df315c83ba66d2d308d79_800.jpeg" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



Below attached is one more example of using a selector with multiple divisions. In such cases, we can use the index in the path. We define the array index inside the bracket according to the node position.



Example:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image41_683ed70a11a138af40f1613fc6159b9e_800.png" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



<h3 id="cgcr0">Relative XPath</h3>



Relative XPath can start from anywhere from the HTML structure. We use Relative XPath when we don’t want to write the complete XPath expression from the root node.



The Relative XPath starts from a double forward slash, whereas the Absolute XPath starts from a single slash.



Example:



In the below example, we are choosing the image selector. Unlike Absolute XPath, we need not start from HTML.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image51_a4abbc3843692c896c7e258429f40666_800.jpeg" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



<h2 id="3v3qt">XPath Expressions in Selenium</h2>



XPath expressions navigate and select appropriate elements in HTML and XML documents.



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table style="border: 1px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">Symbol</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">Definition</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">/</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">The single forward slash is used for selecting the child element,to create absolute XPath, to select elements from the root node, and to traverse through child elements from the parent node.</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">//</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">The double forward slash symbol is used for the descendant child(child,grandchild,etc.)in relative paths to select any elements present in the document.</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">.</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">The single dot selects the current node.</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">@</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">Select attributes</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;"><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">//a/..</td><td style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 10px;
 border-collapse: collapse;">Backward traversing is where we use (.) dot notations to go up the tree or reach the parent node.The expression attached will get the parent element of the anchor tag.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h2 id="2uro4">XPath Selectors in Selenium</h2>



XPath selectors allow us to select a specific part of HTML documents.



<h3 id="geni">Descendant Selectors</h3>



To select child elements of the current parent node, Descendant selectors are used. We use a double forward slash or single forward slash to select the child or grand-child elements in the HTML.



The Syntax for Descendant selectors:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">/tag or //tag</pre>



<h3 id="61apm">Attribute selectors</h3>



Attribute selectors are used for elements based on the attribute present in a single HTML node.



The Syntax for Attribute selectors:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">//tag[@AttibuteName= ‘Attribute Value”]</pre>



XPath by Group Index



XPath by Group Index is used to match a single element. We write the index inside the bracket and the elements outside the block element.



It executes the XPath inside the brackets and stores the matching elements in the XPath array. Then, it will identify the elements based on the index from the elements mentioned outside the bracket.



Example: If we follow the XPath by Group index, we can get a single result of our Choice.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image11_371c5e1a0c201202c5190835f8a81db5_800.jpg" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



<h2 id="3tsg7">Axes in XPath</h2>



Axes represent the relationship between the current element and its relative element. It could be anything, such as a child or sibling, parent nodes etc.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/AttributeSelectors_e6a2e96fcf9ba933ef65e84902ea3668_800.png" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



<h2 id="cnc5">Functions in XPath</h2>



A set of operations can be used for making Functions in XPath. It could be adding two HTML or getting the count of images present in a webpage.



Node Functions



XPath has several node functions such as name(), text(), position(), last(), comment() and name(). This Function provides the name of the HTML node.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">Xpath=//[starts-with(name(), ‘h’)]</pre>



text()



This function is used to locate the HTML elements based on the text of the web element.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">Xpath=//td[text()='login']</pre>



comment()



This function selects the elements with comments.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">/span/comment()</pre>



last()



This function selects the last element in the current Node.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">/span/img[last()]</pre>



position()



This function provides the position of the element.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">Ex: (//a)[position() ≤= n]</pre>



<h2 id="cuhf3">Operators in XPath</h2>



We can use operators combined with XPath to check certain conditions and verify requirements. It behaves like the if-else condition. XPath predicates come in square brackets after the parent elements are tested. With the following attached XML below, we’ve provided different examples for the operator:



<ul><li>Greater than(&gt;)</li><li>Less than(&lt;)</li><li>OR operator ( OR )</li><li>AND operator ( AND )</li><li>Not Equal to ( != )</li><li>Equal to ( = )</li></ul>



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">&lt;eCommerce&gt; &lt;mobile&gt; &lt;Iphone supplier="mother" id="1"&gt; &lt;year&gt;2020&lt;/year&gt; &lt;amount&gt;1000&lt;/amount&gt; &lt;store&gt;ABC&lt;/store&gt; &lt;/Iphone&gt; &lt;Samsung supplier="store" id="2"&gt; &lt;year&gt;2018&lt;/year&gt; &lt;amount&gt;700&lt;/amount&gt; &lt;amount&gt;700&lt;/amount&gt; &lt;store&gt;XYZ&lt;/store&gt; &lt;/Samsung&gt; &lt;/mobile&gt; &lt;/eCommerce&gt;</pre>



Less than operator ( &lt; )



We can use this operator with XPath to check if the result is less than the number



Example:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce/mobile/iphone[year &lt; 2019]</pre>



Result: In this expression, all the phones are listed with a year Lesser than 2019.



Greater than operator ( &gt; )



We can use this operator with XPath to check if the result is greater than a number.



Example:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce/mobile/iphone[year &gt; 2019]</pre>



Result: In this expression, all the phones are listed with a year greater than 2019.



Equal to operator ( = )



We can use this operator for comparing or checking if the value is equal to the expected value.



Example:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce//[@store=’ABC’]</pre>



Result: In this expression, all the stores with the name ABC are listed. Thus, the result will be an iPhone.



Not Equal to operator ( != )



We can use this operator to check if the operator is not equal to the expected value



Example:



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce//[@store!=’ABC’]</pre>



Result: In this, we will have all stores not named ABC. The result will be Samsung.



AND operator ( and )



We use this operator in cases where we want both conditions to be true.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce//[@store=’ABC and @store=’XYZ’’]</pre>



OR operator ( or )



We use this operator in cases where we want any one of the conditions to be true.



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">eCommerce//[@store=’ABC or @store=’XYZ’’]</pre>



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">//input[@value=’A’ or @value=’B’]</pre>



<h2 id="eamk2">Browser console to locate XPath</h2>



We can test our XPath in browsers before checking it programmatically. With the help of debugging tools such as a console, we can test our XPath in the console.



We can write our XPath or with help of an inspector, we can get the XPath of any element on the webpage.



To validate XPath programmatically, follow these steps:



<ol type="1"><li>Visit any website (for example, Testsigma) and press F12 on the keyboard.</li><li>Click on the console as shown in the image below.</li><li>$x(&#8220;//img[@class=&#8217;img-responsive&#8217;]/@src&#8221;)</li><li>Entering the above XPath, we can select the Testsigma logo element on the left top corner as shown in the below image.</li></ol>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/Testigma_72645294d8e4483227a806635149da97_800.png" alt="Testsigma - XPath"/></figure>



Validating XPath with help of inspector XPath:



<ol type="1"><li>Visit any website and press F12 on the keyboard.</li><li>Click on Elements and right click element of your choice</li><li>Hover the cursor over Copy and select Copy full XPath.</li></ol>



Once done we can place the copied XPath inside the $x(`place your XPath copied from elements`) and check your results.



<h2 id="bfbuv">Wrapping Up</h2>



XPath is used to select or find elements on a webpage. We can use XPath in combination with other programming languages as well.



XPath allows us to navigate through the webpage in two different types:



<ol type="1"><li>Absolute XPath.</li><li>Relative XPath.</li></ol>



Relative XPath is more reliable and efficient while testing or scrapping a webpage. Since it supports dynamic operations, we can continue to extract data or automate tasks using the same code, even if the website is updated.



<h2 id="ffu0t">Frequently Asked Questions:</h2>



<h3 id="64mh2">What is the easiest way to find XPath?</h3>



The easiest way to find XPath is by using browser developer tools. Follow the below steps to generate XPath quickly.



<ol type="1"><li>Right-click on the element of your choice and select inspect; this will launch the inspector tool for elements HTML code.</li><li>Copy the XPath by right-clicking the HTML element.</li><li>Test the copied XPath to locate the same element in Chrome.</li></ol>



<h3 id="6bbqu">Which XPath is faster in Selenium?</h3>



The Relative XPath is faster in Selenium than the Absolute XPath. Absolute XPath is slow because it starts from the root node. Relative XPath is faster and most preferred because it starts from the middle of the HTML structure.



<h3 id="dek6t">Which XPath is best?</h3>



Relative XPath is best in major scenarios as there&#8217;s minimum code maintenance required if there&#8217;s any update on the website.



<script>if(window.strchfSettings === undefined) window.strchfSettings = {};window.strchfSettings.stats = {url: "https://testsigma-inc.storychief.io/en/xpath-locators-cheat-sheet?id=2055130390&type=2",title: "Quick XPath Locators Cheat Sheet",id: "317deb0e-2dfc-41d7-bd18-f35979707693"};(function(d, s, id) {var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) {window.strchf.update(); return;}js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "https://d37oebn0w9ir6a.cloudfront.net/scripts/v0/strchf.js";js.async = true;sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, sjs);}(document, 'script', 'storychief-jssdk'))</script>

Quick XPath Locators Cheat Sheet

When it comes to software development, we are often swamped with varied quality assurance terms that seem to have the same meaning. For instance, we confuse <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/the-different-software-testing-types-explained/">software testing types</a> with software inspection.



To give you a brief background: developed by IBM in the early 1970s, the term software inspection came into the picture when it was noticed that software testing wasn’t enough to attain high-quality software.



So, what’s the difference between inspection and testing? Don’t these processes involve bug or defect detection to ensure software quality?



Software inspection and software testing refer to two different stages in a broader software quality assurance strategy. Through this post, let&#8217;s explore the difference between these two terms.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_Software_Inspection">1 What is Software Inspection?</a><ul><li><a href="#What_is_the_purpose_of_software_inspection">1.1 What is the purpose of software inspection?</a><ul><li><a href="#Who_are_the_key_parties_involved">1.1.1 Who are the key parties involved?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_software_inspection_process">1.2 What is the software inspection process?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_is_Software_Testing">2 What is Software Testing?</a><ul><li><a href="#What_is_the_purpose_of_software_testing">2.1 What is the purpose of software testing?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_software_testing_process">2.2 What is the software testing process?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#SDLC_without_Inspection">3 SDLC without Inspection</a></li><li><a href="#SDLC_with_Inspection">4 SDLC with Inspection</a></li><li><a href="#Key_differences_between_Software_inspection_and_Software_testing">5 Key differences between Software inspection and Software testing</a></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">6 Conclusion</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">7 Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul><li><a href="#What_are_the_similarities_between_software_testing_and_inspection">7.1 What are the similarities between software testing and inspection?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_SDLC_software_testing">7.2 What is SDLC software testing?</a></li><li><a href="#Why_is_software_inspection_more_important_than_testing">7.3 Why is software inspection more important than testing?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="4tbo6">What is Software Inspection?</h2>



Software inspection refers to a peer review of software to identify bugs or defects at the early stages of SDLC. It is a formal review that ensures the documentation produced during a given stage is consistent with previous stages and conforms to preestablished rules and standards.



Software inspection involves people examining the software product to discover defects and inconsistencies. Since it doesn’t require system execution, inspection is usually done before implementation.



<h3 id="f2b5v">What is the purpose of software inspection?</h3>



Software inspection aims to identify software defects and deviations, ensuring the product meets customer requirements, wants, and needs. In a broader context, the objective of the inspection is to inhibit defective software from flowing down the subsequent operations, thereby preventing loss to the company.



Software inspection is designed to unravel defects or bugs, unlike testing, which is done to make corrections. It is divided into two types:



<ul><li>Document inspection: Here, the documents produced for a given phase are inspected, further focusing on their quality, correctness, and relevance.</li><li>Code inspection: The code, program source files, and test scenarios are inspected and reviewed.</li></ul>



<h4 id="84k44">Who are the key parties involved?</h4>



<ul><li>Moderator: A facilitator who organizes and reports on inspection.</li><li>Author: A person who produces the report.</li><li>Reader: A person who guides the examination of software; more of a paraphraser.</li><li>Recorder: An inspector who logs all the defects on the defect list.</li><li>Inspector: The inspection team member responsible for identifying the defects.</li></ul>



<h3 id="9o8uk">What is the software inspection process?</h3>



Software inspection involves six steps – Planning, Overview, Preparation, Meeting, Rework, and Follow-up.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/in-article-33_ca5b036bf79da572a00db450c247de72_800.jpg" alt="What is the software inspection process?"/></figure>



Planning



The planning phase starts with the selection of a group review team. A moderator plans the activities performed during the inspection and verifies that the software entry criteria are met.



Overview



The overview phase intends to disseminate information regarding the background of the product under review. Here, a presentation is given to the inspector with some background information needed to review the software product properly.



Preparation



In the individual preparation phase, the inspector collects all the materials needed for inspection. Each reviewer studies the project individually and notes the issues they encounter.



Meeting



The moderator conducts the meeting to collect and review defects. Here, the reader reads through the product line by line while the inspector points out the flaws. All issues are raised, and suggestions may be recorded.



Rework



Based on meeting notes, the author changes the work product.



Follow-up



In the last phase, the moderator verifies if necessary changes are made to the software product, compiling a defect summary report.



<h2 id="f62kk">What is Software Testing?</h2>



Software testing refers to verifying and <a href="https://recruitcrm.io/blogs/questions-to-ask-while-evaluating-applicant-tracking-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evaluating</a> that software does what it is expected to do. It is done to discover bugs, <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/software-testing-errors-to-look-out-for-with-examples/">errors</a> or defects before the software is used.



When you test a software product or application, you execute a program using artificial data and verify the results of the test run for errors, variations, or information about the program&#8217;s non-functional attributes.



Software Testing enables teams to identify and resolve potential problems before they affect actual users. The QA professionals must test the software with a proper <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/software-testing-strategy/">Software Testing strategy</a> to ensure the software’s performance, efficiency, and reliability.



Software Testing is part of a more general verification and validation process. It reveals the presence of errors, not their absence.



<h3 id="3ltqd">What is the purpose of software testing?</h3>



The purpose of software testing is to identify errors, disparities, or missing requirements contrary to actual requirements.



Software testing identifies bugs and defects in the development process so they&#8217;re repaired before the launch. This is done to ensure that only quality products reach consumers, ensuring customer satisfaction.



<h3 id="9utl6">What is the software testing process?</h3>



Software testing is a process rather than a single activity. Let’s look at the components that make up the whole.



Requirements Analysis



The first step requires the QA team to comprehend the software requirements. They meet different organizations, stakeholders, teams, etc. Once the requirements are understood, the next step is identifying the components or parts of software that ought to be tested.



Test Planning



This stage involves the team planning the strategy and approach. Typically, the test manager carries out this activity to look after certain factors such as how much effort testing requires how much testing costs, and which types of testing to do.



Test Case Designing



The team develops the test case based on specific criteria and scope. Once the test planning is done, the development of test cases begins. Here, the testing team designs the test cases for execution, which are then delivered to the QA team for an examination.



Test Environment Setup



This means setting up all software and hardware resources for the testing team to execute all the test cases. Simply put, this stage decides the conditions on which the software is tested.



Test Execution



The testing team now executes tests based on test planning and marks the test report. If the test case is successfully completed, it is marked as passed. If the test case is failed, it is marked as failed, and the corresponding defect or error is reported to the development team. If the test case is blocked due to a mistake, it is marked as blocked.



Test Closure



This phase ensures the completion of test execution. Several activities are undertaken, such as test completion reporting, collection of test completion matrices, and test results. Once this cycle is completed, the test cycle closure report is prepared.



<h2 id="ec0dg">SDLC without Inspection</h2>



Imagine a software development life cycle without inspection. What possibly could go wrong? Aren’t we testing our software to detect defects?



Usually, we assume that defects or bugs are related to code only, which can be identified by testing! Does that mean there are no other defects? Well, that’s not true.



Defects can occur before coding even starts. Such defects can originate in all stages due to inaccurate specifications, insufficient requirements, or incorrect feature implementation.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/In-article-35_48d6f05fa91f7cdbd2c5aaca3c75dc21_800.jpg" alt="SDLC without Inspection"/></figure>



As shown above, defects in the previous stages of SDLC get identified in the maintenance stage, which adds stress to the maintenance stage.



This increases costs and time to repair or resolve defects, leading to late delivery, low production, and longer release cycles.



<h2 id="35d0c">SDLC with Inspection</h2>



Imagine where defects found in each stage get removed or fixed before moving on to the next phase. Great, isn’t it? That’s what inspection helps you with.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/In-article-34_9699058c243c2cb6134d27d984e17d5a_800.jpg" alt="SDLC with Inspection"/></figure>



When inspections are incorporated and applied, they save us from chaos zone and minimize the cost of solving defects. This leads to increased production and shorter release cycles, ensuring software quality.



<h2 id="6ak5b">Key differences between Software inspection and Software testing</h2>



Software inspection involves examining a product to ensure it complies with the end user’s requirements and specifications. In contrast, software testing tests the product to ensure it does what it is supposed to do and is ready to be used by consumers.



To understand the underlying difference between the two, we have listed the types of errors identified by both processes:



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table style="border: 1px solid black;border-collapse: collapse"><tbody><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Types of Bugs/Errors</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Software Inspection</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Software Testing</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Checks the complexity of Code</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="padding: 10px">No</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Reviews Code Structure</td><td style="padding: 10px">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">No</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Identifies interface defects at module level</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">No</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Checks if new features are to be added</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">No</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Identifies and resolves boundary level defects</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Resolve performance errors</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td></tr><tr style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse"><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Checks if any features are implemented incorrectly</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td><td style="border: 1px solid black;padding: 10px;border-collapse: collapse">Yes</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<div class="cta-banner-v2">
<div class="title-with-description ">
Automate your tests for web, mobile, desktop and, APIs from the same place with Testsigma
</div>
<a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" class="cta-btn-v1" rel="noopener">Sign up for the free trial</a>
</div>



<h2 id="9grd2">Conclusion</h2>



In software engineering, quality is the primary focus of any project. As evident, software testing and inspection are two different steps that are carried out when ensuring the overall quality of a product.



However, these processes are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they complement each other, so you shouldn’t ignore one in favor of the other.



<h2 id="b8b3o">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



<h3 id="9kvlg">What are the similarities between software testing and inspection?</h3>



Both testing and inspection are integral in ensuring that not only is your software of the highest quality, but it also meets customer requirements. Simply put, both processes help detect and prevent quality issues and defects before the product is released to the consumer market.



<h3 id="braa7">What is SDLC software testing?</h3>



In SDLC, software testing is a method of verifying whether the actual software product meets the standard requirements. Testing checks the software’s quality, reliability, and adherence to requirements, ensuring the product is free of defects.



<h3 id="388do">Why is software inspection more important than testing?</h3>



Software inspection is more involved than testing as it covers a broader context regarding ensuring software quality.



Software testing is the process of evaluating the product and whether it works appropriately per specifications/requirements. Software inspection is testing plus code review to ensure that it is correct, optimized, and maintainable. Simply put, the goal of the inspection is to remove errors and reduce the cost of rework.



if(window.strchfSettings === undefined) window.strchfSettings = {};window.strchfSettings.stats = {url: &#8220;https://testsigma-inc.storychief.io/en/software-inspection-vs-software-testing?id=1353001817&amp;type=2&#8221;,title: &#8220;Software Inspection v Software Testing: How do they differ?&#8221;,id: &#8220;317deb0e-2dfc-41d7-bd18-f35979707693&#8221;};(function(d, s, id) {var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) {window.strchf.update(); return;}js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = &#8220;https://d37oebn0w9ir6a.cloudfront.net/scripts/v0/strchf.js&#8221;;js.async = true;sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, sjs);}(document, &#8216;script&#8217;, &#8216;storychief-jssdk&#8217;))

Software Inspection v Software Testing: How do they differ? cover

Software Inspection vs Software Testing: How do they differ?

Several testing procedures and techniques find flaws throughout the Software Testing Life Cycle, abbreviated STLC. Defect leakage measures the percentage of problems that leak from one testing stage to the next, demonstrating the efficacy of testing. However, because certain defects, faults, and mistakes are present at the most internal level of the program, even the most well-known and efficient testing processes cannot locate and identify them all.&nbsp;



Leakage is found in the later phases of the software testing life cycle (STLC). Proficient software engineers, therefore, use a method known as defect leakage in software testing to calculate the total number of undetected errors in software systems. This method also helps them validate their testing efforts by allowing them to determine the total number of faults present in a software program.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MfpG7dtDvbEnIvO5fsn1CvzIGY-PPDviHW_MdWkxxujyB6MmNEk-znIGCjLUPpWb9y9sFkugBvWcT1sboRZeS7M5Ty2_cAqtBwpEYvY9HZNUfNRzK9CqpdBWLgfs2pdBuON3wzVDrok9S54MwqTnVPnTj1TNHAjGhsz7tNY26bmP2xq00Q-litHb_w" alt="Defect Leakage in Software Testing"/></figure>







Defect leakage is the metric that confirms the significance of the QA testing procedure. It considers the number of problems found throughout the ongoing process. In the brief term, it is a type of defect that, when put into use, surpasses all team tests and leads to a product that instantaneously affects users.



With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1%, the global market for leak detection and repairs is anticipated to increase from <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220819005138/en/Leak-Detection-and-Repair-Global-Market-Report-2022---ResearchAndMarkets.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">$14.63 billion in 2021 to $15.52 billion in 2022</a>. At a CAGR of 7.2%, the leak detection and repair market is predicted to reach $20.5 billion in 2026.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#A_Quick_Overview_of_Defect_Leakage">1 A Quick Overview of Defect Leakage</a></li><li><a href="#Testing_Error_in_Software">2 Testing Error in Software</a></li><li><a href="#How_to_determine_defect_leakage">3 How to determine defect leakage</a></li><li><a href="#Reasons_for_Defect_Leakage">4 Reasons for Defect Leakage</a></li><li><a href="#Strategies_to_Control_Defect_Leakage">5 Strategies to Control Defect Leakage</a></li><li><a href="#Steps_to_fix_the_defects">6 Steps to fix the defects:</a></li><li><a href="#Validation">7 Validation :</a></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">8 Conclusion:</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-a-quick-overview-of-defect-leakage">A Quick Overview of Defect Leakage</h2>



Software engineers use a method called &#8220;Defect Leakage&#8221; to determine the total extent of mistakes and flaws that go unnoticed to decide on the overall number of faults in the software application. This further helps them validate their test coverage.&nbsp;



It is the ratio of faults attributable to a step but only discovered in later phases compared to the total of defects found in that step plus all defects discovered attributable to a step but only discovered in the last stages. Additional elements of defect leaking include:



<ul><li>Following the delivery of the application, it happens at the end-user or customer end.</li><li>They are used to calculate the defect leakage rate for subsequent.</li><li>It may be computed at the initial level, the overall project level, or both.</li><li>It is expressed as a percentage.</li></ul>



<h2 id="h-testing-error-in-software">Testing Error in Software</h2>



A software application bug is a variance or diversion from the intended user&#8217;s needs or the initial business needs. A software bug results in inaccurate or unexpected outcomes from a software program that doesn&#8217;t adhere to the specifications as intended. While running the test cases, testers could encounter such flaws.



These two names are similar and are sometimes used indiscriminately by testing teams because both represent defects that need to be rectified in the business.



Testers can encounter test findings contrary to what was anticipated when they run the test cases. A software defect is known as this variation in test findings.



<h2 id="h-how-to-determine-defect-leakage">How to determine defect leakage</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/r1iE1ZkREQVBsEKDIMnfvRv7CoIw9VXOGpEgJT92J-q6uRCkuwZr6E4KuyMA_ZuPQiJNxqLGrZBAI0cG4AKLAACHyfpoTvbCLB1D78_dmK6fCQY0I8XlbBT5I-aMhF0SrkShp4h-w1CCzpOZKESmFNk5fLMhy4bqCRF5BIBSlkJuhJ1PHA2_TL7Dvw" alt="How to determine defect leakage"/></figure>







Defect leakage in software testing is a measurement that assesses the proportion of bugs that pass from one testing stage to the next while also demonstrating the efficacy of software testers&#8217; testing. The value of the test team is shown only, though, when there is little to no fault leaking.



This formula is used to determine the defect leakage rate: #Defect discovered during next phase/(# Defects found during testing + #Defects found during next phase) * 100



For instance, end users found 42 faults at the UAT manufacturing unit, while 140 defects were found during the whole quality process, comprising both the testing facility and the production site. Defect leakage would thus be as follows:



= (42/140) * 100



= 30%



Therefore, 30% is the defect leakage percentage.



Maintain a record of the location of the defect and make repairs before it is released, check the development process, and keep a reasonable defect with an efficient repair.



Along with discovery and repair, software fault disclosure is also crucial. Additionally, for solutions and validation, transparency concerning software flaws is vital.



<h2 id="h-reasons-for-defect-leakage">Reasons for Defect Leakage</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/uO04BbJqF782dHZdb_yNzLMo5vE9kuGyqhviQ95q7LabyCfvNS-KKqPNl4KfG0di2l6W4M48jgMAfCjywuFcIffal8GGhgWMVrOB8Psjv_PNZlnFMaQqqjckgG9AU8-LmlQ7OoY1QvilcRUEYPQd2XMYvc9sqFopww0wE-WQEmppTEU6bZYEuRz5rA" alt="Reasons for Defect Leakage"/></figure>







Since software development involves several different activities, there are many possibilities as to why a defect could go unnoticed despite extensive testing. The causes of defect leaking might range from a minor mistake in the software&#8217;s coding or scripting to a lack of product or industry understanding. Therefore, a few of these causes, which might result in excessive defect leakage, are listed here.



<ol><li>Communication issues: Defects may go undetected and unreported if there is poor or absent communication during the software development process (from requirement collection to interpretation/documentation or stage).</li><li>Human error: Since people make mistakes, it would be absurd to expect the items they create to be perfect and free of flaws. That explains how software flaws and defects might appear. However, notwithstanding the probability of human-caused errors, humans still manage to produce goods that are superior to those made by any non-human entity. Therefore, we must rely on human intelligence and thus run the danger of mistakes unless we find one that can perform the task better than humans.</li><li>Unachievable deployment timelines: Scarce or limited resources and due dates are among the problems that software developers frequently have to deal with. They may have to make some sacrifices as a result (such as not allocating enough time for designing and not validating their code before delivering it to the quality assurance team), which can raise the likelihood of faults and errors.</li><li>Faulty design logic: Finding a dependable solution requires both R&amp;D and some level of conceptualizing as software applications become complex. However, a strong desire to do the project quickly, lousy use of expertise (i.e., products, components, processes), and poor knowledge of technological viability before creating the architecture are all factors that might cause errors or bugs to appear.</li><li>Poor coding: This includes bad coding techniques like unhandled failures, missing deviations, and incorrect input validations, as well as the use of inadequate tools (like poor compilers, debugging tools, and validators that some software developers are using). All of these can introduce bugs in the code that may be difficult to troubleshoot. Sometimes, problems in the code may be the result of poor programming.</li><li>Not using version control: Examine the version monitoring system (if there is one). If the tester experiences frequent regression errors, trace every change made to a collection of code bases using parallel version systems.</li><li>Defects in third-party tools: During software creation, third-party tools like debuggers, HTML builders, shared DLLs, and add-ons/plug-ins (such as shopping cart connectors and map navigator APIs) are frequently required. However, these third-party tools may have defects that get transferred to the product.</li><li>Lack of experienced testing: Subpar testing is frequently the norm in many companies. This could involve a shortage of skilled testers, flaws in the testing procedure, testing treated carelessly, and the method is carried out without consideration. All of these have the potential to lead to software flaws and failures.</li><li>Excessive reliance on automation testing could result in a manual tester missing a bug or fault since automated testing lacks human perception and experience.</li></ol>



<h2 id="h-strategies-to-control-defect-leakage">Strategies to Control Defect Leakage</h2>



Software engineers are engaged in an ongoing conflict that will never be ultimately won. Defects do occur. As a result of deadlines or constraints, software engineers may even intentionally add flaws to their products. However, how can unwanted vulnerabilities that make the application challenging to use and damage reputation be fixed?



As the project&#8217;s relevance rises, more effort should be spent managing production-site issues. Defects may be significantly reduced by using sound test recording, reporting, customer interaction, and product openness. Even the most significant log in the world is partly useless if the flaws are not corrected.



Program developers and testers must employ several approaches to avoid defect leakage, guarantee that it is managed and does not remain in the software, and certify the quality of the finished output. This reduces their overall engineering and testing resources and enables them to prevent any significant problems during the software development cycle. So, the following are some methods to stop excessive defect leakage in software testing:



<ul><li>Pick a locus, then do extensive testing and analysis.</li><li>Create a simple, concise report that may be utilized in interactions with and among the business and corporate leadership to assess the general health of a quest application quickly.</li><li>Automatically record production-related flaws. This method might get complicated very fast, so have a separate area to document faults and add pertinent concerns.</li><li>Set up a small SWAT squad or fast reaction team that can respond rapidly to crises if the group is large enough or the project is vital enough.</li><li>Additionally, as a general rule, each developer should be attentive to the state of their product, actively involved, and accountable for their code.</li><li>Look for components susceptible to significant defect leakage and critical content and locations.</li><li>Test the product thoroughly on the minor components before using a real-world simulation.</li><li>If issues are terrible, think about rewriting them and look more closely at the entire system.</li></ul>



A suitable fault extraction efficiency and maintaining track of problems discovered and fixed before release are indicators of healthy software development. Keeping track of any issues found after deployment and reporting them to the product, engineering, and quality teams are vital so that test cases can be upgraded and procedures may be changed as needed. Since most consumers want to understand taking responsibility for the issues and striving to find solutions, visibility concerning software errors is just as crucial as discovery and correction.



<h2 id="h-steps-to-fix-the-defects">Steps to fix the defects:</h2>



Software engineers and QA testers can resolve the issues by following the instructions below.



<ul><li>Assign to someone: The task is delegated to a developer or specialist, and the status is changed to responding.</li><li>Setting the schedule: This step is handled by the development side. They will design a timeline to resolve these issues depending on the fault priority.</li><li>Repair the bug: While the project team resolves the flaws, the Testing Team monitors the procedure and compares it to the timetable.</li><li>Submit the solution: When bugs are fixed, request a resolution report from the developers.</li></ul>



<h2 id="h-validation">Validation :</h2>



The testing team confirms that the flaws are rectified after the design team fixes and documents the problem.



For instance, in the situation above, once the development team reports they have addressed 71 flaws, the team needs to retest to see whether these bugs have been resolved.&nbsp;



A defect is converted to closed status after it has been fixed and validated. If not, then the team notify devs to recheck the fault and consider the following:



<ul><li>Appropriately calculate the defect percentage.</li><li>Calculate the overall project and phase levels.</li><li>Openness for the product.</li><li>Reliable test logging.</li><li>Include engagement from the client.</li></ul>



<div class="cta-banner-v2">
<div class="title-with-description ">
Reduce your defect leakage by automating your end-to-end UI tests for web, mobile, desktop and APIs, from the same place, 5x faster with Testsigma.
</div>
<a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" class="cta-btn-v1" rel="noopener">Try for free</a>
</div>



<h2 id="h-conclusion">Conclusion:</h2>



Although finding bugs and defects is essential for software&#8217;s correct and efficient development, doing so at a crucial time or in large quantities can have fatal results. Software testers and the Quality Assurance (QA) team are responsible for swiftly detecting any flaws, errors, bugs, and other problems in a system. Doing so will allow them to produce successful software or applications with high standards for quality, performance, functionality, and other aspects. Defect leakage testing is straightforward, thanks to Testsigma&#8217;s intuitive interface.



Since everything is already configured, the initial setup requires little time or effort. You can do defect leakage testing quickly and maintain automated tests quickly with Testsigma. The best method for evaluating test coverage is defect leakage. They may also calculate the percentage of flaws that leak to a later stage and obtain the total number of concealed and unrecoverable faults with the help of the matrix defect leakage. Furthermore, defect leakage is significant since software testing is more effective when defect leaking is minimal.