RELEASE TESTING:
Release testing is the process of testing a particular release of a system that is intended for use outside of the development team. Normally, the system release is for customers and users. In a complex project, however, the release could be for other teams that are developing related systems. For software products, the release could be for product management who then prepare it for sale.
There are two important distinctions between release testing and system testing during the development process:
1. A separate team that has not been involved in the system development should be responsible for release testing.
2. System testing by the development team should focus on discovering bugs in the system (defect testing). The objective of release testing is to check that the system meets its requirements and is good enough for external use (validation testing).
The primary goal of the release testing process is to convince the supplier of the system that it is good enough for use. If so, it can be released as a product or delivered to the customer. Release testing, therefore, has to show that the system delivers its specified functionality, performance, and dependability, and that it does not fail during normal use. It should take into account all of the system requirements, not just the requirements of the end-users of the system.
Release testing is usually a black-box testing process where tests are derived from the system specification. The system is treated as a black box whose behavior can only be determined by studying its inputs and the related outputs. Another name for this is ‘functional testing’, so-called because the tester is only concerned with functionality and not the implementation of the software.
