How to Make Your Regression Testing More Effective

This article is all about briefly explaining the regression testing and the scenarios in which regression testing is applied. We will also see how we can formulate an effective and efficient regression testing strategy in order to overcome those challenges.

Let’s have a quick look at the definition of regression testing.

Regression TestingThe definition of regression testing, according to ISTQB glossary:

“Testing of a previously tested program following modification to ensure that defects have not been introduced or uncovered in an unchanged area of the software, as a result of the changes made in the application. It is performed when the software or its environment is changed.”

When to perform Regression Testing?

Regression testing is executed when any of the following situations occurs during software development lifecycle:• A bug is fixed.• A change in requirements is implemented.• A new business rule, feature or functionality is implemented.• A new module, component or subsystem is developed and integrated

to the existing modules or system.

Challenges of Regression Testing

Regression testing is easy to define and understand, but confusing when it comes to perform regression testing of a software product.

One of the reasons is the dynamic nature of software products.

Further to that more complexity gets added as the product’s functionalities and capabilities increase. Lastly, the quality assurance team might also face time limitations and pressure from the management when they are testing the application for regression.

So one got to understand the challenges as well, before you can design a counter strategy for the challenges. Let’s have a look at the common and well known challenges of regression testing, listed below:

Knowledge of Existing Application

Assume a scenario in which new testers join the team, as the workload increases. The new team member’s gets walkthrough of the product and gain knowledge of the new modules, subsystems and components assigned to them. This knowledge might be sufficient for major functional testing, but insufficient for the regression testing.

Exorbitant for Business

Also, Challenge associated with the regression testing is the portrayal of its value to business people.

Therefore, the management might be reluctant in allocating the budget, time and resources to execute the activity of regression testing. Hence, the management can be annoyingly critical and does demands justifications for every cycle of regression testing.

Less Time for Regression Testing

When testers are told to execute regression testing, most often they are tempted to perform exhaustive testing of the product. However, the quality assurance team is not given much time to perform regression testing. Therefore, it is wiser for the quality assurance manager to make sure that the testing team does not spent all energies on a few modules – missing out the testing of other modules due to shortage of team.

Rotate Your Workforce

So the quality manager should also take care of the motivation level and interest of his team members. If you ask the same tester to perform regression testing every time, he may get perforated, disinterested or develops a loop vision. As a result, he will lose the motivation and the quality of testing might drop which means defects could slip through into live release. So, it’s always better to keep rotating your workforce and give different testers the task of performing regression

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