System testing of software or hardware is testing performed on a complete, integrated system to check and evaluate the system's compliance with its specified requirements. System testing falls within the scope of black box testing, and as such, should require no knowledge of the inner design of the code or logic. [1]
As a rule, system testing takes, as its input, all of the "integrated" software components that have successfully passed integration testing and also the software system itself integrated with any applicable hardware system(s). System testing is a more limiting type of testing; it seeks to detect defects both within the "inter-assemblages" and also within the system as a whole.
System testing is performed on the entire system in the context of a Functional Requirement Specification(s) (FRS) and/or a System Requirement Specification (SRS). System testing is an investigatory testing phase, where the focus is to have almost a destructive attitude and tests not only the design, but also the behavior and even the believed expectations of the customer. It is also intended to test up to and beyond the bounds defined in the software/hardware requirements specification(s). System testing includes the Load testing and Stress Testing. Once the Load testing and Stress testing is completed successfully, the next level of Alpha Testing or Beta Testing will go ahead.
Types of system testing
The following examples are different types of testing that should be considered during System testing:
GUI software testing
Usability testing
Performance testing
Compatibility testing
Error handling testing
Load testing
Volume testing
Stress testing
User help testing
Security testing
Scalability testing
Capacity testing
Sanity testing
Smoke testing
Exploratory testing
Ad hoc testing
Regression testing
Reliability testing
Recovery testing
Installation testing
Maintenance testing
Accessibility testing
(Source: Wikipedia)
P.Lobrin
plobrin@gmail.com
Website QA/Tester
