Big Bang Integration Testing

May 14, 2019

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During the process of software development, the software is usually broken into several modules, which are then distributed among various team members for development as well as testing. These modules are then developed individually, and later integrated to form a complete software or application. Moreover, when software engineers combine and test two or more modules, it is known as integration testing. This stage of testing is mainly concerned with the testing of a particular system with other systems and networks. Before the inception of integration testing, it is necessary to have several resources that are essential for successful software testing, such as:

• Different operating systems.
• Various machine configurations.
• Different network configurations.

Performed through various strategies Big bang integration testing, Top-Bottom Integration Testing, Bottom-Up Integration Testing and more, integration testing is a systematic technique for assembling a software system, while conducting tests to uncover errors associated with interfacing.

What is Big Bang Integration Testing?

Big Bang Integration Testing is an integration testing strategy, wherein all units are linked at once, which results in a complete and efficient system. In this type of integration testing all the components as well as the modules of the software are integrated simultaneously, after which everything is tested as a whole. During the process of big bang integration testing, most of the developed modules are coupled together to form a complete software system or a major part of the system, which is then used for integration testing. This approach of software testing is very effective as it enables software testers to save time as well as their efforts during the integration testing process.

However, if the test cases and their results are not properly recorded in big bang testing, the entire integration process can become complicated and may also prevent the testing team from getting their desired goals or results from integration testing. This approach, therefore, is generally executed by those developers who follow the ‘Run it and see’ approach.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Big Band Integration Testing

Big bang integration testing is a benefiting approach of software testing that provides us a complete software system or application before the commencement of integration testing. By performing big bang integration testing during the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), testers can enjoy fast testing and can effortlessly conduct further testing. This testing technique prevents wastage of extra efforts and time, and makes the testing process cost effective. However, this remarkable approach of software testing does have few drawbacks and disadvantages that ought to be considered before the execution of the testing process.

Benefits:

• Big bang integration testing is used to test the complete system.
• The amount of planning required for this type of testing is almost negligible.
• All the modules are completed before the inception of integration testing.
• It does not require assistance from middle components such as stubs and driver, on which testing is dependent.
• Big bang testing is cost effective.
• There is no need of immediate builds and efforts required for the system.

Drawbacks:

• In Big bang integration testing, it is difficult to trace the cause of failures as the modules are integrated late.
• This approach is quite challenging and risky, as all the modules and components are integrated together in a single step.
• If any bug is found it becomes difficult to detach all the modules on order to find out its root cause.
• Defects present at the interface of components are identified at a later stage, as all the components are integrated in one shot.
• Since all the modules are tested together chances of failure increases.
• There is a high probability of missing some crucial defects, errors and issues, which might pop up in the production environment.
• It is difficult and tough to cover all the cases for integration testing without missing even a single scenario.
• Isolating any defect or bug during the testing process is difficult.
• If the test cases and their results are not recorded properly, it can complicate the integration testing and prevent developers and testers from achieving their desired goals.

Conclusion:

Big Bang Integration Testing is the Integration testing where no incremental testing takes place prior to all the system’s components being combined to form the system. In this approach, individual modules are integrated until all the modules are ready, and all or most units are combined and tested in one go.

This type of software testing is taken or performed when the testing team receives the software in one bundle, as it allows them to test all the modules together without separately testing them. With the assistance of this testing, one can effectively save time in integration testing process and ensure that the product is being developed as per the requirements stated by the client or an organisation. Even though this approach can be time consuming, Big Bang Integration testing is the best way to test several modules of a component or a system simultaneously.