Configuration Testing or Configuration Testing

Configuration Testing ( Configuration Testing ) is a special type of testing aimed at checking the software operation under various system configurations (the stated platforms, supported drivers, various computer configurations, etc.)

Depending on the type of project, configuration testing may have different goals:

1. System Profiling Project
   The purpose of testing : to determine the optimal configuration of the equipment, providing the required performance characteristics and reaction time of the system under test.

2. Project on system migration from one platform to another
   Purpose of Testing : Check the object of testing for compatibility with the equipment, operating systems and third-party software products declared in the specification.

Note : In ISTQB Syllabus does not at all talk about this type of testing as configuration. According to the glossary, this type of testing is considered there as testing portability:
configuration testing: See portability testing .
portability of the software product.

Test Levels

For client-server applications, configuration testing can be conditionally divided into two levels (for some types of applications, only one can be relevant):

1. Server
2. Client

At the first (server) level, the interaction of the released software with the environment in which it will be installed is tested:

1. Hardware (type and number of processors, memory size, network / network adapter specifications, etc.)
2. Software (OS, drivers and libraries, third-party software that affects the operation of the application, etc.)

The main focus here is on testing to determine the optimal configuration of the equipment that meets the required quality characteristics (efficiency, portability, maintainability, reliability).

At the next (client) level, the software is tested from the perspective of its end user and the configuration of its workstation. At this stage, the following characteristics will be tested: usability, functionality. To do this, you will need to conduct a series of tests with different configurations of workstations:

1. The type, version and bit depth of the operating system (this type of testing is called cross-platform testing )
2. The type and version of the Web browser, if a Web application is being tested (this type of testing is called cross browser testing )
3. The type and model of the video adapter (this is very important when testing games)
4. Application work at different screen resolutions
5. Driver versions, libraries, etc. (For JAVA applications, the version of the JAVA machine is very important, it can also be said for .NET applications regarding the version of .NET library)

etc.

Testing Procedure

Before starting the configuration test it is recommended:

• create a coverage matrix ( a coverage matrix is a table into which all possible configurations are entered),
• prioritize configurations (in practice, most likely, all the desired configurations cannot be verified),
• step by step, in accordance with the prioritized, check each configuration.

Already at the initial stage, it becomes obvious that the greater the requirements for the operation of the application with different configurations of workstations, the more tests we will need to conduct. In this regard, we recommend, if possible, automate this process, since it is during configuration testing that automation really helps save time and resources. Of course, automated testing is not a panacea, but in this case it will be a very effective helper.

Summarize what we have

• Configuration testing is the compatibility of the released product (software) with various hardware and software.
• The main objectives are to determine the optimal configuration and check the compatibility of the application with the desired environment (hardware, OS, etc.)
• automation of configuration testing avoids unnecessary costs