What is End-to-End (E2E) Testing?
Testing provides peace of mind and increases confidence in a software build by ensuring each line of code, the features, and every flow continues to work as expected.
This article brings out more clarity on what is end-to-end (e2e) testing.
End-to-end testing or E2E Testing is essential for assessing the quality of your software and forms a significant part of the Software Development Lifecycle.
What is E2E Testing?
End to end testing is a type of software testing that ensures the entire system or application works correctly. End-to-end tests are important because they cover all aspects of an app, including design, development, and deployment. It includes both functional and non-functional tests. This type of testing can be done manually by professional testers or automation testing tool like Selenium WebDriver and Appium.
In practical terms, E2E Testing basically replicates the actions an end-user would perform. So by this simulation, we understand what an application would actually perform. For example, say we need to check the login page on the website or purchase form, e2e testing does the check.
Steps to perform E2E Testing:
Here are a few simple steps to perform the test:
- Planning and Designing test cases
- Executing the test
- Results in either Pass/ Fail
- Testers debug the code
- Re-running the test after debugging
Types of E2E Testing:
There are two types of e2e testing: Manual and automated.
Manual testing is one of the most common types of testing that is done in the industry. It involves human testing the product to find bugs and errors in it. This type of testing is sometimes time-consuming, but it is a very important step to ensure that the product meets all standards.
Automated testing, on the other hand, can be done by machines or with applications that are designed for this purpose. This type of testing can be much more efficient because it is faster than manual testing and can also cover a lot more ground.
Manual vs Automation Testing: The key difference in E2E testing:
- Manual testing means that a tester implements tests by hand. A human error can lead to poor testing. In some scenarios, automated tests are more accurate than manual ones and would be able to give you more information about the problem.
- While manual testing may cost less up-front, it could cost you in the future. Automated testing can make your product run more smoothly, and save time, and scale with your business.
- Unlike automation testing, Manual testing is easy to set up and comprehend. Automated testing has a steeper learning curve and is usually difficult to set up.
In order to create a successful app, there are many different steps that need to be taken. One of the most important aspects of an app is the user’s experience. Testing the ‘user experience’ from start to end brings a lot of reassurance about how well and useful an app will be. There are many different types of testing, but one of the most important types that brings assurance of the app’s quality is E2E testing.
