Technology
Testing is one of the phases in the software development life cycle (SDLC). It is done to determine the quality of the software. The phase comprises four stages /processes: component testing, integration testing, Requirement/system testing, and acceptance testing.
Role and importance of testing in the software development life cycle
Testing helps to improve the reliability, quality, and performance of the software. It checks what the software is supposed to do and what it does not. Testing examines programs for discovering problems and errors early in the system.
The expectation on which testing stage would occur earlier or later in SDLC
When designing software, the testing stage should occur earlier to capture and eliminate defects in the early stages of software development; this helps to troubleshoot defects incurred in early stages and evade possible rework costs.
Testing process in Software development
The testing phase comprises three stages: component testing, integration testing, requirement testing, and acceptance testing.In the component stage, all components are tested to ensure that each is working as expected.
Requirements/system testing involves focusing on the whole software and not the components. It is done to ascertain the performance, reliability, and usability of the final developed system. In the integration stage, all units are combined and tested as a group .the purpose of this stage is to expose faults in the interaction between integrated units (use of test drivers and test stubs is employed)
Finally, acceptance testing is done to determine the efficiency and convenience achieved by using the software system. It is presented to users, for instance, business teams, to test their business perspectives, after which they give feedback depending on the experience achieved from using the software system.
The reason why Testing should occur earlier in software development
Testing should be done earlier to spot and eliminate drawbacks in the early stages of the software development lifecycle. It is more cost-effective and efficient to fix bugs earlier than later since the cost of fixing an issue increases exponentially as the software under design moves forward.