In this article we will learn how we can do GUI Testing. But first of all we all should understand what GUI is.
What is GUI?
GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. Graphical User Interface or GUI allows users to interact with electronic machines through icons. This is found applicable in Computers, Gaming devices, MP3 player, and equipments used in business and household purposes.
A GUI user is able to get information and helping instructions through images. For interacting with any machinery, the user needs a platform which is provided by technologies and devices. As we know visual aids are proven to be more useful for users as compared to command text lines and hence a way of interaction through GUIs is undoubtedly more effective.
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GUI Testing
This is a process of testing the Graphical user interface of any product. Through GUI testing, we test any application's user interface. This is done to check whether it is functioning properly or not.
What we will do in this testing is we follow several tasks and then we compare the results with the expected result. We repeat this process by providing it different input and getting same accuracy level.
This test actually tells us the reactions of various GUI components against the input provided and if it is working properly or not. The GUI components like menu bars, tool bars, buttons, edit fields, images etc are considered under test. Actually interface testing covers a very wide area. It includes testing of all the graphical elements if their functioning is logical or not.
Why and when it is necessary?
Testing a GUI in earlier levels increases the development of any software development cycle. It also improves the quality by reducing the risks which occurs at the end of the cycle. GUI testing should be started when a system prototype is ready so that we can determine the functional potential over the complete package. Also it should be done at the time of modification on the system. While testing, we should focus on control size.
It should be presented in a way so that it should be completely visible on the screen without any scrolling. We can also try its testing with different screen sizes and different resolutions. While doing this make sure that testing can be done on at least three or four real devices.
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If I talk about me, things which I notice while using any application is its presentation. I can easily be attracted by the presentation of the application. Daily we use different types of applications of different style. We come across many applications in which controls and text boxes possess different shapes.
The thing which should be considered is if they sit perfect with the other options or not. Although these things have nothing to do with the functionality of the application. Besides this font is also considered as an important aspect.
In GUI testing we test every action and event, all the sequences. It includes testing of all the buttons and tools as we discussed above in our article.
Types of GUI testing
Functional testing
Usability Testing
Functional Testing : In functional testing, we develop test cases, cover events and actions and then provide various inputs for checking. Finally, the output is compared with the expected result of that application.
Usability Testing: It is used in user-centered interaction design. Using this method testing is done from a real user's point of view. This actually measures the usability or ease of usability of testing measures of any application or set of applications.
Manual GUI Testing : When we do manual testing, we have to focus more on testing a function. In this method, planning has no limitations in generating path or finding a new path beyond prior imaginations. This testing can fail when there is a possibility of changing code daily. It is very difficult for the testers to do testing manually in that case. Plus manual testing is error-prone.
Automated GUI Testing
In Automated GUI Testing we use a software program to detect if the desktop application is functionally correct; a software program is used to detect if your desktop application is functionally correct or not.
It is comparatively more efficient and considered to be more reliable as compared with other types of testing. Although it is error-prone and requires more time. In automatic testing, we do testing automatically and then compare the result with the expected output. These GUI tests can be repeated multiple times with different data sets after writing once.
Conclusion : GUI Testing means for testing the background, color, and font of any application. In short the presentation of any application on different types of devices and their functionality as well. Companies prefer functional testing as it has a wider test coverage levels and more reliability.
Resources
Black Box & White Box testing
Basics of Manual Testing
Automated Testing