What Is Back-to-Back Testing?

by Tetiana Sukmanik | November 10, 2015 10:02 am

Note: This article was updated in May 2020

 

Back-to-back testing is a software testing type widely used by testers. Why did it gain such popularity? The reason is simple – its effectiveness. It saves much time for the testers. This article can be useful for those who want to get acquainted with the basics of Back-to-back testing.

Definition

Back-to-back testing is a type of testing which is conducted if there are two or more variants of components with similar functionality. It is also called Comparison Testing[1]. The aim of back-to-back testing is comparing the results to check if there are any divergences in the work.

Back-to-back testing process

• The process of Back-to-Back testing is quite simple and clear. It consists of such steps:
• Test Cases preparation
  Test cases are designed
• Application running
  Executing the testing and storing the results in different files
• Comparison and reporting
  Test results are automatically compared and after that report which includes indicated problems in the different versions.

Benefits of Back-to-back testing

This type of testing is widely used and it possesses several benefits. Most engineers find it unnecessary to perform usability testing[2] or performance testing[3]. They use back-to-back testing instead for some reasons:

• it can single out the potential weak and strong spots of the compared versions
• it is cost-effective
• it analyses the important software features requiring modifications
• it can be conducted even after substantial changes
• it helps to understand the system structure better, the results can serve as a basis for further changes.

Conclusion

Back-to-back testing has several benefits both for developers and customers. It has reached a great popularity because of its being effective, fast and time-saving. Using this testing type is a must for companies who want to enhance the testing process and understand the software system better.

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Source URL: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2015/11/10/back-back-testing/

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