According to BCG, about 80% of companies systematically increase their efforts to digitalize their business. They increase the budget involved in the development and testing of IT solutions. Such investments increase the chances of a successful business transformation and transfer to the digital universe. Statista forecasts that global spending on DT in 2025 will reach $2.8 trillion.
Modern native mobile and web apps are very different from similar virtual products of a decade ago. This means that quality and productivity issues are particularly acute. It is important to combine development and QA processes and apply Agile methodology, which increases the cost of creating IT resources but improves their final quality.
Testing modern IT solutions implies constant interaction with the development team, the customer, and the project manager. It also uses various techniques and methodologies. Today we will briefly talk about static and dynamic testing difference and analyze in detail each type and its components.
Table of Contents
Static Testing
Static testing definition implies those processes that are performed without compiling and therefore reproducing the code or program. Its key task is to identify artifacts and bugs when checking code, certain conditions, or functions.
Examples and static testing types:
Requirement testing.
Specification analysis.
Code research.
Roadmap planning.
Case creation.
Scriptwriting.
Development or analysis of documentation.
Checking page content.
Static testing in software testing helps a QA specialist find bugs from the early stages of SDLC and determine the health of functions, elements, and code fragments. Also, it saves the budget and reduces time and resources from the first days of work on the project.
Static Testing Methods:
Review: The tester’s task is to review the document and leave comments on it.
Analysis of technical specifications: comparison of tasks and theoretical methods for their solution. This includes reviewing specs by the team, planning test milestones, creating a roadmap, list of tests and scenarios.
Instruction: the project leader meets the performers and explains the tasks and nuances. They also answer questions and analyze the comments of the participants.
Validation: A specific IT product is examined to find inconsistencies, problems, bugs, or artifacts.
Code analysis: an example of a white box method. The code is checked for errors, bad syntax, or other technical problems. The bottom line is to compare the actual performance with the required.
The advantages of static testing include simplicity, speed, and reliability. This type of bug search saves resources and time while it works regardless of project readiness, i.e., it can be carried out from the first stages of developing an IT solution.
Dynamic Testing
Dynamic testing is a direct check of the app’s health as a whole and its functions, interface, or modules. The key task is to find errors during the app’s operation or its fragment. This requires either a software prototype or a customized test environment with a deployed or emulated IT solution.
Dynamic testing includes:
Modular: a specific module or finished app fragment is tested directly by the developer. Requires knowledge of the development language and understanding of coding, architecture, and compilation basics.
Integration: a comprehensive check of the attached modules to the system. The main goal is to identify and eliminate errors that occur when synchronizing code fragments.
System: all disparate components are brought together and integrated into the body of the program for a comprehensive test. The purpose of the test is to determine the application’s health and its compliance with the specifications.
Dynamic testing is used in the development of mobile, desktop, and web apps to ensure the quality of the final product. The level of “usability” of an IT solution and, accordingly, the number of customers, the level of income, and payback depend on its success. That is why it is essential to include dynamic testing in the package of ordered QA services.
Main Differences Between Static and Dynamic Testing Types
Since the basic principles of static and dynamic are very different, so are the apps, techniques, and even their tools. The same goes for performers. If some tests require testers, then some require QA engineers and even direct developers who can check their code or program fragments written by colleagues.
Let’s take a closer look at the difference between the two types.
Type | Static testing | Dynamic testing |
Compiling and reproducing code | Not required | Conducted on ready-made emulated fragments |
Purpose | Early testing of code, documentation, and specifications | Multi-step app testing with cycle updates at each sprint |
Task | Preventing and eliminating bugs before development begins | Finding, localizing, and neutralizing errors during the development of an IT solution |
What improves the type of testing | Analyzes code, its cleanliness, quality and functionality | Identifies bugs, provides reports, controls the correction |
Dependencies | Tests depend on the checklist and require unconditional adherence to the planned plan | Verification relies on the described cases, scripts, and scenarios, which determine the testing vector of a fragment |
Execution conditions | Finished code or specifications | Deployed test environment, emulated environment, or compiled program |
Test coverage | Covers code, documentation, and various white-box checks | Features, modules, integrations, relevancy of results, operability, and usability |
Cost | Relatively low | Expensive budget item |
Payback | High rate of return due to low investment and good performance | Medium or slow rate of return due to testing costs that start from later stages of development and continue even after the release of the IT solution to the market |
Benefits | The most relevant feedback, comments, recommendations, and user experience. A necessary element of quality testing | A high percentage of IT product cleaning from various bugs and errors, good efficiency of methods, and maximum app readiness for release after development. A mandatory component in testing |
Team meetings | Frequent meetings to synchronize efforts to analyze app problem areas | On average, fewer meetings are required because most work issues are resolved between sprints |
As much as we would like to save money and choose only one type, of testing, alas, this is impossible. The final quality of an IT solution is influenced by many factors, including thorough static and dynamic testing. Since they are integral parts of a complex process, we recommend using both methods to improve the efficiency of QA service and the usability of the release version of the IT product.
Summarizing
Savings on QA negatively affects the quality of the product, which directly affects the app’s success in the market. Needless to say, poor optimization and a large number of bugs repel customers and create unfavorable conditions for business? That is why it is best to use both types of testing, which prevent the appearance of errors and remove the most serious ones before release.
A comprehensive QA service pays off relatively quickly because, after thorough testing, IT solutions rapidly become popular with users, bringing income and popularity to the app customer. Do you want to invest in the future of your IT product? We will help! With the services of ZappleTech, your startup or next project will enter the market on time and start working before competitors. Contact our manager for advice and delegate the task to industry QA experts!
