CTO at BRKFST
Jon Lopinot
We make sure any updates within your software do not harm its overall performance. Let’s catch defects before deployment and get the safety net you need with meticulous validation of your new and improved product version.
Get a consultationOur specialists become full-fledged members of the clients’ teams soon after they join the projects. Each QA expert is as dedicated to your goals as you are. Our average retention on the QA software testing project is 3.5 years. Many clients have been working with our dedicated QA experts far more than that, and many choose to return with their new projects.
When it comes to software testing and QA, regression testing is one of its key, mandatory elements. In IT, “regression testing” means a systematic quality assurance process that ensures software stability during continuous development cycles. As you see, the very definition for regression testing emphasizes its continuity and role. As software evolves through feature additions, updates, and bug fixes, it needs a comprehensive safety net to verify that new code changes don’t introduce unexpected issues or break existing functionality. Why regression testing matters is simple: it helps organizations minimize risks and provide high-quality software products that meet evolving technical standards.
Regression testing should be performed systematically to ensure software quality throughout the development lifecycle. Our comprehensive service portfolio combines various testing approaches that help your team achieve this. The right mix of quality assurance activities will help you maintain software reliability while adapting to changing technical requirements and user expectations.
Understanding and applying different types of regression testing is crucial for keeping your software at its top technical and business performance. Our team understands it perfectly and always uses an individual testing approach. Each regression testing strategy is based on your project needs, development stage, and risk factors. We select the most appropriate regression testing type for your software at the moment to ensure comprehensive coverage while optimizing resources.
We test the entire application while optimizing test selection and execution. This approach ensures complete system verification after major updates or releases, balancing thorough coverage with efficient resource utilization.
We identify the most critical test cases based on risk analysis, change impact, and business priorities. Executing those helps maintain high quality while reducing testing time and effort, making it perfect for frequent releases.
We focus on specific software areas directly affected by changes and their immediate dependencies. It helps quickly validate modifications while ensuring they haven’t impacted closely connected functionality.
When absolute certainty is required, we execute every test case without prioritization. This is a time-consuming but exhaustive approach that provides the highest level of confidence for critical systems or major releases.
We perform focused testing around areas where bugs were previously fixed. QA engineers concentrate on features and components with a history of defects that are more susceptible to future issues and related features.
We test new features alongside existing functionality to support smooth integration and compatibility. This forward-looking approach helps support system stability during continuous development and feature expansion.
Software can be unpredictable. Sometimes, the smallest code modifications affect the unchanged parts of the functionality, and features that are supposed to work stop working. That’s why regression testing is required. In practice, the regression testing benefits extend far beyond simple bug detection. Regular regression testing is an integral part of a more comprehensive quality assurance framework that directly affects software performance and overall process efficiency.
QA Madness helps tech companies strengthen their in-house teams by staffing dedicated manual and automated testing experts.
Regression testing is very nuanced, with its strategy depending greatly on the particularities of the specific software, current business environment, short-term and long-term goals, etc. Our regression testing process flow explanation will help you understand how the process is structured in general and what elements it consists of.
Establishing the foundation for the tests.
QA engineers start regression test planning by meticulously analyzing your software architecture. They identify critical components and potential change impact zones. Our experts map out the most vulnerable system areas, create detailed risk assessments, and develop a strategic testing roadmap based on business criticality and historical defect patterns.
The team prepares a comprehensive regression testing strategy that outlines the entry and exit criteria for regression testing, regression testing scope, regression testing objectives, tools and resources, and overall regression testing methodology. Altogether, this help set clear expectations and commitments for the quality assurance process.
Preparing the regression testing documentation.
QA specialists extend the testing strategy with practical documenation—a regression test plan and test cases or checklists that cover existing functionality and potential interaction points. The task is to cover all agreed features, ensuring none are compromised during software evolution.
Our experts carefully select test cases based on the chosen type of regression testing. It can be prioritizing scenarios with high historical failure rates, complex system interactions, critical user workflows, or testing the entire app. The team develops regression testing documents that suit this specific stage of product development but can be reusable.
Executing the tests across software ecosystems.
With the test environment set up, a regression testing plan and other documentation finalized, the team moves to test execution. QA engineers perform regression testing relying on predefined scenarios. The latter can cover functional, performance, and integration testing dimensions – all at once or only the selected aspect. This approach can change with time or vary across sprints.
The comprehensive test suites (or regression test scripts if it’s regression automation testing) allow our QA engineers to discover whether new code changes have introduced unintended side effects or degraded existing system performance. Each test execution is documented in detail for accurate issue tracking and delivering maximum transparency with actionable insights.
Refining and validating software integrity after modifications.
The stabilization phase of regression testing QA focuses on addressing and retesting identified issues. The task of QA engineers is to make sure that the system remains stable after the fixes. Our team performs targeted regression tests to confirm that problem resolutions don’t introduce new complications or compromise existing functionality.
Stabilization implies thorough verification of functional and non-functional aspects across different system configurations. This phase can involve rigorous re-testing, validation of fixes, and comprehensive impact analysis. Only sufficient change-related QA inspections can guarantee uninterrupted software performance.
Getting ready for deployment and the following iterations.
The delivery stage provides a complete overview of the results of the regression testing round that was conducted. QA specialists review the regression flow and results (often in cooperation with software engineers), discuss the identified issues, and share strategic recommendations for ongoing software maintenance.
QA engineers compile a manual regression test report (or share a tool-generated automated regression test report) to support informed decision-making and future development strategies. The team overviews the deployment and can run a quick regression check in production. This can mark the end of the regression testing or its recent cycle. In the latter case, QA specialists restart the process and begin planning for the next sprint.
Selecting the right regression testing service provider will transform your software quality processes and accelerate development cycles. QA Madness has been chosen by a variety of companies as a trusted QA partner with extensive experience across industries and technologies. Here’s what you get if delegating regression QA to our team.
Our team has experience working with companies of diverse sizes and specializations from around the globe. We bring in vast technical and domain expertise in mobile, web, IoT, AI testing, and more.
Most of our experts are Middle- and Senior-level professionals with years of experience and knowledge in several domains. Hire an ISTQB-certified tester, a QA Lead, etc., or share a request for other specific roles.
Our direct, extensive, and timely communication is one of the aspects clients value the most in the cooperation. We guarantee detailed documentation, constant availability, full transparency, and proactivity.
We are committed to agreements, timelines, your team’s vision, and your business goals. In terms of dependability and work quality, you won’t see the difference between in-house and outsourced specialists.
Every software product deserves a custom-tailored QA strategy, and we guarantee that for each and every product. From overall milestones to reports, everything will be tailored to match your development journey.
We strive to do more than just report bugs. QA engineers can actively participate in the development, helping to prevent issues. We also suggest relevant QA strategy and team adjustments at the right time.
Software development and product teams often have questions about regression testing services, methodologies, and best practices. We’ve compiled detailed answers to some common questions to help you understand how regression testing works and how it can benefit your projects. For more detailed practical inquiries regarding QA for your product specifically, contact our team. They’ll be glad to share more information.
Regression testing verifies that recent code changes haven’t adversely affected existing features. To explain regression testing in software testing with example, picture a mobile banking app. Suppose developers add a new feature for cryptocurrency trading. In this case, regression testing is to ensure that core functions like money transfers and bill payments still work perfectly.
The main use of regression testing is a systematic check of all interconnected parts of the software. Back to our example, after you add any new feature or fix the defects, QA engineers verify login security, account balance displays, transaction history, and other critical functionalities. This comprehensive approach helps maintain software stability while allowing for continuous improvement.
All software systems are highly interconnected. Changes in one area can unexpectedly impact others. Modern applications often have complex dependencies, making it crucial to verify that new code integrates seamlessly with existing functionality. That’s why we do regression testing.
Consider a real-world scenario: an e-commerce platform updates its payment processing system. Regression testing shows whether this change affects the shopping cart, order tracking, or customer account features. This provides confidence in the software’s reliability and helps prevent costly production issues that could harm user experience and business reputation.
When to perform regression testing depends on your project’s goals and specifics. It can (and should) be done at several key points in the development cycle. The most common triggers are code changes, bug fixes, feature additions, and software upgrades. It also makes sense to conduct regression testing before major releases or after merging code from different development branches.
Testing frequency depends on project complexity and development pace. Some teams run nightly regression tests on critical features, while others perform comprehensive testing at sprint boundaries. The timing should align with your development workflow and risk tolerance.
The question “What is retesting and regression testing?” can be complicated if QA is a new thing for you. These two terms and testing types seem almost identical at first glance. Yet, retesting and regression testing serve different purposes.
Retesting specifically verifies that reported bugs have been fixed, focusing on the exact scenarios where issues were found. It’s a targeted approach to confirm specific fixes. The regression test process, however, is more comprehensive. It checks whether changes have affected other system parts, even those not directly modified.
Think of retesting as confirming a repair, while regression testing reveals whether the repair has created new problems elsewhere.
Test case selection for regression testing requires strategic thinking. Start by identifying core business functions that must work flawlessly. Include test cases that previously uncovered bugs, cover integrated system components, and verify frequently used features.
Prioritize tests based on risk, business impact, and historical defect patterns. Complex features with many dependencies deserve extra attention. Regular analysis of test results helps refine the selection process over time.
One example of a critical part of probably every application is login functionality. Test cases covering it should include the following.
Here’s a more detailed regression test cases sample:
Test case ID: CT-1
Summary: Check password reset.
Preconditions:
Test Steps:
Expected Results:
The manual regression testing process begins with writing clear test case documentation. It helps keep the process structured and orderly, making it easier to track and manage. QA engineers follow predefined steps, recording results and any deviations from expected behavior. This systematic approach also grants consistency throughout the process.
Manual regression testing requires attention to detail and strong analytical skills. QA specialists must understand both the technical aspects and business context of the software. They document test execution results, including screenshots and detailed steps to reproduce any issues found.
Automated regression testing for software relies on specialized tools and scripts to execute test cases. The latter can be set up once and run multiple times, without interference and unintended, only with occasional test suite updates.
Popular regression testing tools (open source and commercial) allow development teams to run tests consistently and frequently without manual intervention. What’s more, they guarantee higher result accuracy and much faster feedback.
Regression testing procedure for automation involves creating maintainable test scripts, setting up test environments, and establishing reliable test data. Automated tests can run overnight or trigger automatically when code changes are committed, providing rapid feedback to development teams.
Automating regression testing requires higher upfront investments but boosts time and cost efficiency in the long run. Among other things, automated QA regression increases accuracy and reduces test cycles, accelerating your software’s time to market.
Functional and regression testing represent two distinct but complementary testing approaches. Functional testing verifies that new features work according to specifications, focusing on current development requirements. It ensures each component performs its intended function correctly. Regression testing focuses on how software behaves after any code modifications.
In practice, it’s never functional testing vs regression testing. Both are critical. They go hand in hand, appearing at different stages of the development or sprint. Moreover, we can distinguish functional regression testing as a subset of regression QA. It combines both aspects, checking specifically the functionality (as opposed to performance and other nonfunctional aspects) after software modifications.
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