Test Cases for Functional Testing: All You Need to Know!

Introduction To Test Cases for Functional Testing

Before we jump into the detail of test cases for for functional testing, let’s learn the intorduction of it. What behaviours are acceptable and what actions are not have to be governed by some sort of standard. A functional or requirement specification will typically include this information. It is a document that outlines the activities that a user is allowed to perform so that he can evaluate the degree to which an application or system complies with the standard. In addition to that, this might also entail validating the actual business side scenarios at times. As a result, functionality testing can be executed using either of these two common approaches:

• Testing based on Requirements: contains all of the functional specifications that serve as the foundation for all upcoming tests.
• Testing based on Business scenarios: contains details on how the system will be viewed from the perspective of business processes.

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process includes significant amounts of testing and quality assurance. Even if we are not directly involved in the various types of testing on a daily basis, it is our responsibility as testers to be knowledgeable about all of them. Testing can be compared to an ocean, which means that its scope can be extremely broad. Because of this, we have dedicated testers who carry out various types of testing. Although it is highly likely that all of us are already familiar with the majority of the concepts, it certainly won’t hurt to organise everything here.

 

What is a Test Cases for Functional Testing?

It boils down to what it is that you are testing, how you are providing the input, what you anticipate receiving in return, and finally recording the result of the test itself. In addition, test cases can be organised into a variety of categories such as graphical user interface, functional, etc. The term “Functional Test Case” can be used to refer to any test case that validates a particular aspect of an application’s functionality. A functional test case is one that is attached to a particular function or feature of the application and checks to see if that function or feature produces the expected result as described in the Business Specification or Functional Specification Document. It is imperative that, prior to anything being moved to production, the particular feature in question be put through its paces in the test environment to ensure that it is capable of correctly carrying out the necessary function. There are some aspects of the application that you test that are not related to the functionality or feature. There are some GUI-related aspects, such as colour, background, icons, text colour, font size, and so on, that can be tested independently, despite the fact that they are also critical to the application but cannot be considered to be functional test cases. Some examples of these aspects include colour, background, icons, text colour, and font size.

 

Steps for writing test cases for functional testing

Now that we know what functional test cases are, let’s take a look at what they consist of and how to write them down properly. These characteristics should be present in a functional test case:

• Name or description of the feature or function
• the prerequisites for testing it (such as being logged in as a user with a certain access level or paid subscription plan)
• the procedures needed to test it
• The expected outcome

When all of these things are taken into account, the person performing the testing has everything at their disposal that is necessary to fulfil the requirement of the test case. If the app is very large and complicated, with many different feature areas, or if the same function exists in different feature areas, you can write the location of the function in the description section as well. When it comes to writing functional test cases, you should follow these steps:

1. Find out which parts of the topic need to be covered.

Get a high-level overview of the testing project and determine what aspects of the project require testing. Talk to the people in charge of the product to find out more about the new features or updates that are being rolled out, as well as to gain an understanding of the scope and depth of the testing that is required.

2. Create a list of all of the features and functions using a document or spreadsheet.

Now is the time to get into the specifics of the situation. Start compiling a list of all of the features and functions that have to be incorporated into the testing phase. Remember what you already know about the product, add any new features that have been explained to you, and also log in to the app and play around with it to jog your memory about any additional features or functionality that may exist in the product areas in question.

3. Investigate the product to see if any of the tests can be split up or combined.

Compare the items on your list to the product in question. While you are investigating the product, you should determine whether or not certain test cases can be combined (for example, downloading as both a PNG and a JPG), or whether or not you need to split a single concept into multiple test cases.

4. Write each individual test case

Now is the time to start developing the test cases that will be used by your test management solution. It should be possible to enter the relevant data on the test case, assign it to a tester, and allow them to link it to a bug report if that is what is needed. This tool should be made specifically for handling testing and/or development jobs. By doing this, you should be able to provide the necessary data for the test case, assign it to a tester, and enable them to link the test case to a problem report. Take the following as an example of what should be mentioned:

• Description
• Preconditions
• Steps
• Expected result

5. Give testers the test cases.

When it comes to handing out test cases to testers, a certain amount of strategy is required. You do not want to do it in a random fashion because, if you do, the testers will have to all be in different parts of the app rather than dividing and conquering the problem. Divide the entire number of test cases by the total number of testers to get an approximate idea of how many cases should be given to each tester. Let’s use twenty as an illustration of that number. Look over the entire list of test cases, then carefully pick 20 test cases for each tester working concurrently.

Group the test cases by:

• User type
• Access type
• Product area
• Feature release

Make sure there is some overlap in the testing that is done for significant new features and brand new releases by having at least two different testers work on the same case.

6. Create any exploratory test prompts and assign them as well.

You should include exploratory tests in addition to pre-defined test cases, which ensure excellent product coverage. Exploratory tests permit testers to use the application in a more natural way, as if they were actual users of the software. Assign testers certain demands to complete, such as “Edit a video with captions, subtitles, and an intro slide,” or “Manually add a new lead to the CRM,” and let them take any actions necessary to do it. Write some questions such, “Edit a video with captions, subtitles, and an intro slide,” for instance. They will then be able to file bug reports for any problems that they come across along the way.

Two examples of functional test cases

In order to assist in the consolidation of what we’ve learned, here are some examples of functional test cases.

1. Assign a new task

Description: Create a new task and give it to a specific user to complete. The user who will be assigned should have email notifications enabled before the assignment can be made.

Steps:

a. Obtain email addresses for two user profiles.

b. Establish a new task using one of the accounts.

c. Give your other user account the task.

Expected result: An email message indicating the user has been given a task should be sent to them.

2. Download as JPG

Description: Make a JPG file of your design to download.

Preconditions: You ought to be logged in as a paying user and have added one item to the empty canvas.

Steps:

1. As a paying user, log in.

2. Add one headline or icon to a new canvas.

3. Download the image as JPG.

Expected result: Three options for file size and resolution should be presented to you, and the file should download in accordance with your choice.

How to guarantee that the product area is covered by your functional test cases

It is highly likely that you will need to carry out some kind of regression testing in order to cover all of the aspects of the product that could be impacted by any of the new product updates or releases that you are evaluating. Because of this, in addition to the primary feature or functionality that it is your responsibility to test, you should also make a list of the product areas that may be affected by this function, as well as any product areas that are prone to breakage because of the high volume of usage or the complexity of the code. If you spread out your test cycles over a minimum of two or three days, you will be able to review the test material with clearer vision. Maintain an open mind about re-evaluating processes, as this can lead to better results and lower costs associated with software testing. Always open the app before formulating a strategy or writing test cases for it so that you can be absolutely certain that you are not overlooking a feature or function that you would have forgotten about if you hadn’t actually looked at the app.

How to write a good test case for quality product?

When developing a test case, a tester should always keep the needs of the end user in mind. The test case that is successful is the one that is able to discover errors. Complex test cases do not automatically result in the discovery of bugs. There is a possibility that the page’s title contains an error; in order to find it, you will need a thorough test case and an experienced tester’s eye. Always make sure to mention the steps in the test case; this makes the work easier for the developers. It is recommended to carry out only a single check or validation for every single test case. It is not acceptable for your test case to indicate two different things at the same time. If necessary, the test case should be divided in half rather than being summed up all at once. Your cases ought to be self explanatory, and the person who reads your test cases shouldn’t feel the need to get in touch with you to ask you to clarify what you’ve written for them. Make an effort to write test cases that are self-contained and relatively short so that they can be reused later. The test cases provide the foundation upon which you actually test the application and derive the conclusion regarding whether or not the application is ready for production or if there are any issues that must be resolved before it can be released to the public. In light of this, you should always make sure that you write a good test case, as this will eventually help you in regression tests and also prove to be an evidence to what all things were tested and covered during the testing phase in the event that any production issue arises later.

References

Mayfield, D. (2022, December 5). How to write functional test cases for thorough coverage – Testlio. Testlio. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://testlio.com/blog/functional-test-cases/

Functional Test Case Best Practices and Examples | Agilitest blog. (n.d.). Functional Test Case Best Practices and Examples | Agilitest Blog. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.agilitest.com/blog/best-examples-functional-test-cases

https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/guide-to-functional-testing/