In a software product, defects and failures can rise from many sources. Some of the most common reasons due to which we can find defects and failures during software testing process are given below

  • Errors in specifications, design and implementation of the software
  • Incorrect use of the software product
  • Unfavourable environmental conditions
  • In some cases, intentional damage
  • Potential consequences of earlier errors

Each of the above reason is further explained in detail below.

Errors in Specifications, Design and Implementation

Specifications of a software is a basically the outline of the software product being developed. It describes the functional and non-functional aspects of the software documented in a detailed manner with prose and pictures. In case of testing specifications, it is not necessary to have a code, which means even without having the code, we can test the specifications.

It has been observed that almost 55% of the defects present in the software are mainly due to the errors in specifications of the software. Therefore, testing the specifications of the software first saves a lot of time and money in the later stages of the software development lifecycle.

Incorrect use of the software product

Error due to incorrect use of software product arises mainly due to insufficient knowledge that the tester has about the software product being tested. In these cases, the tester may not know all the functionalities of the product and hence, during the process of testing he might find some defects and failures within the product.

It can also happen that the developer may not have understood the correct functionalities of the software that is required to be developed.

Therefore, they might have developed the software based on their understanding of the features required, which may not exactly match with the expectations, causing the defects or failures to arise during software testing.

Unfavourable Environmental Conditions

In many cases, it happens that the testers setup a wrong testing environment which may result in the occurrence of defects and failures. In recent surveys, it was found that almost 40% of the tester’s time is consumed in finding the right testing environment for the software.

Not finding the right testing environment can have a great impact on the quality and productivity of the software product. Therefore, testers pay a lot of attention in deciding the right testing environment to ensure the required quality and on time delivery of the software.

Intentional Damage

Sometimes, the defects and failures being reported by the tester while testing the product may arise because of the damage caused intentionally. To understand this better, consider the example below.

Consider an application which is not yet secure and does not check for the SQL Injections. Then, the tester may intentionally inject SQL commands into the software that may cause the application data to corrupt. In this case, the damage is caused intentionally by the tester and has been reported.

However, in this situation, had the tester not entered the SQL commands intentionally, then the issue that the software product is not yet secure would not have been exploited, which may leave the product prone to hackers who could cause a great deal of intentional damage to the software.

Potential consequences of earlier errors

It is better to introduce software testing in the early stages of the software development lifecycle. This increases the chance of finding defects in the earlier stages of product development. Doing so greatly reduces the time and cost involved in repairing defects in the future stages of development.

Moreover, in some cases the errors discovered in the earlier stages are not completely fixed and can lead to defects and failures in the future. Hence, it is really important to introduce software testing during early stages and the process should be done in an organized and detailed manner for the best possible results.