What is Installation Testing?

Installation Testing is also known as Implementation testing and it is done to check whether the software is properly installed in the new system with its necessary data and is working as expected or not. Installation testing is a phase of testing which is done just before the interaction of end-users with the application. It is one of the most important phases in the software testing life cycle (STLC).

Moreover, with the assistance of installation testing the team of testers are able to validate the quality as well as the correctness of the installation process and ensure that the users receive optimum user experience.

Features of Installation Testing

Before moving ahead, it is important to know about the basic features of installation testing. Here are some important features:

It should have a specified team of Software testing along with the Configuration. It identifies and detects bugs and defects in the installation process.

It is activity-based testing.

Installation testing is the last phase of STLC.

It is very important to ensure an ideal user experience.

‍

How to perform Installation Testing?

Installation testing holds a very significant value in the software testing life cycle (STLC). It is very important to carry it out properly so that it leaves no chances for any glitches. You can ensure smooth testing by following below given points:

Check for existing versions of the software and validate if the software installer checks for them too. During installation validate if the software gives a choice to the user to specify the installation location and also offers a choice of the default location. Also, validate it installs the software in the specified location.

Validate the appropriate display of instructions on the installer.

Verify that software is easy to install from various locations like the internet, over the network, from the CD, etc.

Stop the installation process in between and check if the system returns to its original state.

Manually check for the disk space and then validate if the software installer calculated the disk space appropriately.

Validate software reactions for low disk space. Check if it responds accurately when the disk space is low.

Verify all the registry changes during the installation process.

One major part of installation testing is uninstallation testing. Validate while uninstalling the software, the system deletes all the related system files.

Today, the software is available on various platforms, hence it is very important to validate their proper installation on different platforms. Though it is time-consuming, it is very important to ensure that, the software is easy to install on various platforms.

Installation Testing Tools

There are many tools available in the market. Some are licensed and one needs to buy it while some are open source and can be used for free as available on the Internet.

Almost all the test cases of Installation Testing are automated in order to reduce the efforts of repetitive tasks and get the maximum output. For Installation testing, test cases need to be designed very precisely in order to cover a maximum number of scenarios.

Some of the frequently used tools for Installation testing are:

1. RSpec
2. Aruba
3. Minitest

Challenges Installation testing has become complex with time as the software is distributed in different ways. having a wide scope and being time-consuming and might be very challenging for a time. Some of the common challenges are given below

The Installation test cases need to be run on various environments with different configurations. They need to be run under various system conditions.

It gets time-consuming to run of multiple test cases on different systems with various configurations. There are no clear test models, tools and test coverage criterion so, that can further increase the challenge.

‍

Advantages of Installation Testing

The biggest advantage is it crosses verifies that no module or section of the software or app designed is left untouched on the basis of test cases that are performed.

Any software or app which is designed normally follows a certain set of standards, according to industry or client. Installation testing is a very crucial part of the process of the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC). The greater the output results of the installation testing higher the chances are of the software or app to be near perfect. The output is very helpful to developers in order to improve the app or software after getting the error inputs from testers.

Installation testing proves to be a very handy method to check that all the versions of the software used are up to date and if not, it prompts for updating the versions to the latest one.

Common Test Cases

There should be test cases for all workflows based on the requirement.

Include test cases to verify the already installed versions of the product and to verify the path of the newer version.

Test cases for validating required Disk space are crucial.

Have test cases to validate all the messages to be displayed while installation.

Include test cases to check disk space, before and after installation.

Have Test cases to compare the files and packages of the previously installed version with the newly installed version.

Validating the changes in the registry is an important inclusion.

Forced stop of installation is another aspect that requires to be checked. Include test cases to validate custom installation and default installation path.

Include test cases to test the installation process while similar software that uses a lot of RAM is also running.

Don’t forget to include test cases to test for insufficient memory and insufficient disk space.

Have test cases to check the installation process while the security is high and firewalls are ON. Include test cases to test the time taken for installation.

Include test cases for successful un-installation testing.

Conclusion

Installation is the first interaction of the user with the software. Good installation testing resulting in no issues and hence smooth Installation generate customer confidence to use the software further. Smooth Installation also ensures that all the components of the software are available and coordinated properly. So be very particular, while performing installation testing on your product.

‍