View source for Non-functional testing

{{Short description|Testing the qualities as opposed to the correctness of software}}

{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}

'''Non-functional testing''' is [[Software testing|testing]] [[Software|software]] for its [[Non-functional requirement|non-functional requirement]]s: the way a system operates, rather than specific behaviors of that system.
<ref>{{cite web |title=non-functional testing - ISTQB Glossary |url=https://glossary.istqb.org/en_US/term/non-functional-testing |website=ISTQB Glossary |publisher=International Software Testing Qualifications Board |access-date=2025-11-04}}</ref> This is in contrast to [[Functional testing|functional testing]], which tests against [[Functional requirement|functional requirement]]s that describe the functions of a system and its components.

==Types of non-functional testing ==
===Accessibility testing===
Accessibility testing is a non-functional testing activity that verifies whether a system, website, or application can be perceived, operated, and understood by people with a wide range of disabilities and whether it meets objective accessibility criteria such as the [[Web Content Accessibility Guidelines]], WCAG success criteria. It typically combines automated checks,
to detect obvious technical failures, manual inspection, to evaluate semantic structure, keyboard navigation, and ARIA usage, and human usability testing with people who have disabilities to assess real-world effectiveness and usability. Many government and organizational web standards now require WCAG conformance and explicitly treat accessibility as a mandatory non-functional quality attribute of public-facing digital services. Practical guides and industry overviews describe accessibility testing as a specialized subset of usability and non-functional testing that focuses on legal conformance, inclusive design, and measurable success criteria rather than functional feature behaviour alone.*
<ref>{{cite book |last=Lazar |first=Jonathan |author2=Goldstein, Daniel |author3=Taylor, Anne Marie |title=Ensuring Digital Accessibility through Process and Policy |publisher=Elsevier |year=2015 |isbn=978-0128006467}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book |last=Yesilada |first=Yeliz |author2=Harper, Simon |title=Web Accessibility: A Foundation for Research |publisher=Springer |year=2019 |isbn=978-1447174400}}</ref>

===Baseline testing===
[[Baseline (configuration management)|Baseline]] testing is a non-functional activity that establishes a measured reference for key quality attributes (for example, response time, throughput, resource usage, error rates, and availability) against which future changes, releases, or configurations are compared. It usually occurs early in a release cycle or after a major environment change and combines controlled synthetic tests (benchmarks, scripted workloads, profiling) with monitored production observations to capture representative operating conditions. The baseline results are recorded as pass/fail thresholds, performance budgets, or trend series so regressions, capacity drift, and configuration-induced degradation can be detected quickly and triaged. Best practice is to store baseline test artifacts (test scripts, input datasets, environment definitions, and raw metrics) alongside the release so reruns are reproducible and comparisons remain meaningful across time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baseline Testing |url=https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-testing/baseline-testing/ |website=GeeksforGeeks |publisher=GeeksforGeeks |date=2025-07-23 |access-date=2025-11-04}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |title=Baseline Testing: What is it, and Why is it Important? |url=https://testsigma.com/blog/baseline-testing/ |website=Testsigma Blog |publisher=Testsigma |date=2025-06-26 |access-date=2025-11-04}}</ref>

===Compliance testing ===
{{Excerpt|Compliance testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Documentation testing ===
{{Excerpt|Documentation testing}}

===Endurance testing===
{{Excerpt|Endurance testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Load testing===
{{Excerpt|Load testing}}

===Localization testing===
{{Excerpt|Pseudolocalization|paragraphs=1}}

===Reliability testing===
{{Excerpt|reliability testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Recovery testing===
{{Excerpt|Recovery testing|paragraphs=1|only=paragraphs}}

===Software performance testing===
{{Excerpt|Software performance testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Security testing===
{{Excerpt|Security testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Scalability testing===
{{Excerpt|Scalability testing|paragraphs=1}}

===Stress testing===
{{Excerpt|Stress testing|only=paragraphs|paragraphs=1}}

===Usability testing===
{{Excerpt|Usability testing|only=paragraphs|paragraphs=1}}

===Volume testing===
{{Excerpt|Volume testing|only=paragraphs|paragraphs=1}}

==See also==
* {{anl|Software quality}}
* {{anl|ISO/IEC 25010}}
* {{anl|ISTQB Certified Tester}}
* {{anl|Performance engineering}}
* {{anl|Capacity planning}}
* {{anl|Mean time between failures}}
* {{anl|Benchmark (computing)}}
* {{anl|Web Content Accessibility Guidelines}}
* {{anl|Human–computer interaction}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin |30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Myers |first=Glenford J. |title=The Art of Software Testing |edition=3rd |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Hoboken, NJ |year=2011 |isbn=978-1118031964}}
* {{cite book |last=Kaner |first=Cem |author2=Falk, Jack |author3=Nguyen, Hung Quoc |title=Testing Computer Software |edition=2nd |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=978-0471358466}}
* {{cite book |last=Beizer |first=Boris |title=Software Testing Techniques |edition=2nd |publisher=International Thomson Computer Press |location=Boston |year=1995 |isbn=9788177222609}}
* {{citation|type=standard |title=ISO/IEC 25010:2011 Systems and software engineering — Systems and software Quality Requirements and Evaluation (SQuaRE) — System and software quality models |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |year=2011}}
* {{citation|type=standard |title=IEEE Standard for Software and System Test Documentation (IEEE 829-2008) |publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |year=2008}}
* {{cite book |last=Black |first=Rex |title=Advanced Software Testing – Vol. 2: Guide to the ISTQB Advanced Certification as an Advanced Test Manager |publisher=Rocky Nook |location=Santa Monica, CA |year=2009 |isbn=9781933952192}}
* {{cite book |last=Graham |first=Dorothy |author2=Van Veenendaal, Erik |author3=Evans, Isabel |author4=Black, Rex |title=Foundations of Software Testing: ISTQB Certification |publisher=Cengage Learning |location=London |year=2008 |isbn=978-1844809899}}
* {{cite conference |last=Bertolino |first=Antonia |title=Software Testing Research: Achievements, Challenges, Dreams |book-title=Future of Software Engineering (FOSE '07) |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |year=2007 |pages=85–103 |doi=10.1109/FOSE.2007.25}}
* {{cite journal |last=Li |first=Zhi |author2=Harman, Mark |author3=Hierons, Robert M. |title=Search Algorithms for Regression Test Case Prioritization |journal=IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering |volume=33 |issue=4 |year=2007 |pages=225–237 |doi=10.1109/TSE.2007.38}}
{{refend}}

==External links ==
* {{cite web |title=ISO/IEC 25010:2011 – Systems and software quality models |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/35733.html |website=ISO |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |access-date=2025-11-04}}
* {{cite web |title=OWASP Top Ten |url=https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/ |website=OWASP |publisher=Open Worldwide Application Security Project |access-date=2025-11-04}}
* {{cite web |title=Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview |url=https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/ |website=W3C Web Accessibility Initiative |publisher=World Wide Web Consortium |access-date=2025-11-04}}
* {{cite web |title=Non-Functional Testing – GeeksforGeeks |url=https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-testing/software-testing-non-functional-testing/ |website=GeeksforGeeks |publisher=GeeksforGeeks |date=2025-07-20 |access-date=2025-11-04}}
* {{cite web |title=Complete Guide to Non-Functional Testing: 51 Types, Examples & Applications |url=https://www.testrail.com/blog/non-functional-testing/ |website=TestRail Blog |publisher=TestRail |date=2024-11-14 |access-date=2025-11-04}}
* {{cite web |title=Non-Functional Testing: A Complete Handbook for Developers |url=https://www.orientsoftware.com/blog/non-functional-testing/ |website=Orient Software Blog |publisher=Orient Software |date=2024-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-04}}

{{Software testing}}
[[Category:Software testing]]

{{Sourceattribution|Non-functional testing}}