Have you done any testing on software installations? What was the experience like? An intriguing aspect of the software testing life cycle is installation testing, often known as implementation testing.
Setting up Testing is similar to welcoming someone into your house. To make everyone feel at ease, the new visitor should be introduced to the entire family. Installing new software is similar to the example above as well.
A customer will undoubtedly be pleased if the installation of the new system goes well, but what if the opposite occurs?
Our program won’t function on that system if the installation goes wrong, and it may also seriously harm the user’s PC. It may be necessary for the user to reinstall the entire operating system..
In the above case will you make an impression on a user? Definitely not! Your first impression of making a loyal customer is ruined due to incomplete installation testing.
What do you need to do to make a good first impression? Test the installer appropriately with a combination of both manual and automated processes on different machines with a different configuration. The major concern with installation testing is Time! It requires a lot of time to even execute a single test case.
If you are going to test a big application installer then think about the time required to perform so many test cases on different configurations.
We will see different methods to perform manual installer testing along with some basic guidelines for automating the installation process.
Selecting the number of system configurations you wish to test the installation across is the first step in the installation testing process.
Get one simple hard drive ready. Install the most popular operating system (Windows) on this HDD and format it using the most popular or default file system. Set up a few essential components on this HDD.
You can construct different configurations on this base drive every time you create photos of it. To be utilized for additional testing, create a single set of each configuration, such as the operating system and file format.
How can we use Automation in this process? Well, make some systems dedicated for creating basic images (use software’s like Norton Ghost for creating exact images of the operating system quickly) of the base configuration. This will save you tremendous time in each test case.
For example, if the time to install one OS with a basic configuration is said to be 1 hour, then for each test case on the fresh OS you will require 1+ hour. But creating an image of the OS will hardly require 5 to 10 minutes and you will save approximately 40 to 50 minutes!
You can use one operating system with multiple attempts of installation of the installer. Each time uninstall the application and prepare the base state for the next test case. Make sure here that your uninstallation program should be tested before and should be working fine.
Installation Testing Tips with some broad Test Cases:
#1) Use flow diagrams to perform installation testing. Flow diagrams simplify our task.
See example flow diagram for the basic installation testing test case.
Add a few more test cases to this basic flowchart such as if our application is not the first release then try to add different logical installation paths.
#2) If you have previously installed a compact basic version of application then in the next test case Install the full application version on the same path as used for the compact version.
#3) If you are using flow diagram to test different files to be written on disk while installation then use the same flow diagram in reverse order to test uninstallation of all the installed files on disk.
#4) Use flow diagrams to automate the testing efforts. It will be very easy to convert diagrams into automated scripts.
#5) Test the installer scripts used to check the required disk space. If the installer is prompting the required disk space to be 1MB, then make sure that exactly 1MB is used or whether more disk space is utilized during installation. If yes, flag this as an error.
#6) Test disk space requirements in different file system formats. For example, FAT16 will require more space than efficient NTFS or FAT32 file systems.
#7) If possible set up a dedicated system for creating disk images only. As mentioned above, this will save you time in testing.
#8 ) Use a distributed testing environment in order to carry out installation testing. The distributed environment simply saves you time and you can effectively manage all the different test cases from a single machine.
Making a master machine that will power several slave devices on the network is a smart way to do this. Installation can begin concurrently on a separate computer from the main system.
#9) Try to automate the routine to test the number of files to be written to the disk. You can maintain this file list to be written on the disk in an excel sheet and can give this list as an input to an automated script that will check each and every path to verify the correct installation.
#10) Use software’s available freely in the market to verify registry changes on successful installation. Verify the registry changes with your expected change list after installation.
#11) Forcefully break the installation process in between. See the behavior of the system and whether the system recovers to its original state without any issues. You can test this “break of installation” on every installation step.
#12) Disk space checking: This is a crucial check in the installation-testing scenario. You can choose between different manual and automated methods to do this checking.
You can manually compare the amount of free disk space on the drive before installation with the amount of disk space reported by the installer script to make sure the installer is accurately calculating and reporting disk space. Verify that the installation disk space was used appropriately by checking the disk space after installation.
To automatically fill disk space during installation, use tools to run different combinations of disk space availability. During installation, observe how the system behaves when there is a shortage of disk space.
#13) As you check installation you can test for uninstallation also. Before each new iteration of installation, make sure that all the files written to disk are removed after the uninstallation.
Sometimes the uninstallation routine removes files from only the last upgraded installation, keeping the old version files untouched. Also, check for the rebooting option after uninstalling manually and forcefully do not reboot.
I have addressed many areas of the Manual as well as the Automated Installation Testing procedure.
Still, there are many areas where you need to focus on depending on the complexity of your software under installation. These unaddressed important tasks include installation over the network, online installation, patch installation, Database checking on Installation, Shared DLL installation and uninstallation, etc.
Hopefully this tutorial will be a basic guideline for those having trouble starting with Software Installation Testing both manually or in automation
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the basic steps to follow for software installation testing?
To test software installation, start by preparing a test environment, then proceed with the installation process, and finally verify that the software is installed correctly and functions as expected. Ensure all installation requirements are met before beginning. This step-by-step approach helps identify any installation issues early on.
Why is uninstallation testing important in the software development process?
Uninstallation testing is crucial as it ensures that the software can be completely and cleanly removed from the system without leaving any remnants or causing issues with other installed software. This testing also verifies that system settings and user data are properly restored after uninstallation. Proper uninstallation is key to user satisfaction and system integrity.
How do I handle software installation failures during testing?
When encountering installation failures, first, review the installation logs to identify the cause of the failure. Then, based on the logs, either correct the issue if it’s related to the test environment or report the bug to the development team if it’s a software issue. It’s also helpful to retry the installation after addressing the identified issue to confirm the resolution.
What are some common issues to look out for during software uninstallation testing?
Common issues during uninstallation testing include incomplete removal of software components, failure to restore system settings, and loss of user data. Additionally, look out for any errors that occur during the uninstallation process and verify that all shortcuts, files, and registry entries are properly removed. These checks help ensure a smooth uninstallation process.
Can I automate software installation and uninstallation testing, and if so, how?
Yes, software installation and uninstallation testing can be automated using various testing tools and scripts. Automation tools allow you to create scripts that simulate the installation and uninstallation processes, enabling you to test these processes repeatedly and efficiently. This approach saves time and helps in catching bugs consistently across different test environments and software versions.
