What is functional testing?
Functional testing verifies that software features work the way they're supposed to. Instead of asking "Is it fast?" or "Is it secure?", functional testing asks "Does it do what it should?" This includes testing individual features as well as how they work together in real-world scenarios.
Do you have any examples of functional testing?
For an email client, functional testing covers basic actions like sending emails, managing contacts, and filtering spam. But it also tests more complex scenarios:
- Can users attach files over 25MB?
- Does the auto-save feature work when the internet connection drops?
- What happens when someone tries to recall a sent message?
Why is functional testing important?
Basic functionality needs to work before anything else. Users might tolerate slow performance, but they won't use software that doesn't do its job. Functional testing ensures your product actually solves the problems it was built to address.
What are the challenges with functional testing?
Testing every possible user scenario is impossible—you have to make smart choices about what to test based on risk and impact. Integration points between features often hide tricky bugs. Plus, as software grows more complex, maintaining and updating functional tests becomes increasingly challenging.
