What is Smoke Testing in Software Testing
Smoke testing, also known as build verification testing or sanity testing, is a preliminary testing process used to determine whether the software build is stable enough for more in-depth testing. The primary goal of smoke testing is to identify critical issues early in the development or testing process, before extensive testing efforts are undertaken.

Here are the key characteristics of smoke testing:
Scope: Smoke testing focuses on the most important and critical functionalities of the software. It verifies that the essential features are working as expected.
Purpose: The main purpose of smoke testing is to ensure that the major components of the software are functional and that the basic functionalities work correctly after a new build or release.
Execution: Smoke tests are usually simple and quick to execute. They are often automated and can be run whenever a new build is available.
Outcome: If the smoke tests pass, it indicates that the build is stable enough for further, more detailed testing. If the smoke tests fail, it suggests that there are significant issues that need to be addressed before additional testing can proceed.
Depth: Smoke testing does not involve exhaustive testing of all features or use cases. Its purpose is to catch major issues early on and provide confidence in the stability of the build.
Automation: Automation is commonly used in SmokeTesting to quickly and consistently verify the basic functionality of the software.
Integration: SmokeTesting is often performed after a new build is integrated into the existing system or when a new version of the software is released.
In summary, SmokeTesting is a valuable practice in software development and testing as it helps identify critical issues early in the process, allowing teams to address these issues before investing time and resources in more extensive testing efforts.
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- The Ultimate Guide to Smoke Testing
FAQ’S
What is smoke testing with example?
Smoke testing is sometimes called “build verification testing”. When applied to web applications, smoke tests verify that the most important functionality is working. For example, smoke tests on Netflix might include signing in and playing a video. By design, smoke tests do not cover every permutation and edge case.
What is smoke and sanity testing in software testing?
Smoke test is done to make sure that the critical functionalities of the program are working fine, whereas sanity testing is done to check that newly added functionalities, bugs, etc., have been fixed. The software build may be either stable or unstable during smoke testing
What is smoke level test?
βSmoke testingβ refers to broad-but-shallow functional testing for the main functionality of a product. It’s so-called because of the joke application of an electrical engineering concept: in electrical engineering, your product passes a βsmoke testβ if your device doesn’t catch fire when it turns on
What is smoke testing and other types of testing?
Smoke testing is done manually without any test automation tool because smoke testing is about testing the software core functionality are working properly. Sanity testing is a subset of regression testing performed using an automation tool which evaluates whether the software is ready for the next level of testing.
Why is it called smoke testing?
In Lessons Learned in Software Testing, Cem Kaner, James Bach, and Brett Pettichord provided the origin of the term: “The phrase smoke test comes from electronic hardware testing. You plug in a new board and turn on the power. If you see smoke coming from the board, turn off the power.
How to do smoke testing?
How to conduct a smoke test
- Decide on the type of testing. You can do manual testing, automated testing or hybrid testing that comprises manual and automated testing processes. …
- Prepare a list of test scenarios. …
- Record test results. …
- Determine the product readiness for further testing.
What is smoke in manual testing?
Smoke Testing is a software testing method that determines whether the employed build is stable or not. It acts as a confirmation of whether the quality assurance team can proceed with further testing. Smoke tests are a minimum set of tests run on each build.
What is the difference between smoke test and regression test?
Smoke Testing Is Used To Check If A Build Of The Software Is Stable Enough For It To Be Tested. Regression Testing Is Used To Verify If Any Recent Changes Have Impacted The Existing Functionality. It Is Employed By Both Software Testers And Developers.
Is smoke testing functional testing?
Smoke Testing. Smoke testing is performed on the ‘new’ build given by developers to the QA team to verify if the basic functionalities are working or not. It is one of the important functional testing types

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