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A Comprehensive Tutorial on Manual Testing Techniques and Best Practices – Gray Box Testing Technique!

Hey all,

In my today’s session, I will let you know about the Gray Box testing.

Gray Box testing?

Grey Box Testing

The Gray box testing is the combination of the white box + black box testing. Because in the gray box testing technique, a tester will have full access to test the software as a code basic, internal & external basic in full flow.

This will do the function testing, design, internal, and code base level of testing. GreyBox testing commonly identifies context-specific errors that belong to web systems. during this testing, a tester will do the testing and if they find any issues or bugs then they will try to fix it and create a test case for the records after that they submit the issues to the developers and they both will start to work for fix the issue & error. Basically in the grey box testing A tester will conduct all the types of testing that will be included in white + black box testing that’s why this is an important testing technique for all the QA team.

Why Gray box testing is important?

Grey Box Testing

Gray box testing is very important because there are many reasons to identify that grey box testing is important. It will allow you to do the testing from a user’s perspective and if will start to do the testing from a user perspective then you will do valuable testing this testing is very effective for the software & application.

In the gray box testing technique, you can enhance the quality of any software and applications, you can do the testing from the user’s point of view without taking too much time because we have available all the requirements for the testing purpose of software and application.

The strategy of the Gray box testing technique?

The grey box testing strategy is very simple a tester will start the testing on the basic requirements using the source code and they will do the design on the basis of testing and source code because of the design the tester will start to do the comprehensive testing for the software and application and they will make a good strategy to do the testing.

The strategy is for testing –

  • Software knowledge strategy – First a tester will start to take the knowledge from the use of software because there is a simple formula for knowing the status of any software or application first you have to take the knowledge of all the functions and abilities of any software.
  • Function & Structure strategy – The main point is that, in the grey box testing a tester will follow both of the testing processes and by following these testing processes you can able to play with the codes and you can about the functions and structures of every software. We all know that if you are a technical person then you have code knowledge and you can determine the function and structure of every software by your codes.
  • Executing Test Cases strategy– The test case method is mandatory for the testing team because if you start to do the testing then it is clear that you will find bugs and errors so if you are following the test case process then you can store your all the bugs and errors in your test case box.
  • Security Testing strategy – In the gray box testing technique you have full access to all types of testing modules and methods. basically, security testing means you have to do the testing in the security process so other users can’t able to access your application data for their own uses and your user’s data is safe due to this your users will be happy to use your application or software.
  • Verification & validation – The gray box testing technique strategy is a very useful strategy to test the validation & verification status of applications and software because if we delivered the software without doing the verification & validation then I am dame sure you would not be able to get the traffic on your application. and If we do the verification & validation work after that, I can able to know whether the application’s functions are fully working or not and whether should we deliver the software to our clients or not.

What are the common techniques used in gray box testing?

So, for your info, gray box testing is included with white box testing & black box testing, and because of this great combination, this technique is very useful for any software.

Here I have maintained some of the common techniques of Gray box testing.

Matrix Testing – This technique will come under the Gray box technique and It defines all the used variables of a particular program. this testing technique will identify the variable that is working inside of the software and this will reduce the unusable function and variable from the software by doing this technique it will reduce the readability of the program and speed of the software. 

Regression Testing – Basically this testing will notify you of your new updates or changes after the changes and updates if there is any mistake by you at the time of updating so after conducting this testing technique you can able to know the errors and wrong functions. that’s why we call that regression testing, and it will take care of these types of defects by testing strategies like retesting risky use cases, retesting, etc.

Orthogonal Array Testing or OAT – This testing technique will cover all the functions in one place with minimum test cases and that will cover more codes and functions with a smaller number of test cases.

Pattern Testing – This testing will give you the info on your software patterns, structures, flows, and uses. Testers use these patterns to design test scenarios that uncover potential issues or vulnerabilities. Pattern testing determines the reasons for the failure so they can be fixed in the next software.

Input/Output Testing – This testing with let you know if your variable is working well or if it is met with your expectation or not.

Database Testing – The database testing technique will give you an overview of your data flow and functions if there is any issue in your function and flow you can find it very soon and you have a possibility to find it by using the database testing process.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Gray Box Testing?

As per my knowledge, I am maintaining the advantages and disadvantages of gray box testing here. I hope you can able to understand this.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Gray Box TestingAdvantagesDisadvantages
Improved test case designGray box testers can leverage their understanding of the software’s internals to design more comprehensive and effective test cases.Limited knowledge: The tester’s partial knowledge may not be sufficient to identify all potential issues, especially complex ones.
Enhanced vulnerability identificationWith partial knowledge of the software’s structure, gray box testers can better identify potential security vulnerabilities and design test cases to exploit them.Potential for bias: The tester’s knowledge of the software’s internals may lead to biased testing, focusing more on areas they are familiar with and neglecting others.
Reduced testing costsBy identifying and fixing bugs early in the development process, gray box testing can minimize the overall cost of testing.Increased complexity: Gray box testing can be more complex than black-box testing due to the need to understand some of the software’s internals.
Improved software qualityGray box testing contributes to the overall quality of the software by ensuring it meets user requirements and is free of defects.Dependency on tester expertise: The effectiveness of gray box testing heavily relies on the tester’s expertise and experience.
Security coverageGray box testing increases the security setup for your application very strongly.But it will take few more time to do the setup of your security.
Increase costingBut it will take more time to do the setup of your security.During this testing technique your cost will be increased.
User’s expectationIn the gray box testing you can do the validation and verification testing after that, you would deliver the product to your usersDoing the validation & verification testing will increase some issues and bugs and if the validation and verification technique fails then you would have to start the development process back.

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