Regression testing is usually carried out at the end of the development process or at the end of a sprint to make sure that the whole website or application continues to work correctly and that no new issues have been introduced.
We normally think of regression testing in cycles, so that once a major piece of work has been completed and the bulk of the testing has been carried out, bugs have been raised, fixed and verified, a full regression test cycle would then commence.
For agile testing, we would normally have some element of regression testing in each sprint but it really depends on the stories that are included in the sprint. At an early stage to an agile project there may be nothing to gain by carrying out regression testing but nearer to the end of the project there should be regression testing as the project is getting ready for launch.
Similarly, as part of our Regular Testing and Ongoing Testing services, we would implement some form of regression testing and would usually carry out partial regression test cycles, focusing on core functions, rather than full regression testing, although that is still an option if budget and time constraints allow it and we feel it is necessary.
If a regression test cycle results in multiple issues being raised then another regression test cycle may be required once those issues are fixed and verified.
Where smoke testing is carried out is usually once a new software build is initially available for testing. This might be once a new feature is added or the project development is complete and now ready to be tested.
We would usually carry out some smoke testing first of all to check that the build is actually ready for testing, the new feature or new development works correctly for a few happy path tests and therefore it is ready for more thorough testing.
If the build or website has significant issues during smoke testing then we would pass it back to the development team with details of what we found, so the issues can be diagnosed and fixed before testing can continue.
As with Test Planning, we would plan a series of test cases for the regression test plan, which would cover all the main functionality and requirements for the regression testing.
This test plan can be as detailed as required, depending on the time available for the regression testing. For ongoing or agile projects, we often prepare different regression test plans, one for a full regression test and then a stripped back regression plan covering the main items.
Some regression test items can also be automated so that the tests can be run quickly and easily across multiple browsers and operating systems.
Regression testing is often added to web build and mobile app build projects.
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