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Yet another bit of testing stuff. BS 7925-1 defines System Testing as "testing an integrated system to verify that it meets specified requirements."
Essentially this means testing the components joined up, after they have been tested on their own. (A component is the smallest unit for which there is a separate specification.)
System testing is usually split into two areas, functional and non-functional tests.
Functional testing is focused on the what the system is supposed to do. Non-functional system testing looks at the issues not directly related to the functions or processes the system performs. For example a function of the ATM system might be to issue cash. The non-functional requirement ist that it should dispensed securely.
Of course a component can have functional or non-functional requirements. In the ATM example the login procedure has both. System testing just brings all these together.
A functional requirement is "a requirement that specifies a function that a system or system component must perform."
Examples of non-functional requirements are listed below.
Security
Does the system meet the requirements laid down in the specification. Obviously a military system will have larger amounts of security testing than an information only website.
Usability
The ease with which a user can learn and use the system. Examples of techniques include hieuristic testing and expert led focus groups.
Load
Under load testing the objective is to find whether the system can withstand the levels specified. It should be noted that when testing, to look at both the average load, but also the spike level. Closely related to stress testing.See more
Performance
Conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with specified components. Examples might include the number of airline tickets that can be issued in an hour.
Stress
Often used in an exploratory way to set planned load levels. The system is ran until failure, to see at which point it occurs. For more details.
Storage
Storage testing is for whether the system meets its specified storage objectives.
Installability
Can the software be installed correctly and all potential errors handled tidily.
Documentation
Tests work of the technical authors that is sent out wiht software. This covers installation guides and manuals.
Recovery
Can the system be recovered from failure. All levels of failures need to be counted from windows freezing to complete loss of the system. An extreme example of recovery would be to simulate a complete failure of the environment. For example when the communication system in Lower Manhattan was overloaded on September 11th 2001.
Web Functionality
Broken links, browser compatability and n-tier architectures.
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