Know the Difference Between Smoke Testing vs Sanity Testing

Quick Summary: Smoke or sanity check? When it comes to software quality, the choice can feel like a toss-up. But you don’t need to worry! In this blog, we'll delve into the nuances of smoke testing and sanity testing, helping you understand their roles, benefits, and best practices for choosing the right approach. Read on to learn how these testing methods can streamline your development process and develop top-notch software.

“All Code is Guilty until Tested”

Since you are reading this article, we would assume that you know how every organization, to stay competitive, has been working tirelessly to build software that provides the best user experience.

The desire for quality-driven software must decrease both time and development cost, irrespective of the industry. Hence, software testing has become an important and one of the essential steps to build the perfect product before it makes it to the final release.

Various testing techniques happen at various stages of the software development lifecycle. However, Smoke testing and Sanity testing are the first ones you should consider and plan to run. Smoke and Sanity testing are basic concepts that are regularly used for software testing. However, these testing have some misconceptions too!

So, let’s understand what is Smoke testing and what is Sanity testing in this blog.

To give you a brief, Smoke testing is used to check the stability of the software build, whereas Sanity testing is performed once the stable build is received and testing has been executed.

Smoke testing can be performed as a primary check before the testing of the build, whereas Sanity testing can be executed as a post-build check, ensuring all the bugs have been solved.

Let's dive into the details now.

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What is a Software Build?

Do you know the essential component in software development? Yes, you thought right! We are talking about code. However, we are very much aware that the complete software is not based on a single line of code. Well, the software may consist of hundreds or maybe thousands of source code files, depending on the functionalities and complexity.

And these source codes must be compiled into a single file, which can be used to run. Moreover, these files can be exchanged with the developers for development and deployment. A build is a procedure that takes required source code files, compiles them, and then produces a build artifact, such as binaries or executable programs. This results in more reliable software project delivery.

In a nutshell, you need to utilize “build” software to create an executable program. This entire process is called “Software Build”.

Smoke Testing vs Sanity Testing

Well, the above diagram will help you understand the difference between Smoke and Sanity testing, let’s understand what these techniques are.

What is Smoke Testing in Software Testing?

Smoke testing is performed post software build to determine that the essential phases of the software build are working seamlessly as per plan. It’s also known as the build verification test. It is completed by both developers and testers before any comprehensive Functional or Regression testing.

The primary goal of Smoke testing is to check all the important components of the build and reject a software application with bugs or defects. It helps discover simple but severe failures using multiple test cases that cover the most significant software functionalities. QA teams perform these tests using a minimal set of tests on each build that emphasizes software functionality. This actually helps QA teams to save time on damaged software applications.

Smoke testing is done when the developers deliver a fresh build to the QA teams. However, it is not confined to being done at the outset of a new project. Even if new modules are added to current functionality, Smoke testing will continue to work.

It should be noted that this is merely a precautionary approach in the testing process and does not replace comprehensive testing.

Smoke testing can be done either by manual or automation tools.

If you want to get a quick differences between Smoke and Sanity Testing, then watch this video!

How to Conduct Smoke Testing?

To explain your Smoke testing, we don’t have to write any test cases. We are going to explain to you with one of the real-time Smoke testing examples.

Let’s assume you are working on an eCommerce website. So, as a QA manager, it’s your responsibility to check every core functionality when a new build is released for testing. So, you try to access an eCommerce website, add some items into your cart, and proceed with an order.

Well, that’s the prime flow to order an item from the eCommerce site. If this works seamlessly and perfectly fine, you can assume the build is passed. You can go for the next test - Functional testing on the same build.

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When to Conduct Smoke Testing?

• Developers provide a new build to the QA team. It means when developers make some modifications to the build.
• A new functionality or module functionality is added to the current system.

How to Automate Smoke Testing?

If you plan to perform Smoke testing, it can be done automatically or manually. However, the best way to execute Smoke testing is using automation tools and programming the smoke suite to run at the time of creating a new build.

Automation testing is a time-saving method for automating most testing tasks. In fact, there are numerous tools for performing automated smoke testing, which are as follows:

• Selenium
• Appium
• Jenkins (CI tool)
• Robotium
• Cucumber
• Calabash
• Test Complete
• Watir

Advantages of Smoke Testing

• Smoke testing can be performed when you don’t have sufficient time or don’t know where to start.
• It helps to detect errors or issues at the early stage of testing.
• It reduces the integration risks.
• It helps you improve the overall system’s quality.
• It requires a limited number of test cases to perform Smoke testing.
• The primary goal is to ensure the stability of the application before performing any additional testing.
• It fosters the productivity of the QA team.

What is Sanity Testing in Software Testing?

Sanity testing is carried out to check if added module or functionality to the current software build is stable enough to get through to the next step of testing. It’s a subset of Regression testing, hence carried out to evaluate the overall quality of regressions done to the software.

The primary goal of Sanity testing is to check whether the changes or the proposed module is working as per expectations or not. If minor code modifications are required, the Sanity test verifies that the end-to-end testing of the build can be completed without interruption. On the other hand, if the test doesn’t pass, the QA team rejects the software build. This helps them to save both money and time.

Sanity test ensures that any modifications in the software build don’t affect its functionality. Sanity testing is a subset of Regression testing. It’s carried out once the Smoke test has been performed.

How to Conduct Sanity Testing?

As said earlier, Sanity testing is one type of Regression testing. While talking about Sanity testing in software testing, the actual goal is to check whether the defined functionality is working as expected.

Let’s assume you are again working on an eCommerce website as a QA manager. One new feature has been added for search functionality. Here the search tool should be your primary focus. However, if you feel the search functionality of an eCommerce is working smoothly, then you can go for the next major phase or functionality – Cart Checkout flow.

When to Conduct Sanity Testing?

• After Regression testing or minor change in the module, a build is received.
• Once the errors are resolved, the build is sent.
• Just right before the production deployment.

How to Automate Sanity Testing?

While talking about Sanity testing, it can also be manual or automated. However, since Sanity tests are subsets of Regression tests, they are more typically scripted and automated. Automation saves time and allows the development team to act quickly on the results.

Advantages of Sanity Testing

• Sanity testing helps you identify issues in fundamental functionality.
• There is no requirement of any documentation to perform Sanity testing. Hence, it can be performed in a given timeframe.
• It’s very easy to understand the process. Also, it is very effective in finding errors.
• It helps to identify proper and missing objects.
• If any issue is discovered during Sanity testing, the build is not accepted. As a result, it helps to save resources and time for Regression testing.
• It doesn’t consume any effort or time during Smoke and Regression testing.
• It’s the easiest way to find out the product quality before it is developed.

Smoke and Sanity Testing Process

While discussing the difference between Sanity and Smoke testing, Smoke testing is known as Build Verification Testing, whereas Sanity testing is referred to as Surface Level Testing.

Key Differences: Smoke Testing vs Sanity Testing

• Smoke testing aims to ensure "stability," whereas the goal of Sanity testing is to verify "rationality."
• Smoke testing is performed by both professional developers and testers; on the other hand, Sanity testing is carried out by testers only.
• Sanity testing assesses new functionality, such as bug fixes, whereas Smoke testing examines the system's critical functions.
• Smoke testing is scripted or documented, whereas Sanity testing is not.
• Sanity testing is a subset of Regression testing, whereas Smoke testing is a subset of Acceptance testing.
• Smoke testing verifies the whole system from beginning to end, whereas sanity testing simply verifies a particular component.

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Detailed Comparison: Sanity vs Smoke Testing

Automate Testing with Smoke Testing and Sanity Testing

Finally, after going through the detailed comparison between the Smoke test vs Sanity test, it’s time to wrap up the debate by summarizing the key points of this article.

While we talk about automation tools, both Smoke and Sanity testing can be executed manually or with an automation tool. When we use automation tools, tests are performed to generate the build automatically. However, we can also perform the Smoke or Sanity testing in the existing software build as per your project requirements. In such cases, generally, Smoke testing is performed first before the Sanity testing.

Automate Testing with Smoke Testing and Sanity Testing

Both smoke and sanity testing can be executed manually or with an automation tool. When we use automation tools, tests are performed to automatically generate the build. Additionally, we can perform smoke or sanity testing on existing software builds as per your project requirements. In such cases, smoke testing is typically conducted before sanity testing to quickly identify major issues and prevent further testing if the build is unstable.

Since software testing is essential for development projects, most quality assurance teams follow some basic testing principles. A QA fresher should understand the principles of Smoke and Sanity testing for successful Quality Assurance outcomes.

So, if you hire software testers from Radixweb, they will work to evolve the entire development process to provide guaranteed execution. They will also ensure to make your software bug-free at the early stage of the development lifecycle.

Wrapping UpFinally, after carefully examining the differences between the smoke test and the sanity test, it’s clear that the choice between the two often depends on the specific needs and priorities of your software development project.By strategically leveraging both methods, you can achieve high-quality standards and improve your software's reliability. For that, you can consider hiring software and QA testers from renowned service providers to ensure accuracy. These experts are well-versed with the latest and proven testing tools and methodologies to prevent your software from bugs at the early stage of the development lifecycle.To discuss your project requirements, feel free to consult our experts anytime.