Understanding test types
In traditional software development, tests were often executed when development was complete, the application was declared dev-done, the feature set was frozen, or a similar situation. After declaring the development done, testing was performed, and often, a long period of going back and forth between testing and bug fixing started. The result was often that many bugs were still found after going live.
Shifting left is a testing principle that states that automated testing should be done earlier in the development process. If all activities involved with software development are drawn on a line from inception to release, then shifting left means moving automated testing activities closer to inception.
To do this, a wide selection of different types of tests is recognized—for example, unit tests, integration tests, and system tests. Different sources can suggest different types of tests, but these are some of the more well-known types. No matter...