Sanity Testing vs Smoke Testing: Key Differences

Sanity testing and smoke testing are two types of software testing that serve different purposes in the software development life cycle. While they may share some similarities, they have distinct objectives and are conducted at different stages of the testing process.

Here are the key differences between sanity testing and smoke testing:

Smoke Testing:

1. Objective:
   • Purpose: Smoke testing is conducted to ensure that the essential and critical functionalities of the software application are working correctly after a new build or release. It checks if the application is stable enough for more detailed testing.

2. Scope:
   • Depth: Smoke testing is a broad and shallow approach. It covers the major features but does not go into detailed testing of each component or functionality.

3. Timing:
   • Timing: Smoke testing is performed early in the development life cycle, typically after a new build is deployed. It helps identify major issues early in the process.

4. Execution:
   • Automation: Smoke tests are often automated to facilitate quick execution and to ensure that the basic functionalities are working consistently.

5. Comprehensive vs. Basic:
   • Coverage: Smoke testing aims for basic coverage, focusing on ensuring that the most critical paths and functionalities are operational without delving into exhaustive testing.

6. Go/No-Go Decision:
   • Decision Point: Smoke testing is used as a decision-making tool to determine whether the build is stable enough to proceed with more detailed and comprehensive testing. If the smoke tests fail, it may halt further testing until the critical issues are resolved.

Sanity Testing:

1. Objective:
   • Purpose: Sanity testing is conducted to verify that specific functionalities or components that have undergone changes or bug fixes are working as intended. It ensures that the modifications did not adversely affect the existing functionalities.

2. Scope:
   • Depth: Unlike smoke testing, sanity testing is narrow and deep. It focuses on specific areas that have been modified or updated rather than providing broad coverage of the entire application.

3. Timing:
   • Timing: Sanity testing is performed after the completion of more extensive testing phases, such as regression testing. It is often done to validate that the changes made in a specific release or build did not introduce new issues.

4. Execution:
   • Automation: While sanity tests can be automated, they are often performed manually, especially when the focus is on specific functionalities. Manual testing allows for a more detailed examination of the changes.

5. Comprehensive vs. Focused:
   • Coverage: Sanity testing is more focused on specific areas, verifying that the recent changes or fixes are correct and have not negatively impacted other parts of the application.

6. Regression Testing Subset:
   • Relation to Regression Testing: Sanity testing is sometimes considered a subset of regression testing, focusing on a subset of test cases relevant to the recent changes.

In summary, smoke testing is a quick and broad check to ensure overall system stability, typically performed early in the testing process.

On the other hand, sanity testing is a more focused and deep examination, ensuring that specific changes or fixes did not introduce new issues and can be conducted after more extensive testing phases. Both types of testing play crucial roles in maintaining software quality.