What is the Difference Between System Testing and System Integration Testing

The main difference between system testing and system integration testing is that system testing checks the behaviors of the system as a whole while system integration testing checks the data transferring among multiple modules of the system.

 Software testing is the process of verifying and validating that the software is working as required. It is better to begin testing as earlier as since because it helps to reduce the cost of fixing defects. There are various types of testing, and system testing and system integration testing are two of them. Moreover, system testing involves testing of the whole system while system integration testing involves testing of a set of modules in a system.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is System Testing
     – Definition, Functionality
2. What is System Integration Testing
     – Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between System Testing and System Integration Testing
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Soft Testing, System Testing, System Integration Testing

What is System Testing

System testing checks the behavior of the entire system as a whole. Moreover, it helps to evaluate the system compliance with the specified requirements and checks the completely integrated system to verify that the system meets the specified requirements. For example, assume a Medical Center Management System. It has modules such as patient module, doctor module, medical reports, and payments. Testing the entire system as a whole is system testing. Furthermore, it ensures that the system works according to the specified requirements.

What is System Integration Testing

System Integration Testing is an alternative name for integration testing. There are multiple modules in a system. System integration testing checks a combination of individual modules as a whole. In other words, it checks the data transferring among a set of modules. In a banking application, it is necessary to update the current balance after performing a money transfer. Integration testing checks the data transferring between these two modules to confirm that they are working properly as a single group.

There are major two approaches in integration testing as top-down approach and bottom-up approach. The top-down approach involves testing the higher modules first while the bottom-up approach involves testing, the lower level modules first.

Furthermore, if the higher modules are completed, and the lower modules are not completed, the tester can create stubs for lower modules to perform integration testing. Similarly, if the lower modules are completed, and the higher modules are not completed, the tester can create drivers for higher modules to perform integration testing. Stubs and drivers are not complete implementations of the modules, but they help to check the data transferring among the modules.

Difference Between System Testing and System Integration Testing

Definition

System testing is testing conducted on a complete integrated system to evaluate the system’s compliance with its specified requirements. System Integration testing, on the other hand, is a level of software testing where individual units are combined and tested as a group. Thus, this is is the main difference between system testing and system integration testing.

Functionality

While system testing checks the entire system as a whole, system integration testing checks the data transferring among multiple modules.

Performed on

Another difference between system testing and system integration testing is that system testing is performed on a complete system while system integration testing is performed on a subset of the system.

Conclusion

The main difference between system testing and system integration testing is that system testing checks the behaviors of the system as a whole while system integration testing checks the data transferring among multiple modules of the system.

Reference:

1. Acceptance Testing & System Testing – Software Testing Tutorial, Guru99, 5 Aug. 2011, Available here.
2. What Is Integration Testing? – Software Testing Tutorial, Guru99, 3 June 2014, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “What is software testing.png” by Zappys Technology Solutions (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr