What are different characteristics of regression testing?

The word regression means to relapse to an under develop or a less perfect state. So, we can deduce from this that the regression testing is a kind of testing that basically discovers and un-hide the hidden and new errors and flaws, after the modifications have been made in the functions, operations, patches etc. of the software system.

- Regression testing is also carried out after the software system has been configured after checking away the errors.
- Regression testing may seem like some kind of exploitation of the software system. But, it is aimed at a good objective of ensuring that any new modification or configuration did not cause some other new bugs and errors.

- It is very difficult for the software developer to figure out how a particular change that he is going to introduce will affect all the other parts of the software system. Therefore, the regression testing becomes quite necessary to maintain the quality and standard of the program.

- Sometimes, fixing an error causes some other error in some part of the software system and it will remain unattended and uncorrected until and unless regression testing is carried out.

- Regression testing can only trace and locate such hidden errors and bugs.

There are several methods for conducting regression testing.One of those methods includes re-running the tests again and again for a certain number of times and observe if the behavior, response and output of the software system has changed or not.

Regression testing is not as laborious as the other testing methodologies are.

- The hard work for regression testing can be reduced efficiently to minimum level by selecting an appropriate combination of minimum number of specified test cases for testing the software system.
- The tests should be selected as such as to give maximum coverage to the modification or the change that has to be tested.
- It has been observed that the software program being fixed leads to the re- emergence of the errors and bugs and sometimes new errors are also created.
- It happens so because the usage of the software system over the time leads to the loss of an error or a bug fix due to the poor software handling practices.

We can conclude that any fix is a bit fragile in the sense that it fixes a bug or an error temporarily but arises again after repeated usage of the program. Usually a bug fix in one part of the program causes more bugs in the other parts of the program. So more often, the software system is needs to be redesigned.

The testers require good coding skills and practices.
- Regression testing is followed through manual testing procedures and other programming methodologies.
- Regression testing is usually done by automated tools. Such an environment allows the regression testing to automatically run the test cases and report any errors and bugs.
- Extreme software programming considers regression testing as one of its most crucial integral part.
- During each stage of the cycle for software development, the design documentation is replaced by the automated testing of the whole software system. - Regression testing tests the scale of correctness of a software system and maintains its quality and keeps the output standard.
- A software development should always and compulsorily contain regression testing stage.