What is build verification testing technique?

Build verification test is often abbreviated to “BVT”. This test is more commonly known as “build acceptance test”. We can make out from the term itself that this test consists of test cases that are executed on the build of a software product in order to verify that the build of that particular software system or application is testable before the software product is passed on to the testing team for testing.

ABOUT BUILD VERIFICATION TEST
- The main build verification test consists of smaller test cases and these test cases exercise the functionality of the mainstream of the software system or application.
- Any further testing on a build is performed only if it passes the build verification otherwise it is simple rejected.
- In the place of this build, the testing is continued to be carried up on the previous one.
- There should be at least one build that should pass the build verification test.
- Build verification is important to be carried out prior to the commencement of the testing phase.
- It tells the software developers whether the build of the software has been rightly developed or not.
- It also tells if the build is having any major issue.
- A build verification test also avoids time being wasted by carrying out unnecessary testing on the faulty builds.
- A typical build verification test is usually automated.
- When a build is rejected during the build verification test, it is again revered back to the software developer for correcting it.

Build verification test is also called by another name “smoke testing”. In build verification testing two aspects are mainly checked:

1. Build acceptance
2. Build validation


BASIC THINGS TESTER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BVT

1. A build verification test consists of many smaller sub tests and each one of these tests verifies one functionality of the software system or application.
2. Build verification tests are very effective in saving the efforts of the testing team.
3. The build verification testing methodology can be used to test a build even if its major functionality are not working or are broke.
4. The build verification tests are designed very carefully so as to make them cover a major part of the functionality and features.
5. A certain time limit has been set for the build verification test to 30 minutes.
6. The testing time for running build verification should not exceed this limit.
7. Build verification testing is somewhat similar to the regression testing in the way that it is carried out on each and every build.
8. Build verification test is a way to test the integrity of the software project.
9. It checks whether or not all the modules have been integrated well with each other or not.
10. Maintenance of integrity between the modules is very important since any lag in the cooperation can cause the whole system to go bizarre.
11. Initially, the build verification testing technique was employed to check whether or not all the new features, functionality and modules have been included in the project to be released or not.
12. It also checks for the correctness of the formats of the included files.
13. Even the flags associated with a file are checked.
14. You should be very careful while deciding what all the test cases have to be carried out under the build verification test.
15. Your build verification test must include all the critical test cases and these test cases should not be unstable.
16. Another point to be kept in mind is that you should have an idea of the result of the test cases that you are including in the BVT.