When it comes to software testing, understanding the different types of test cases is crucial for ensuring both functionality and performance. This guide will help you navigate various types of test cases, from functional and non-functional to specialized categories like regression and performance testing. You’ll learn how each type plays a unique role in enhancing software quality, scalability, and security.
Understanding the Core Types of Test Cases
To ensure effective testing, it’s essential to understand the core types of test cases. This section covers the most important search intent: an overview of core types of test cases.
Functional vs. Non-Functional Test Cases
Functional test cases verify the correct functionality of the system. They ensure that the application behaves as expected under various conditions. Examples include testing specific functions, such as user login, data input, and transactions.
On the other hand, non-functional test cases assess the application’s performance, usability, and reliability. They evaluate how well the system performs under stress, how user-friendly it is, and how secure it remains.
Example (Banking App):
Test if users can successfully transfer funds (functional) and assess how the app performs under heavy traffic (non-functional).
Manual vs. Automated Test Cases in Financial Systems
In the realm of financial systems, the choice between manual and automated testing is pivotal.
Manual testing is essential when exploring new features or complex scenarios where human intuition plays a crucial role. For instance, new feature rollouts often benefit from manual testing to capture unexpected user behaviors.
Conversely, automated testing is ideal for repetitive tasks and regression testing, where scripts can quickly verify that existing features work as intended after updates.
Example (Banking Platform):
Manual tests for new feature rollouts (e.g., adding a new payment option), while automated tests cover regression testing for existing features.
10 Essential Test Case Types for Financial Applications
1. Functional Test Cases
Functional testing ensures that the application’s features work as expected. For financial software, it is important to verify if transactions, balance updates, and loan calculations are functioning properly.
This type of test ensures that all functions meet both user and system requirements, preventing critical errors that may result in financial loss.
Some examples of functional testing in the financial services apps include:
- Verify that new accounts are successfully created with valid data
- Assess how the app behaves when accounts are created with invalid data
- Test the login functionality with invalid data
- Verify that balance updates occur correctly after transactions
- Ensure regular payments are saved and executed at the specified time
- Verify whether bulk messaging can be sent and analyzed
- Ensure support requests are correctly handled
Ensuring types of test cases like these are thoroughly executed is essential to catch any functional flaws that could impact customer satisfaction and operational stability.
2. Security Test Cases
Given the highly sensitive nature of financial data, security testing is one of the most critical types of test cases in this domain. Financial applications are prime targets for cyberattacks, data breaches, and fraud attempts, making this a high-priority area for testing. These test cases typically cover:
- Verify the app’s response to multiple login attempts
- Evaluate the efficiency of the ‘’Forgot password’’ functionality in quickly recovering account details
- Assess the strength of password requirements
- Confirm that user IDs and passwords are encrypted
- Validate if the app utilizes a secure protocol, such as HTTPS
- Ensure password masking (e.g. hiding under dots or other symbols) during user input
- Implement safeguards to prevent indefinite user login sessions
- Test the app’s response when clearing the cache
Read more: Penetration Testing: Protecting Your Mobile App from Cyber Threats
By simulating different security threats, testers can ensure that the application meets security compliance requirements, protecting against data breaches or financial fraud.
3. Performance Test Cases
Financial applications often need to process large volumes of data within strict time constraints. Performance testing assesses whether the system can handle such high loads without slowing down or crashing. Key performance test cases include:
- Evaluate app performance under different user loads
- Test performance under varying battery levels
- Validate performance across different devices types and models
- Check app performance under slow connection conditions
- Monitor app performance during transactions and changing internet speeds
Performance test cases ensure that financial systems remain stable even during high-demand periods, helping companies avoid losses due to downtime or slow transaction processing.
4. Compliance Test Cases
Financial applications are subject to various regulatory standards, such as PCI DSS for credit card transactions and SOX compliance for accounting practices. Compliance testing ensures that the application adheres to these strict guidelines, which may include:
- Data privacy laws such as GDPR or CCPA
- Financial reporting standards (GAAP or IFRS)
- Anti-money laundering (AML) protocols
- Record retention policies for transaction histories
These types of test cases are essential for avoiding legal penalties and maintaining the trust of customers and regulators alike.
5. Accessibility Test Cases
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed by the W3C to establish a universally accepted standard for web content accessibility. These guidelines provide essential direction to individuals, organizations, and governments worldwide on enhancing web content accessibility for people with disabilities.
The current version is WCAG 2.1 while WCAG 2.2 is scheduled to be published and released in Q3 2023. Each guideline has testable success criteria of three levels: A, AA, and AAA.
The guidelines consist of 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
- 1. Perceivable
- Provide descriptive alternatives for non-text content.
- Ensure multimedia content includes captions and alternative options.
- Develop content that can be flexibly presented through various methods, including assistive technologies, while retaining its intended meaning.
- Enhance visibility and auditory experience to make content more accessible to users.
- 2. Operable
- Ensure all functionality is accessible via keyboard input
- Allow users sufficient time to read and interact with content
- Avoid using content that may trigger seizures or physical reactions
- Facilitate user navigation and content discovery
- Improve usability for inputs other than keyboards
- 3. Understandable
- Ensure text is legible and comprehensible.
- Ensure content behaves consistently and predictably.
- Assist users in avoiding and rectifying errors.
- 4. Robust
- Optimize compatibility with existing and future user tools.
6. Integration Test Cases
Financial applications often need to integrate with third-party systems, including payment gateways, banking APIs, or accounting software. Integration testing ensures that these external systems work together seamlessly without causing failures or errors. Important integration test cases include:
Read more: 5 Minutes to Understand Why API Testing is Essential for Open Banking
- Verifying data synchronization between the financial system and external applications
- Testing cross-platform payment gateways
- API testing for transaction processing with external services
Read more: Ensure Effective Integration in Banking & Finance with API Testing Services
These types of test cases ensure smooth communication between different modules and systems, reducing the risk of broken transactions or data discrepancies.
Read more: Integration Testing for Enterprise Applications: A Comprehensive Overview
7. Database Test Cases
Financial systems handle vast amounts of data, from transaction records to user profiles. Ensuring that the database maintains its integrity is critical for accuracy in financial reporting and decision-making. Database test cases cover:
- Validate the correct structure of data
- Ensure the correct format of field data
- Verify accurate calculation of computed fields
- Check if each table has the necessary constraints (foreign keys, primary keys and unique indexes)
- Check for any duplicate or redundant data within the tables
- Validate the appropriate usage and handling of null values
- Verify proper data handling during profile creation or updates
- Test app behaviour when the database server is unavailable
- Validate data persistence
Read more: 7-Step Checklist for Effective Finance System Integration
Without rigorous database testing, financial applications risk data corruption that could lead to severe financial or reputational damage.
8. User Acceptance Test (UAT) Cases
Before launching a financial product, it is crucial to conduct User Acceptance Testing (UAT). These test cases ensure that the product meets the end-users’ needs and expectations. UAT test cases for financial products might include:
- Validate the intuitiveness and adjustability of navigation within the user interface
- Verify the coherence of font and colour schemes to ensure consistency across visual elements
- Check for consistent language usage across all financial application pages
- Ensure that all links and buttons have clear and descriptive titles
- Validate that error and warning messages are self-explanatory and easily understandable
UAT ensures that the system is ready for release and aligns with the business’s financial goals and customer needs.
9. Backup and Recovery Test Cases
In financial systems, data integrity is paramount, and backup and recovery test cases ensure that data can be restored accurately in case of system failures. Key test cases in this category involve:
- Check database backup schedules and protocols
- Verify data restoration accuracy after a system crash
- Ensure the system can recover from power outages or network failures
These tests provide a safety net for financial organizations, ensuring that critical data is not lost in case of unexpected failures.
10. Regression Test Cases
Read more: Top 5 Factors to Consider While Testing Financial Software
As financial applications evolve, new features are continuously added. Regression testing ensures that these updates do not introduce new bugs into previously tested code. These test cases typically cover:
- Re-running functional, security, and performance tests after a software update
- Validating old features alongside new additions
- Ensuring no data corruption or loss of functionality due to updates
Regression testing is essential for maintaining system stability, especially in financial software where even minor glitches can have significant consequences.
Read more: How Automated Regression Testing Improves BFSI Software Quality and Efficiency
Explain Test Case Results
When running different types of test cases, the results you obtain will generally fall into predictable categories. The outcome of a test case is crucial, as it validates whether the software performs as expected. For most formal test cases, there is a detailed expected outcome and an actual outcome. These results typically include pass, fail, not executed, or blocked, each playing a vital role in the software testing lifecycle.
A pass result means that the system has behaved exactly as expected and meets the requirements of the test. In contrast, a fail indicates that the system did not perform as required. These results are separate from whether a test is designed as a positive or negative case. Positive test cases focus on ensuring the system works correctly when given valid input. For example, successfully transferring money between accounts when sufficient funds are available is a positive test case. Conversely, negative test cases verify that the system can handle incorrect inputs. A failed login attempt due to an incorrect password is an example of a negative test case. Both positive and negative tests can either pass or fail based on the system’s performance.
Not executed results signify test cases that haven’t been run. This could be due to timing, priorities, or the current phase of testing. Finally, blocked results occur when external conditions prevent the test from being executed, such as a system crash or misconfigured environment. Understanding these test results is essential for analyzing and refining the testing process, allowing development teams to address issues efficiently.
Accurate test case results help developers ensure their system functions correctly across all types of test cases, from functional to security to performance testing, ensuring that both positive and negative cases are covered.
Sample Test Cases for Banking Apps
While there is no universally applicable test case example for the banking industry, there are still various instances that can be referenced to conduct efficient testing. Here are a few examples of what can be tested in the banking domain.
| Admin verification |
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| New users verification |
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| Customers & visitors verification |
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| New role verification |
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Best Practices for Writing Test Cases in Financial Applications
Writing effective test cases is vital for ensuring software success, especially in the sensitive domain of financial applications. Here are some best practices to follow.
Do’s
Every type of test cases should encompass the following components:
- Unique identifier: each test case should have a distinct identifier for easy identification and navigation through the kits
- Title & description: a concise title and a brief description help in quickly locating the test case among others
- Preconditions: while not directly related to the functionality being tested, preconditions provide information about the test case’s environment and previous outcomes, establishing the context for the specific test case
- Test steps: clearly outline the steps that the tester needs to follow in order to achieve the expected results
- Expected output: describe the desired outcome after executing the test
Don’ts
It’s advisable to avoid:
- Unclear formulations: Ensure that the test case instructions and expected outcomes are clear, concise, and unambiguous to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.
- Dependencies on other test cases: Design test cases to be independent of each other, reducing reliance on the execution or results of other tests. This promotes flexibility and ease of maintenance.
- Excessive or insufficient information: Strike a balance by including all necessary details in the test case without overwhelming it with excessive information or omitting essential elements. This helps in executing and interpreting the test effectively.
Conclusion
Developing test cases for financial applications can present challenges due to factors such as the unique deployment environments, stringent compliance requirements, and intricate test scenarios involved. That’s where the expertise of a seasoned testing team specializing in BFSI becomes crucial in ensuring the utmost quality of your financial software.
With a proven track record spanning over 14 years, KMS Solutions has been a trusted partner providing financial technology consulting to numerous financial institutions. Our top-notch software testing services specifically enhance the security, compliance, and overall performance of financial software products and systems. Contact us now to witness the remarkable difference we can make for your business.
What is the best testing approach for financial applications?
A combination of functional, performance, and security testing is vital to ensure comprehensive coverage.
What types of test cases are critical for banking apps?
Functional, security, performance, integration, regression and user acceptance test cases are crucial for maintaining high-quality banking applications.
How does performance testing improve a trading app’s reliability?
Performance testing ensures the application can handle high loads, thereby preventing crashes during critical trading times.
What are the most common challenges in testing financial software?
Common challenges include regulatory compliance, data security, and the complexity of financial transactions.
Why is security testing essential for fintech applications?
Security testing is crucial in fintech to protect sensitive user data and maintain trust in financial transactions.
