08-08-2016, 02:15 PM
Integration testing (sometimes called integration and testing, abbreviated I&T) is the phase in software testing in which individual software modules are combined and tested as a group. It occurs after unit testing and before validation testing. Integration testing takes as its input modules that have been unit tested, groups them in larger aggregates, applies tests defined in an integration test plan to those aggregates, and delivers as its output the integrated system ready for system testing.
Another extreme is that all programmers are integrated one by one, and a test is carried out after each step.
The incremental approach has the advantage that the defects are found early in a smaller assembly when it is relatively easy to detect the cause.
A disadvantage is that it can be time-consuming since stubs and drivers have to be developed and used in the test.
Within incremental integration testing a range of possibilities exist, partly depending on the system architecture.
Functional incremental: Integration and testing takes place on the basis of the functions and functionalities, as documented in the functional specification.