What is depth testing?

Depth testing is used to test whether each functional or non-functional requirement of the product is working as planned. It is an exhaustive search in which each functionality is tested in detail. Defects that are encountered are also logged.

The illustration below shows how defect testing works:

The illustration takes the example of a function that squares a given number.

Uses of depth testing

Depth testing is used as part of the following tests in software development:

• Functional testing: This is a Quality Assurance (QA) test performed to test all the software product features.

• Automated testing: This is carrying out automated tests using predefined test cases. Depth testing is used by setting multiple conditions and checking whether they pass or fail.

Depth testing is mostly used together with breadth testing.

Breadth testing is used to test whether all the promised functionalities of a product are covered without going into the details of each functionality. Breadth testing is used to cross-check if the scope of the product is covered in its entirety.