Test Boundaries
The introduction of acceptance tests forces a discussion on test boundaries. What are the boundaries of an acceptance test? What about the boundaries of unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests? In the following diagram, we try to convey our views on different tests boundaries.
Figure 16.2: Test boundaries
The problem is that test terminology is not very standardized, and in our experience, we have seen some confusion about the different concepts of tests. Hopefully, the following definitions clarify the terminology:
- End to end tests: Focused on business requirements. Exercise the complete flow, including external systems. Usually, these tests are slow to execute.
- Acceptance tests: Focused on business requirements. Exercise all parts of the flow in our system. Compromise on feedback and speed of execution. Faster than end to end tests, but not as thorough.
- Integration tests: Focused on technical implementation. Exercise...