Integration Testing

After unit testing is completed, all modules must be integration-tested. During integration testing, the system is slowly built up by adding one or more modules at a time to the core of already-integrated modules. Groups of units are fully tested before system testing occurs. Because modules have been unit-tested prior to integration testing, they can be treated as black boxes, allowing integration testing to concentrate on module interfaces. The goals of integration testing are to verify that each module performs correctly within the control structure and that the module interfaces are correct.

Incremental testing is performed by combining modules in steps. At each step one module is added to the program structure, and testing concentrates on exercising this newly added module. When it has been demonstrated that a module performs properly with the program structure, another module is added, and testing continues. This process is repeated until all modules have been integrated and tested.