What is Black Box Testing? Advantages and Disadvantages of BBT.

Black Box Testing:- Black box testing is an approach where a tester test an application or a software without knowing the internal working of the Application Under Test (AUT). Black box testing is also referred to as functional testing, behavioral testing or input/output driven testing technique.

For example:- when this approach (black box) are applied on an application or a software, the tester only knows the inputs and what the expected outcomes should be, without knowing how the program arrives at those outcomes. For testers, it is like a black box, inside which one cannot see. Which is why we call it Black box testing.

Definition of ISTQB:-

"Testing, either functional or non-functional, without reference to the internal structure of the component or system."

Advantages of Black Box Testing:- 

• Tester can be non-technical.
• Tests are done from a user's point of view that will help in revealing discrepancies in the specifications.
• Black box tests can be re-used.
• Expose ambiguities and complexities in an application.
• Test cases can be designed as soon as the specification are complete.

Disadvantages of Black Box Testing:-

• Only a small number of test cases can be executed, and many program paths will be left untested.
• Reason for the failure of product cannot be determined.
• Quality of coding and adherence to coding standards will be unknown.
• Test cases cannot be designed or prepared without having clear specifications.

We can apply the following types of BBT to test an application:-

1. Build Verfication Testing (BVT)
2. Smoke Testing
3. Sanity Testing
4. Usability Testing
5. Functional Testing
6. Configuration Testing
7. Compatibility Testing
8. Retesting
9. User Interface Testing
10. Maintenance Testing
11. Regression Testing
12. Performance Testing