Reliable, secure, and seamless applications aren’t just expected—they’re essential. As industries lean ever more heavily on digital solutions, rigorous software testing has become the linchpin for ensuring not only functionality but also a strategic edge. Testing isn’t merely a technical box to check; it’s a decisive factor that builds trust, enhances user experience, and drives competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.
When it comes to software testing, two critical types play distinct roles in ensuring overall software quality: functional testing and non-functional testing. Each serves a unique purpose. Functional testing validates that the software performs its intended functions, checking core features against specified requirements. This process is vital for confirming that the basic tasks users rely on, such as processing transactions or displaying content correctly, are working flawlessly
Non-functional testing, on the other hand, goes beyond the “what” of software functionality to focus on the “how well” aspects, including performance, scalability, and security. This testing type ensures that the software meets user expectations even under stress, handles large volumes of data seamlessly, and remains secure against threats.
Understanding and implementing both types of testing is crucial for companies that prioritize user satisfaction and operational reliability. Without functional testing, companies risk releasing software with broken or unreliable features. Without non-functional testing, even perfectly functional software could fail to meet user expectations under real-world conditions, leading to slow load times, system crashes, or security vulnerabilities. Both forms of testing are essential to delivering a complete, quality-driven software experience.
At Custommedia, we recognize that in high-impact industries like finance, healthcare, and government, reliable software isn’t just desirable—it’s mandatory. Our rigorous testing services, backed by TMMi Level 5 accreditation, demonstrate our commitment to software excellence. Our team uses both functional and non-functional testing to identify and resolve potential issues long before they can affect the end-user experience. This proactive approach not only enhances performance but also builds user trust and protects the brand’s reputation.
In this article, we will delve deeper into the specifics of functional and non-functional testing, how each method ensures software quality, and why companies across Malaysia rely on Custommedia’s testing expertise to deliver software that meets both their operational and business goals.
Functional testing is essential to verifying that each feature and function of an application operates according to its specifications. This type of testing involves evaluating the core operations of the software—ensuring that the tasks users depend on, from logging in to processing transactions, work reliably. At Custommedia, we utilize functional testing to guarantee that our clients’ applications perform exactly as expected, minimizing the risk of bugs, errors, and functionality gaps that can disrupt user experience and business operations.
Functional testing focuses on the software’s business requirements, ensuring each function performs as specified without requiring insights into the underlying code. This approach, often called “black-box testing,” enables testers to simulate user interactions with the application, validating the expected output for a given input. Custommedia’s seasoned testers utilize a variety of functional testing types to ensure complete coverage of an application’s key operations:
Since no application exists in isolation, integration testing examines the interactions between various components or external systems. This testing type is essential for verifying that integrated components or systems work well together.
System testing verifies that “a system as a whole meets specific requirements” [ISTQB] such as business requirements or technical requirements.
UAT is a type of acceptance testing and is considered the final step of the test process. UAT will be conducted by the end users or the selected stakeholders to ensure the system not only meets technical standards but also aligns with user expectations.
Functional testing is indispensable in building software that not only works but works well, providing users with a smooth, predictable experience. When done effectively, it helps prevent issues that can negatively impact both the software’s performance and the user’s perception. At Custommedia, our functional testing process is thorough and precise, catching potential issues early and reducing costs related to post-release bug fixes and updates.
Through structured, methodical functional testing, Custommedia ensures that clients’ applications are ready for deployment with minimal risk. Our commitment to rigorous functional testing aligns with our mission to provide software that performs accurately, reliably, and efficiently. By leveraging our extensive expertise and adherence to the highest industry standards, we help clients bring robust, high-quality software to market, driving user satisfaction and supporting their business success.
While functional testing ensures that software applications perform their intended tasks, non-functional testing addresses how well the software operates under various conditions. Non-functional testing focuses on aspects like performance, security, scalability, and usability, which are critical for delivering a seamless and secure user experience. At Custommedia, our non-functional testing services are designed to stress-test applications against real-world conditions, ensuring they are reliable, fast, and resilient.
Non-functional testing examines elements that can affect the user experience indirectly but profoundly. Without rigorous non-functional testing, software may fail when it faces unexpected volumes of traffic, security threats, or cross-device compatibility issues. Here’s a look at the main types of non-functional testing Custommedia performs to ensure applications are prepared for the demands of the market:
Purpose: Performance testing is a testing where the test item being evaluated if the test item manage to perform specific functions under specific time or other conditions. This type of testing measures response times, throughput, and the system’s ability to handle concurrent users without significant slowdowns.
How It Works: By simulating real-world traffic and varying loads, Custommedia’s performance testing identifies bottlenecks, ensuring the system maintains speed and efficiency given constraints of time.
Value to Clients: A responsive system enhances user satisfaction, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement. Performance testing ensures clients’ system can handle spikes in traffic, like sales events or unexpected surges, without sacrificing user experience.
Purpose: Testing conducted to evaluate the behaviour of a test item under anticipated conditions of varying load, usually between anticipated conditions of low, typical, and peak usage” [ISO-IEC 29119]
How It Works: Custommedia’s team simulates various levels of user traffic and input to observe how the system behaves under regular and heavy usage conditions. This testing helps identify the maximum operating capacity of an system.
Value to Clients: Knowing a system’s capacity helps clients make informed decisions about scaling and infrastructure investments. Load testing ensures the system is ready to handle real-world usage and prevents crashes during high-demand periods.
Purpose: Testing conducted to evaluate a test item’s behaviour under conditions of loading above anticipated or specified capacity requirements, or of resource availability below minimum specified requirements” [ISO-IEC 29119]
How It Works: By subjecting the system to the maximum or beyond the limit of available resources, stress testing highlights the breaking points and identifies any potential vulnerabilities or failure points in the system.
Value to Clients: Stress testing assures clients that their system can handle unexpected events and recover gracefully, protecting both data integrity and user trust during high-stress conditions.
Purpose: Testing conducted to evaluate the degree to which a test item, and associated data and information, are protected so that unauthorized persons or systems cannot use, read, or modify them, and authorized persons or systems are not denied access to them.” [ISO-IEC 29119]
How It Works: Custommedia’s security testing involves penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and other security assessments that probe for potential threats or vulnerabilities.
Value to Clients: Protecting sensitive information is essential to maintaining client trust and compliance with regulatory standards. Security testing assures clients that their application is equipped to defend against cyber threats, keeping both their business and users’ data secure.
Purpose: To evaluate the degree to which the system can be used by specific users with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.” [ISTQB]
How It Works: Custommedia’s usability testing evaluates factors like ease of navigation, visual design, and accessibility. Our moderators will observe a group of real users as they interact with the system to gather feedbacks on user expectation and user satisfaction.
Value to Clients: Positive user experiences drive retention and customer satisfaction. Usability testing provides clients with actionable insights to improve their system’s design, ensuring it meets user expectations and delivers an enjoyable experience.
Non-functional testing is just as vital as functional testing in delivering software that meets today’s high expectations for reliability and security. Custommedia’s rigorous approach to non-functional testing ensures that software applications are prepared for real-world conditions, providing clients with peace of mind that their systems are robust, scalable, and secure.
By addressing non-functional aspects, Custommedia’s testing services help businesses not only meet user expectations but also protect their brand reputation, comply with industry regulations, and reduce long-term maintenance costs. Through our thorough testing process, we provide software solutions that offer both operational excellence and an outstanding user experience.
In an increasingly digital world, comprehensive software testing is essential not only for delivering high-quality applications but also for safeguarding business operations, reputations, and user trust. Functional and non-functional testing together help businesses ensure their applications operate reliably, securely, and at optimal performance levels. Neglecting rigorous testing can lead to costly failures, as seen in real-world cases where insufficient testing resulted in significant financial and reputational damages.
Here’s a look at the key benefits of comprehensive testing, backed by real-world examples and findings that illustrate the risks and rewards involved:
Case in Point: In 2024, cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike released an update for its Falcon software that inadvertently caused system failures worldwide. A testing bug led to critical errors on 8.5 million devices, creating downtime in industries from healthcare to transportation. At Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the outage affected AirAsia, causing massive disruptions as passengers had to check in manually.
Testing Solution: Comprehensive functional testing, particularly regression and system testing, could have detected this issue before deployment. At Custommedia, our thorough testing protocols help catch such critical errors early, reducing the risk of costly, large-scale failures.
Benefit to Clients: Businesses with rigorous testing processes are less likely to experience revenue losses due to downtime. Testing ensures systems are robust enough to maintain operational continuity, even during critical updates.
Case in Point: The Capital One data breach in 2019 exposed the personal information of over 100 million customers, attributed to a vulnerability in a web application firewall. This breach cost Capital One an estimated $150 million in fines and remediation.
Testing Solution: Non-functional testing, particularly security testing, would have flagged this vulnerability, enabling Capital One to implement security patches proactively. Custommedia’s security testing includes penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to identify potential weaknesses, securing applications against similar threats.
Benefit to Clients: Security testing mitigates the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks. By proactively identifying and fixing vulnerabilities, Custommedia helps clients protect sensitive data, avoid regulatory penalties, and maintain user trust.
Case in Point: In 2020, Disney+ experienced significant performance issues during its launch, with users reporting error messages, connection problems, and crashes due to overwhelming demand. The service faced thousands of problem reports shortly after going live, highlighting the challenges of scaling to meet high user demand.
Testing Solution: Load testing can simulate high-traffic scenarios, enabling businesses to identify potential bottlenecks before they impact users. Custommedia’s load testing prepares applications to manage peak usage effectively, ensuring stable performance as demand grows.
Benefit to Clients: Load testing enables businesses to support user growth and maintain service reliability during peak times. By proactively addressing potential load issues, companies can deliver seamless experiences, build user trust, and foster customer loyalty, even during periods of high demand.
Case in Point: In 2017, a study by Akamai Technologies found that 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load. This user intolerance for delays highlights the importance of performance testing in delivering a smooth, responsive experience.
Testing Solution: Usability and performance testing address this by identifying issues that could frustrate users, such as long load times or poor navigation. Custommedia’s usability testing gathers insights on user interaction, allowing businesses to refine and enhance the experience.
Benefit to Clients: A positive user experience reduces bounce rates and increases retention. By ensuring applications are fast and user-friendly, businesses can maintain engagement, attract more users, and build a loyal customer base.
Case in Point: In 2018, Facebook faced scrutiny over privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, leading to over $5 billion in fines from the Federal Trade Commission. Such incidents underscore the importance of compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR and Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
Testing Solution: Compliance testing, an aspect of non-functional testing, verifies that applications meet legal standards for data privacy and security. Custommedia’s security and compliance testing services help clients adhere to industry regulations, reducing the risk of legal repercussions.
Benefit to Clients: Compliance testing protects businesses from potential fines and lawsuits. By ensuring applications are compliant, Custommedia helps clients uphold data privacy standards, safeguarding both the business and its users.
Case in Point: A study in 2002 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that the cost to fix a defect detected during the coding phase is approximately $25, whereas fixing the same defect post-release can escalate to $16,000. This significant disparity underscores the financial efficiency of comprehensive pre-deployment testing.
Testing Solution: By conducting exhaustive functional and non-functional testing before release, Custommedia helps clients catch and resolve issues early, minimizing the need for post-deployment patches or fixes.
Benefit to Clients: Early testing reduces the total cost of ownership by minimizing post-launch maintenance needs. Businesses that invest in thorough testing can expect lower long-term costs and smoother, more stable software performance.
When it comes to software testing, choosing the right partner can make a transformative difference in your project’s success. At Custommedia, our commitment to quality assurance goes beyond merely meeting functional requirements; we strive to provide comprehensive testing that ensures software reliability, scalability, security, and an exceptional user experience.
With over 30 years of industry experience and TMMi Level 5 accreditation, Custommedia has become a trusted partner for businesses across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, education, and government. Our expertise, combined with adherence to international standards, enables us to deliver top-notch testing services tailored to meet each client’s unique needs.
Choosing Custommedia for your software testing needs is not just an investment in immediate quality but a commitment to long-term software success. Our comprehensive, proactive testing approach helps you launch with confidence, knowing your application is built to perform under any condition. With Custommedia, your software not only meets user expectations—it exceeds them. If you’re looking to reduce risk, protect your brand, and deliver exceptional user experiences, it’s time to partner with a team you can trust. Custommedia offers the expertise, dedication, and innovation needed to bring your software projects to life with reliability and precision.
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Phone: +603 8082 9680
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Custommedia Academy
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Phone: +603 8082 9680
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Whatsapp: +6011 511 24480
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