Smoke Testing vs Regression Testing:
Key Difference

With rapid technological progress, digital product development has evolved into a complex and multi-level process. And quality assurance is a vital component of this life cycle. Why? Because without efficient code and functionality verification, software development would result in numerous critical challenges.

Still not sure whether you need to pay extra attention to QA? Let’s turn to statistics. According to the Puppet survey, the teams that involve QAs at the early development stages spend 22% less time addressing unforeseen issues.

However, quality assurance goes beyond regular code verification. It consists of numerous steps and components, including smoke testing and regression testing. The difference between them may confuse if you’re unfamiliar with QA processes from within.

But don’t worry! This article will make it all clear. We at Savarian.tech have rich experience providing robust quality assurance solutions for startups and businesses. Based on our practical knowledge, we will share valuable insights and reveal the smoke vs regression testing difference.

What is Smoke Testing?

Before moving on to reveal the difference between regression test vs smoke test, let’s define the basics of each approach.

So smoke testing is a software validation process required at the initial development stages. It aims to check the builds delivered by engineers and detect any issues regarding their functionality and stability. Normally, it’s developers who conduct smoke testing, not QA specialists.

These initial checks occur before the primary and more complex verification processes. That is why this preliminary verification is also called confirmation or surface test.

Smoke testing is not supposed to provide a deep and detailed software examination. Instead, it helps the development team ensure that the essential functions work properly. If so, the approved feature or software component can proceed to further, more meticulous analysis.

However, should the specialists find obvious errors or shortcomings in the build, they return it to the engineering team.

Why is Smoke Testing Important?

Smoke testing involves the most basic and superficial checks. It helps avoid critical challenges at the beginning of the software development life cycle.

Here’s an example. Suppose you have developed the sign-up feature for your app. Smoke testing will allow you to verify if a user can effortlessly pass the registration process. It won’t drill down to check every single detail. But you’ll get the first significant signal before moving on to the subsequent, more diligent tests.

Smoke Testing Pros and Cons

As you see, smoke testing is a crucial stage of the software validation process. It can bring numerous advantages and significantly facilitate further development if applied properly. Still, there are certain cases when these tests aren’t appropriate and won’t yield the desired results.

Let’s look at the most significant benefits and drawbacks of smoke testing for software development teams.

Advantages of Smoke Testing

In our experience, surface tests are especially valuable when a team needs to obtain particular data in the shortest time possible. For example, smoke testing can quickly provide information about the operability of a system, product, or feature. Also, it enables finding and identifying critical software bugs and defects.

It’s also worth mentioning that smoke testing requires minimal investment of resources and time. It makes such verification quite advantageous in the conditions of accelerated development pace.

Here are the main benefits of smoke tests.

Detect issues as early as possible.
Find bugs in newly implemented software components.
Verify builds and don’t affect overall functionality.
Require little time to conduct.
Takes less effort from a QA team to check if a particular feature works, so can be completed with minimum specialist involvement.
Save the team’s time in the future by rejecting faulty builds.

Disadvantages of Smoke Testing

The value of smoke testing for software development projects is unquestionable. However, conducting this kind of validation may not deliver the required information about your product or feature in some cases.

Here are the potential drawbacks of smoke testing, making it inappropriate for certain development phases.

They lack a detailed and in-depth verification.
Smoke testing does not provide information about overall functionality performance.

What is Regression Testing?

When it comes to smoke test vs regression test difference, the latter one occurs in the later phases of the development process. Its fundamental goal is to verify if the changes implemented to the app or its components don’t interfere with each other. Usually, this complete validation stage takes place after checking and approving new features with sanity testing.

But how come functionality improvements can lead to additional challenges?

Any software is a set of individual components that experience constant interaction and cross-effects. Thus, even minor modifications in the developed features often cause errors or defects in others. Simply put, a butterfly effect can come to play. And that’s where the regression testing should come to the rescue.

The primary purpose of regression tests is to see if any changes you’ve made to the code and builds don’t result in potential issues. So after you’ve fixed bugs in your app’s functionality, the overall health check will make sense.

Why are Regression Tests Important?

Regression testing ensures you haven’t repeated your former mistakes. Also, it will let you know if the new features are adequately implemented and work in harmony with your app’s environment. So QA engineers often conduct regression tests after fixing bugs, implementing updates, or improving the code.

For example, you’ve just deployed a new feature for an admin panel. It allows the users to drill down into specific data on the dashboard and get more detailed reports.

During the regression test, you should verify how the other components function. Can the users go back to the main dashboard? Do they still get notifications in real-time? It will help you see if the implemented change hasn’t disrupted the overall system performance.

Regression Testing Pros and Cons

As you’ve probably noticed, the difference between smoke and regression testing is quite significant. However, they both can provide a particular value to your engineering team and streamline the development process.

In particular, regression testing has specific use cases where it’s highly efficient. At the same time, you may find it inapplicable and even worthless for some development stages.

Let’s explain regression tests’ pros and cons in more detail.

Advantages of Regression Testing

We at Savarian.tech often turn to regression testing and know how to make the most out of this validation type.

Regression tests are beneficial when it comes to more general functionality checks. They provide the engineering team with valuable insights about the readiness of a product, feature, or system component for the release. Also, regression testing gives you a comprehensive picture of the system’s functionality.

On top of that, this kind of software validation helps check how well the product’s features interact with each other. It ensures that the implemented changes or updates are ready to perform their tasks and satisfy the end-users’ needs.

Here are the core advantages of regression tests.

Ensure the product’s continuity and the efficiency of integrations. It’s essential in the agile development process.
Detect bugs missed in previous testing sessions.
Make the overall testing process shorter and more consistent.
Allow for automation testing (78% of the surveyed companies use automation for regression and functional testing).
Check the product’s readiness for release.
Make sure your product meets the audience’s expectations.
Provide a full-fledged validation of the existing components and features.

Disadvantages of Regression Testing

However, just like surface validation, regression testing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Here are several potential drawbacks of regression tests to consider.

Require quite a significant effort if conducted manually.
May be worthless without a particular pre-defined purpose.
Have a less considerable effect without time-consuming prior analysis.
Involve repetitive yet not potentially inconsistent schedule.

Features of Smoke vs Regression Testing

In the regression vs smoke testing dispute, it’s worth learning more about the distinguishable features of each software validation type. It will help you better understand which of them is best suited for a particular case.

This comparison will allow you to see the difference between regression and smoke testing. We will consider their objectives, execution type, required resources, documentation, etc.

Features	Smoke Testing	Regression Testing
Testing type	Functional and non-functional testing	Functional and non-functional testing
Conducting mode	Either manual or automation testing	Either manual or automation testing
Goals	Surface verification to check the stability of the system or its components	Conduct a detailed check of the system due to the latest changes
Duration	Quick test with instant results	An in-depth test that may take a while
Specialists involved	Developers or quality assurance specialists	Quality assurance specialists
Cost	No additional expenses required	Could be quite costly to conduct
Documentation	Every step should be documented	Documentation is strictly required
Acceptance	The tested builds are instantly accepted or rejected	The test doesn’t involve acceptance or rejection of the results

When Should I Use Smoke Testing

We have defined the key benefits and drawbacks of both types of testing, as well as their key features. Now, let’s explain the practical difference between smoke testing and regression testing.

Here, we will specify where smoke tests are more applicable than regression tests. These conclusions will rely on Savarian.tech’s rich expertise in quality assurance.

The necessity to conduct smoke testing depends on numerous factors. Here are the most significant ones:

The project’s testing schedule requirements.
The development of new features, components, or any changes.
The need to reject unnecessary or faulty features.
The release of new functionality.

Our company usually conducts smoke testing in the following cases:

To check a new system build or its component.
To verify if a new feature functions properly.

When Should I Use Regression Testing

In the smoke vs sanity vs regression testing controversy, the latter is responsible for a more long-lasting, detailed, and comprehensive verification. Accordingly, its preparation and implementation require much more time and effort. That is why regression testing sessions don’t occur as often as smoke tests. However, they are no less important.

Regression testing usually takes place once a sprint, right before the release. However, the development team may decide to conduct such tests more often if required.

Here are the most common cases when regression testing is necessary:

To check whether the newly implemented features do not break the existing functionality.
To validate the overall system performance before the release.
To verify functionality after making significant fixes.

We at Savarian.tech perform regression testing in the following cases:

Before releasing a new feature or program component.
When removing unnecessary or unused features or system components.
After the developers implement code improvements or refactoring.

Choosing Between Smoke and Regression Testing

Software assessment stages is more critical and result-driven?

Well, it looks like we won’t have a winner in this fight. Both tests are vital. And both will be of great benefit if used properly. The point is to plan your testing sessions well and perform all the required assurance timely and meticulously.

The order of software validation stages is relatively straightforward:

Conduct a smoke test to check your builds’ viability.
Perform functional testing.
Verify the overall performance with a regression test.

However, remember that certain specifics and details may vary due to your project’s scope and requirements.

Thus, smoke testing vs regression testing is not really a conflict. They are the components of a single complex quality assurance process. If you neglect or skip one of them, it may result in missing critical issues. And they, in turn, have every chance of snowballing into a terrible challenge for your development team.

In contrast, you will likely minimize numerous potential risks when implementing each fundamental testing stage effectively and consistently.

Savarian.tech is Your Reliable Quality Assurance Partner

Looking for robust smoke and regression testing solutions?

Savarian.tech is a reliable quality assurance partner that provides all kinds of software tests. Our skilled specialists are ready to perform both manual and automation testing for your project. We serve various industries, including banking, blockchain, and entertainment.

Our main principles are professionalism, focus on the client’s needs, and flexibility.

If you still have any questions regarding the difference between smoke test and regression test, our experts are ready to consult you. Drop us a line, share your project’s specifics, and we will find the solution tailored to your needs.

Smoke Testing vs Regression Testing: Key Difference