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Unit 6: Compatibility Testing

Platform and Application Versions
The task of the marketing team is to select the target platform and compatible applications because the
operating system, Web browser, compatible versions, and other features are designed based on
customer perspective. The platform and application versions enable the development and testing teams
to decide on what is to be done.
On most of the software packages or start up screens you may come across the
following:
Works best with
Requires Windows XP or greater
For use with Unix or Linux 2.6.10 only

Compatibility testing involves checking the compatibility of an application or website with several
browsers, operating systems, and hardware. This testing is conducted on an existing environment either
manually or on an automated basis.
Through compatibility testing, one can be sure that:
1. The software is rigorously tested with all the operating systems, software applications, and
hardware.
2. The code is stable in all environments and the error messages or user interactions are handled
and presented in the same way regardless of the operating system.
3. The manual tests are carried out by assigning different team members to work on different screen
resolutions to check for issues that arise.
4. The varying connection speed available to the user base is taken into account.
5. The checks on the non-functional test teams are planned while running the tests.
6. The performance of a system, application, or website on a network with varying parameters like
bandwidth, variance in capacity, and operating speed of the hardware are evaluated.
7. The system or application performance in connection with the various systems or peripheral
devices is evaluated.
8. The application or system performance with respect to the database it interacts with is evaluated.
6.1.2 Backward and Forward Compatibility

The two terms associated with compatibility testing are backward compatibility and forward
compatibility. Backward compatibility means that software works fine with the previous versions of the
software. Forward compatibility implies that the particular software works well with the future
versions of the software.

Backward compatibility: The compatibility of Microsoft Word 2007 version with
Microsoft Windows XP operating system.

Forward compatibility: The compatibility of Microsoft Word 2003 version with
Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.

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