What are the benefits and risks of using regression tests?

Regression testing is software testing performed on existing software to evaluate whether new changes or modifications have not introduced any unwanted side effects on the performance. Regression tests are done by testing existing features or parts of the software that are not affected by new changes. 

It helps reduce the risk of defects in the released software, improves the quality of the software, and decreases the time and cost of future releases.

However, regression testing also reveals bugs fixed in a previous release but resurfaced because of code changes. Such errors are unexpected results of new features added into a system and are not caused by the original bug.

The Benefits of Regression Testing

Regression testing can have different benefits when compared to other testing methods

1. It can be ensured that specific features are working correctly by running regression tests after adding new features. It reduces the risk of unexpected results or crashes due to new code added.
   
   
2. Testing your older code helps  ensure that all the previously developed functionalities are still working as expected. Furthermore it helps improve the software's quality as fewer bugs will be introduced with each new release. 
   
   
3. With proper regression tests in place, you can ensure that no functional problems are introduced with a new feature being released. As a result, you can reduce the time between releasing a new feature and making it available to customers for beta testing.
   
   
4. Testing the existing functionality at regular intervals helps maintain compatibility between different versions and releases of the applications. It helps increase the number of customers willing to upgrade to newer releases of your applications.
   
   
5. It allows you to quickly identify defects and thus reduce development time by fixing them immediately instead of delaying the release until more resources are available. 

It clearly appears that regression testing is a methodology that needs to be combined with other different types of test, in order to ensure Software Quality and perfect functionalities.

Disadvantages and risks in regression testing

With frequent regression test suites, the risks include:

1. A lot of time is wasted on manual regression testing because some testers may need to be more familiar with the application under test. So proper training is required for them.
   
   
2. Quantifying the impact of changes in the application can only be possible with extensive regression testing. It can cause delays while looking for a solution to the problem.
   
   
3. Sometimes it is impossible to identify a test scenario or case that will reveal issues introduced in the new release due to a code change. Sometimes, there may be no test case affected by a code change.
   
   
4. It can be a problem if the regression test suite runs into more bugs than the new bugs introduced in the new release. In this case, the defect-fixing process becomes longer and more time-consuming.
   
   
5. Another risk feature needs to be fixed as expected after an upgrade. If a regression test suite fails to find these defects, this can delay the upgrade or, at worst, lead to customers complaining.

How to calculate the ROI for regression tests

ROI in regression tests helps figure out the return on the time and money invested in the software. When you compare the lost opportunity due to a defect with the cost of fixing the defect, the ROI of regression testing becomes evident.

Benefits of ROI in regression test:

1. Save time: You can perform more automated testing for faster results. It helps save time on repetitive manual tasks and makes QA more efficient and productive. You can provide better customer service by quickly fixing any issues that may arise after a release and avoiding delays in your applications' new releases.
   
   
2. Save Money: Instead of spending time manually running test cases, you can use automation tools to run these tests for you automatically and quickly find defects before releasing your applications to customers. It helps you avoid expensive delays while trying to fix any issues arising after releasing your applications.
   
   
3. Improve Reputation: You can also reduce the number of issues in your software that may lead to customer complaints by improving the overall quality of your software and reducing your costs to fix these issues. It improves your company's reputation and helps retain more customers for your business.

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