Retesting is testing of a particular bug after it has been fixed. Usually tester raises the bug when they find it while testing the product or its component. This bug is assigned to a developer and he fixes it. Post fixing the bug is assigned to the tester for its verification. This testing is known as retesting.

• Retesting is done by replicating the same scenario with same data in new build.
• In retesting those test cases are included which were failed earlier.
• Retesting ensures that the issue has been fixed and is working as expected.
• It is a planned testing with proper steps of verification
• When a bug is raised and is rejected by the developer saying that it’s not re-creatable in their environment then in this case also the testers do the re-testing of the bug to ensure that whether it’s a genuine bug or not.
• In some cases the entire module is required to be re-tested to ensure the quality of the module.
• The test cases of retesting cannot be automated.

Example of Retesting

Let’s assume that there is an application which maintains the details of all the students in school. This application has four buttons like Add, Save, Delete and Refresh. All the other buttons functionality are working as expected but on clicking on ‘Save’ button is not saving the details of the student. This is a bug which is caught by the tester and he raised it. This issue is assigned to the developer and he fixes it. Post fixing the issue it’s again assigned to the tester. This time tester tested only the ‘Save’ button functionality. This is called retesting.

When to use Re-testing

• It is used to verify the specific bug or issue.
• It is also used to confirm to developers that the issue is valid and re-creatable.
• It is used to test even the entire module or component in order to confirm the expected functionality.
• It is used to check the quality of any particular feature or component or module of an application.

Advantages of Re-testing

Below are few of the advantages of re-testing:

• It confirms that the issue is fixed and working as expected.
• It improves the quality of the application or product
• It requires less time for verification because it’s limited to the specific issue or any particular feature.
• It does not require any new environment setup. Retesting is done with the same data and same environment with new build.

Disadvantages of Re-testing

Below are few of the disadvantages of re-testing:

• It requires new build for verification of the defect.
• Once the testing is started then only the test cases of retesting can be obtained and not before that.
• The test cases for re-testing cannot be automated.
• It requires additional effort and time because of the re execution of the failed test cases.
  

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