What is "smoke testing"?

Smoke testing refers to a preliminary level of testing conducted on a software build to determine whether the most crucial functions of the application are working correctly. This type of testing serves as a quick check to ensure that the major features function as intended before proceeding to more extensive testing phases.

The main goal of smoke testing is to identify any major issues in the build early in the development process, allowing the testing team to evaluate the stability of the software quickly. If the smoke tests pass, the build is considered stable enough for more detailed testing and assessments to be carried out. Conversely, if critical functionalities fail the smoke test, the build is rejected for further testing until the issues are resolved.

This approach is efficient because it saves time and effort by avoiding deeper tests on a build that is fundamentally flawed, thus allowing developers to address high-priority errors quickly.