Portability testing:- ISO 9126 defines Portability as a process of testing the ease with which a software/application can be shifted to the intended environment i.e. moving from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Portability testing is required when we want to shift/move software from one machine/platform to another either initially or from an existing environment. It is done to determine whether the application can be ported or not and if it can be ported then in which environment, like some applications run on Windows machine while some has Mac version as well, which is then required to validate that it runs correctly in both versions.
The objective of the Portability testing is to:-
1) To verify that software runs correctly to the required environments
2) Necessary RAM and Hard disk space
3) Screen resolution
4) Maintaining Look and Feel all versions
5) Operating system and Browsers make and version
Portability qualities are grouped into following attributes:-
1) Adaptability:- It is the capability of the software to adapt the specified environments as it was intended to do
2) Replaceability:- It is the ability of the product to work correctly in place of another alternative components in same environment.
3) Installability:- It describes the ability of the software to install other software on its intended target environment.
4) Co-existence/compatibility:- It describes the ability to co-exist and share common resources with other independent software in same environment.