Alternatives to White Box Testing

There are alternatives to white box testing:

• White box testing can complement black box testing to increase overall test effectiveness. Based on risk assessment, certain areas of the software may require more scrutiny than others. White box testing could be performed for specific high-risk areas, and black box testing could be performed for the whole system. By complementing the two testing methods, more tests can be developed, focusing on both implementation issues and usage issues.
• Gray box testing can be used to combine both white box and black box testing methods in a powerful way. In a typical case, white box analysis is used to find vulnerable areas, and black box testing is then used to develop working attacks against these areas. The white box analysis increases productivity in finding vulnerable areas, while the black box testing method of driving data inputs decreases the cost of test setup and test execution.

All testing methods can reveal possible software risks and potential exploits. White box testing directly identifies more bugs in the software. White box testing is time consuming and expensive and requires specialized skills. As with any testing method, white box testing has benefits, associated costs, and alternatives. An effective testing approach balances efficiency and effectiveness in order to identify the greatest number of critical defects for the least cost.