Software testing is an important step in Software Development Life cycle. It is a process that ensures the quality and reliability of our software product. It is utilized to check the level of accuracy and the excellence of the software that has been developed. During Software testing, specific steps are executed in a certain sequence by software testers to ensure that the quality goals have been achieved.Testing process is usually performed in a systematic and planned manner referred to as Software Test Life Cycle. STLC is responsible for managing and controlling all the activities related to software testing. We can refer it as the validation process for software testing. Both SDLC and STLC go in parallel during the software development process.Software testing is important because of the following three major reasons:(1)To meet the customer requirementsA software is created on the basis of a set of requirements. These requirements are often provided to you by your clients or customers for whom you are going to develop the software. During the software testing process, the tester identifies whether the software is functioning in accordance with the demands and expectations of the target customer or not. A component or components of the system are checked through different techniques to ensure that the actual outcome of the software application is matched with the expected outcome.(2)To Identify and remove software bugsSoftware testing ensures that your code is free of any errors.An error or defect that is identified during the testing process is normally referred to as a software bug. Defects or bugs in software may arise because of various reasons and may also be created during the coding process. If not identified and removed timely, these bugs can create serious problems during the software usage on later stages. With the help of various testing techniques, a tester is able to identify bugs in the software. These bugs are then corrected and the specific module of the software is tested again or as per requirement.(3)To avoid failure of application in futureA poorly tested software results in failure on later stages and may bring a bad name to the organization that has developed it. Moreover, if defects arise on a later stage of development then it is very difficult to remove those and also to maintain the application, both in terms of cost and complexity.Hence ensuring the smooth flow of your software application is of extreme importance if you want to stay in the business and this is done effectively through making effective use of software testing techniques.