Which of the following is not a type of incremental testing approach?

The big-bang approach is not considered a type of incremental testing approach. Incremental testing methodologies, such as top-down, bottom-up, and functional incrementation, involve integrating and testing components or systems in small, manageable pieces, allowing for easier identification of defects and issues in the early stages of development.

In a top-down approach, testing begins with the top-level components and progressively integrates lower-level components, enabling testers to verify the functionality of higher-level designs before all components are complete. Conversely, the bottom-up approach starts testing with the lower-level components first and moves upward, which also facilitates early defect detection. Functional incrementation emphasizes testing functional areas as they are completed, ensuring that each functional module is validated as it is developed.

The big-bang approach, however, involves assembling all components of a system or application at once and then performing testing, making it difficult to pinpoint issues due to the lack of incremental integration. This can lead to more complex and extensive debugging, as multiple modules may fail simultaneously without prior incremental checks. Thus, it does not align with the principles of incremental testing, which aim to mitigate these risks through a phased integration process.