Sanity Testing
A focused, narrow round of testing that verifies a specific bug fix or feature change works as expected, without running the full test suite.
Sanity testing is a subset of regression testing but with a tighter scope. While regression testing re-checks broad functionality, sanity testing zeroes in on the specific area affected by a recent change. It answers the question: 'Does this particular fix actually fix the problem, and does the immediate surrounding functionality still make sense?'
Why It Matters for QA Teams
When a hotfix is deployed for a specific issue, sanity testing provides fast, targeted confirmation that the fix works without the overhead of a full regression cycle.
Example
A bug report says the 'Forgot Password' email contains a broken reset link. A developer pushes a fix. The QA engineer performs a sanity test: trigger a password reset, check the email, click the link, and confirm the reset page loads. They also verify that normal login still works as a quick adjacent check.