What is the primary purpose of the integration and testing phase?

The primary purpose of the integration and testing phase is to bring components together and check for errors. During this stage, individual modules or components of a software system, which have been developed separately, are combined into a complete system. The primary focus here is to ensure that these components work together as intended and that data flows seamlessly between them. This phase is crucial for identifying interface defects, integration errors, and ensuring that all parts of the system perform correctly as a whole.

By conducting thorough testing during integration, teams can verify that all functionalities operate in harmony, which is essential before moving to deployment. This phase also allows for the identification of bugs and issues that may not have been apparent when components were tested in isolation. Thus, the integration and testing phase is vital in establishing the reliability and robustness of the overall system prior to its release.