ISEB Foundation Certificate Course in Software Testing

Acceptance Testing

• Acceptance testing motto: If you don't have patience to test the system, the system will surely test your patience

Lifecycle

• Testing lifecycle consists of models for testing, economics of testing, high level test planning, component testing, integration testing in the small, system testing (non-functional and functional), integration testing in the large, acceptance testing, and maintenance testing

Maintenance Testing

• Testing to preserve quality:
  • Different sequence: development testing executed bottom-up, maintenance testing executed top-down
  • Different test data: live profile
  • Breadth tests to establish overall confidence
  • Depth tests to investigate changes and critical areas
  • Predominantly regression testing
• What to test in maintenance testing:
  • Test any new or changed code
  • Impact analysis: what could this change have an impact on, how important is a fault in the impacted area, and test what has been affected

Poor or Missing Specifications

• Consider what the system should do:
  • Talk with users
  • Document your assumptions
  • Ensure other people have the opportunity to review them
  • Improve the current situation
  • Document what you do know and find out
• Track cost of working with poor specifications to make a business case for better specifications

Security Tests

• Test areas:
  • Passwords
  • Encryption
  • Hardware permission devices
  • Levels of access to information
  • Authorization
  • Covert channels
  • Physical security

Configuration and Installation

• Configuration tests:
  • Different hardware or software environment
  • Configuration of the system itself
  • Upgrade paths: may conflict
• Installation tests:
  • Distribution (CD, network, etc.) and timings
  • Physical aspects: electromagnetic fields, heat, humidity, motion, chemicals, power supplies
  • Uninstall (removing installation)

Reliability and Qualities

• Reliability:
  • "System will be reliable" - how to test this?
  • Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
  • Reliability growth models
• Other qualities:
  • Maintainability, portability, adaptability, etc.

Back-up and Recovery

• Back-ups:
  • Computer functions
  • Manual procedures (where are tapes stored)
• Recovery:
  • Real test of back-up
  • Manual procedures unfamiliar
  • Should be regularly rehearsed
  • Documentation should be detailed, clear, and thorough

Documentation Testing

• Documentation review:
  • Check for accuracy against other documents
  • Gain consensus about content
  • Documentation exists, in right format
• Documentation tests:
  • Is it usable? Does it work?
  • User manual
  • Maintenance documentation

Integration Testing in the Large

• Tests the completed system working in conjunction with other systems, e.g.:
  • LAN / WAN, communications middleware
  • Other internal systems (billing, stock, personnel, overnight batch, branch offices, other countries)
  • External systems (stock exchange, news, suppliers)
  • Intranet, internet / www
  • 3rd party packages
  • Electronic data interchange (EDI)

Approach

• Identify risks: which areas missing or malfunctioning would be most critical - test them first
• "Divide and conquer":
  • Test the outside first (at the interface to your system, e.g. test a package on its own)
  • Test the connections one at a time first (your system and one other)
  • Combine incrementally - safer than "big bang" (non-incremental)

Planning Considerations

• Resources:
  • Identify the resources that will be needed (e.g. networks)
• Co-operation:
  • Plan co-operation with other organisations (e.g. suppliers, technical support team)
• Development plan:
  • Integration (in the large) test plan could influence development plan (e.g.