software testing job material

Comparison to Automated Testing

2009-09-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Test Automation is the technique of testing software using software rather than people. A test program is written that exercises the software and identifies its defects. These test programs may be written from scratch, or they may be written utilizing a generic Test automation frameword that can be purchased from a third party vendor. Test automation can be used to automate the sometimes menial and time consuming task of following the steps of a use case and reporting the results.

Test automation may be able to reduce or eliminate the cost of actual testing. A computer can follow a rote sequence of steps more quickly than a person, and it can run the tests overnight to present the results in the morning. However, the labor that is saved in actual testing must be spent instead authoring the test program. Depending on the type of application to be tested, and the automation tools that are chosen, this may require more labor than a manual approach. In addition, some testing tools present a very large amount of data, potentially creating a time consuming task of interpreting the results. From a cost-benefit perspective, test automation becomes more cost effective when the same tests can be reused many times over, such as for regression testing and test-driven development, and when the results can be interpreted quickly. If future reuse of the test software is unlikely, then a manual approach is preferred.

From the perspective of practicality, software that does not have a graphical user interface tends to be tested by automatic methods. Things such as device drivers and software libraries must be tested using test programs. In addition, testing of large numbers of users (performance testing and load testing) is typically simulated in software rather than performed in practice.

Conversely, graphical user interfaces whose layout changes frequently are very difficult to test automatically. There are test frameworks that can be used for regression testing of user interfaces. They rely on recording of sequences of keystrokes and mouse gestures, then playing them back and observing that the user interface responds in the same way every time. Unfortunately, these recordings may not work properly when a button is moved or relabeled in a subsequent release. An automatic regression test may also be fooled if the program output varies significantly (e.g. the display includes the current system time). In cases such as these, manual testing may be more effective.

Manual Testing

2009-09-16T04:12:00.000-07:00

Manual testing is the process of manually testing software for defects. It requires a tester to play the role of an end user, and use most of all features of the application to ensure correct behavior. To ensure completeness of testing, the tester often follows a written test plan that leads them through a set of important test cases.

Test plan

2009-09-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

A test plan is a systematic approach to testing a system such as a machine. The plan typically contains a detailed understanding of what the eventual workflow will be.

In software testing a test plan gives detailed testing information regarding an upcoming testing effort, including

Scope of testing.

Schedule.

Test Deliverables.

Release Criteria.

Risks and Contingencies

Testing Process

2009-09-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

A common practice of software testing is performed by an independent group of testers after the functionality is developed before it is shipped to the customer. This practice often results in the testing phase being used as project buffer to compensate for project delays, thereby compromising the time devoted to testing. Another practice is to start software testing at the same moment the project starts and it is a continuous process until the project finishes.
In counterpoint, some emerging software disciplines such as extreme programming and the agile software development movement, adhere to a "test-driven software development" model. In this process, unit tests are written first, by the software engineers (often with pair programming in the extreme programming methodology). Of course these tests fail initially; as they are expected to. Then as code is written it passes incrementally larger portions of the test suites. The test suites are continuously updated as new failure conditions and corner cases are discovered, and they are integrated with any regression tests that are developed. Unit tests are maintained along with the rest of the software source code and generally integrated into the build process (with inherently interactive tests being relegated to a partially manual build acceptance process).
Testing can be done on the following levels:
Unit testing tests the minimal software component, or module. Each unit (basic component) of the software is tested to verify that the detailed design for the unit has been correctly implemented. In an object-oriented environment, this is usually at the class level, and the minimal unit tests include the constructors and destructors.
Integration testing exposes defects in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components (modules). Progressively larger groups of tested software components corresponding to elements of the architectural design are integrated and tested until the software works as a system.
System testing tests a completely integrated system to verify that it meets its requirements.
System integration testing verifies that a system is integrated to any external or third party systems defined in the system requirements.
Before shipping the final version of software, alpha and beta testing are often done additionally:
Alpha testing is simulated or actual operational testing by potential users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site. Alpha testing is often employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance testing, before the software goes to beta testing.
Beta testing comes after alpha testing. Versions of the software, known as beta versions, are released to a limited audience outside of the programming team. The software is released to groups of people so that further testing can ensure the product has few faults or bugs. Sometimes, beta versions are made available to the open public to increase the feedback field to a maximal number of future users.
Finally, acceptance testing can be conducted by the end-user, customer, or client to validate whether or not to accept the product. Acceptance testing may be performed as part of the hand-off process between any two phases of development.

Regression testing
After modifying software, either for a change in functionality or to fix defects, a regression test re-runs previously passing tests on the modified software to ensure that the modifications have not unintentionally caused a regression of previous functionality. Regression testing can be performed at any or all of the above test levels. These regression tests are often automated.
More specific forms of regression testing are known as sanity testing (which quickly checks for bizarre behavior) and smoke testing (which tests for basic functionality).
Benchmarks may be employed during regression testing to ensure that the performance of the newly modified software will be at least as acceptable as the earlier version or, in the case of code optimization, that some real improvement has been achieved.

Software testing topics

2009-09-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

Scope
A primary purpose for testing is to detect software failures so that defects may be uncovered and corrected. This is a non-trivial pursuit. Testing cannot establish that a product functions properly under all conditions but can only establish that it does not function properly under specific conditions.The scope of software testing often includes examination of code as well as execution of that code in various environments and conditions as well as examining the aspects of code: does it do what it is supposed to do and do what it needs to do. In the current culture of software development, a testing organization may be separate from the development team. There are various roles for testing team members. Information derived from software testing may be used to correct the process by which software is developed.
Not all software defects are caused by coding errors. One common source of expensive defects is caused by requirement gaps, e.g., unrecognized requirements, that result in errors of omission by the program designer. A common source of requirements gaps is non-functional requirements such as testability, scalability, maintainability, usability, performance, and security.
Software faults occur through the following processes. A programmer makes an error(mistake), which results in a defect (fault, bug) in the software source code. If this defect is executed, in certain situations the system will produce wrong results, causing a failure. Not all defects will necessarily result in failures. For example, defects in dead code will never result in failures. A defect can turn into a failure when the environment is changed. Examples of these changes in environment include the software being run on a new hardware platform, alterations in source data or interacting with different software. A single defect may result in a wide range of failure symptoms.

Compatibility
A frequent cause of software failure is compatibility with another application, a new operating system, or, increasingly, web browser version. In the case of lack of backward compatibility, this can occur (for example...) because the programmers have only considered coding their programs for, or testing the software upon, "the latest version of" this-or-that operating system. The unintended consequence of this fact is that: their latest work might not be fully compatible with earlier mixtures of software/hardware, or it might not be fully compatible with another important operating system. In any case, these differences, whatever they might be, may have resulted in (unintended...) software failures, as witnessed by some significant population of computer users.
This could be considered a "prevention oriented strategy" that fits well with the latest testing phase suggested by Dave Gelperin and William C. Hetzel, as cited below

Input combinations and preconditions
A very fundamental problem with software testing is that testing under all combinations of inputs and preconditions (initial state) is not feasible, even with a simple product.This means that the number of defects in a software product can be very large and defects that occur infrequently are difficult to find in testing. More significantly, non-functional dimensions of quality (how it is supposed to be versus what it is supposed to do)—usability, scalability, performance, compatibility, reliability—can be highly subjective; something that constitutes sufficient value to one person may be intolerable to another.

Static vs. dynamic testing
There are many approaches to software testing. Reviews, walkthroughs, or inspections are considered as static testing, whereas actually executing programmed code with a given set of test cases is referred to as dynamic testing. Static testing can be (and unfortunately in practice often is) omitted. Dynamic testing takes place when the program itself is used for the first time (which is generally considered the beginning of the testing stage). Dynamic testing may begin before the program is 100% complete in order to test particular sections of code (modules or discrete functions). Typical techniques for this are either using stubs/drivers or execution from a debugger environment. For example, Spreadsheet programs are, by their very nature, tested to a large extent interactively ("on the fly"), with results displayed immediately after each calculation or text manipulation.

Software verification and validation
Software testing is used in association with verification and validation:
Verification: Have we built the software right? (i.e., does it match the specification).
Validation: Have we built the right software? (i.e., is this what the customer wants).
The terms verification and validation are commonly used interchangeably in the industry; it is also common to see these two terms incorrectly defined. According to the IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology:
Verification is the process of evaluating a system or component to determine whether the products of a given development phase satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that phase.
Validation is the process of evaluating a system or component during or at the end of the development process to determine whether it satisfies specified requirements.

The software testing team
Software testing can be done by software testers. Until the 1980s the term "software tester" was used generally, but later it was also seen as a separate profession. Regarding the periods and the different goals in software testing, different roles have been established: manager, test lead, test designer, tester, automation developer, and test administrator.

Software Quality Assurance (SQA)
Though controversial, software testing may be viewed as an important part of the software quality assurance (SQA) process. In SQA, software process specialists and auditors take a broader view on software and its development. They examine and change the software engineering process itself to reduce the amount of faults that end up in the delivered software: the so-called defect rate.
What constitutes an "acceptable defect rate" depends on the nature of the software. For example, an arcade video game designed to simulate flying an airplane would presumably have a much higher tolerance for defects than mission critical software such as that used to control the functions of an airliner that really is flying!
Although there are close links with SQA, testing departments often exist independently, and there may be no SQA function in some companies.
Software Testing is a task intended to detect defects in software by contrasting a computer program's expected results with its actual results for a given set of inputs. By contrast, QA (Quality Assurance) is the implementation of policies and procedures intended to prevent defects from occurring in the first place.

QA interview questions

2009-08-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

What is verification, What is validation, What is a walkthrough, What is an inspection, What is quality, What is good code, What is good design, What is software life cycle, What is the difference between alpha and beta testing, What is the difference between volume testing and load testing etc.

Q1. What is verification?
A: Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all functionality to the customer; it typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs and inspection meetings. You CAN learn to do verification, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information.
Q2. What is validation?
A: Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in requirements, is the intended behavior of the product; validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed.

Q3. What is a walkthrough?
A: A walkthrough is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. A walkthrough is also a process at an abstract level. It’s the process of inspecting software code by following paths through the code (as determined by input conditions and choices made along the way). The purpose of code walkthroughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose. Walkthroughs also offer opportunities to assess an individual’s or team’s competency.

Q4. What is an inspection?
A: An inspection is a formal meeting, more formalized than a walkthrough and typically consists of 3-10 people including a moderator, reader (the author of whatever is being reviewed) and a recorder (to make notes in the document). The subject of the inspection is typically a document, such as a requirements document or a test plan. The purpose of an inspection is to find problems and see what is missing, not to fix anything. The result of the meeting should be documented in a written report. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the document, before the meeting starts; most problems are found during this preparation. Preparation for inspections is difficult, but is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality, since bug prevention is more cost effective than bug detection.

Q5. What is quality?
A: Quality software is software that is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and expectations and is maintainable. However, quality is a subjective term. Quality depends on who the customer is and their overall influence in the scheme of things. Customers of a software development project include end-users, customer acceptance test engineers, testers, customer contract officers, customer management, the development organization’s management, test engineers, testers, salespeople, software engineers, stockholders and accountants. Each type of customer will have his or her own slant on quality. The accounting department might define quality in terms of profits, while an end-user might define quality as user friendly and bug free.

Q6. What is good code?
A: A good code is code that works, is free of bugs and is readable and maintainable. Organizations usually have coding standards all developers should adhere to, but every programmer and software engineer has different ideas about what is best and what are too many or too few rules. We need to keep in mind that excessive use of rules can stifle both productivity and creativity. Peer reviews and code analysis tools can be used to check for problems and enforce standards.

Q7. What is good design?
A: Design could mean to many things, but often refers to functional design or internal design. Good functional design is indicated by software functionality can be traced back to customer and end-user requirements. Good internal design is indicated by software code whose overall structure is clear, understandable, easily modifiable and maintainable; is robust with sufficient error handling and status logging capability; and works correctly when implemented.

Q8. What is software life cycle?
A: Software life cycle begins when a software product is first conceived and ends when it is no longer in use. It includes phases like initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design, internal design, documentation planning, test planning, coding, document preparation,
integration, testing, maintenance, updates, re-testing and phase-out.

Q9. Why are there so many software bugs?
A: Generally speaking, there are bugs in software because of unclear requirements, software complexity, programming errors, changes in requirements, errors made in bug tracking, time pressure, poorly documented code and/or bugs in tools used in software development.
There are unclear software requirements because there is miscommunication as to what the software should or shouldn’t do.
Software complexity. All of the followings contribute to the exponential growth in software and system complexity: Windows interfaces, client-server and distributed applications, data communications, enormous relational databases and the sheer size of applications.
Programming errors occur because programmers and software engineers, like everyone else, can make mistakes.
As to changing requirements, in some fast-changing business environments, continuously modified requirements are a fact of life. Sometimes customers do not understand the effects of changes, or understand them but request them anyway. And the changes require redesign of the software, rescheduling of resources and some of the work already completed have to be redone or discarded and hardware requirements can be effected, too.
Bug tracking can result in errors because the complexity of keeping track of changes can result in errors, too.
Time pressures can cause problems, because scheduling of software projects is not easy and it often requires a lot of guesswork and when deadlines loom and the crunch comes, mistakes will be made.
Code documentation is tough to maintain and it is also tough to modify code that is poorly documented. The result is bugs. Sometimes there is no incentive for programmers and software engineers to document their code and write clearly documented, understandable code. Sometimes developers get kudos for quickly turning out code, or programmers and software engineers feel they cannot have job security if everyone can understand the code they write, or they believe if the code was hard to write, it should be hard to read.
Software development tools , including visual tools, class libraries, compilers, scripting tools, can introduce their own bugs. Other times the tools are poorly documented, which can create additional bugs.

Q10. How do you introduce a new software QA process?
A: It depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large organizations with high-risk projects, a serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary. For medium size organizations with lower risk projects, management and organizational buy-in and a slower, step-by-step process is required. Generally speaking, QA processes should be balanced with productivity, in order to keep any bureaucracy from getting out of hand. For smaller groups or projects, an ad-hoc process is more appropriate. A lot depends on team leads and managers, feedback to developers and good communication is essential among customers, managers, developers, test engineers and testers. Regardless the size of the company, the greatest value for effort is in managing requirement processes, where the goal is requirements that are clear, complete and testable.

Q11. Give me five common problems that occur during software development.
A: Poorly written requirements, unrealistic schedules, inadequate testing, adding new features after development is underway and poor communication. Requirements are poorly written when requirements are unclear, incomplete, too general, or not testable; therefore there will be problems.
The schedule is unrealistic if too much work is crammed in too little time.
Software testing is inadequate if none knows whether or not the software is any good until customers complain or the system crashes.
It’s extremely common that new features are added after development is underway.
Miscommunication either means the developers don’t know what is needed, or customers have unrealistic expectations and therefore problems are guaranteed.

Q12. Do automated testing tools make testing easier?
A: Yes and no. For larger projects, or ongoing long-term projects, they can be valuable. But for small projects, the time needed to learn and implement them is usually not worthwhile. A common type of automated tool is the record/playback type. For example, a test engineer clicks through all combinations of menu choices, dialog box choices, buttons, etc. in a GUI and has an automated testing tool record and log the results. The recording is typically in the form of text, based on a scripting language that the testing tool can interpret. If a change is made (e.g. new buttons are added, or some underlying code in the application is changed), the application is then re-tested by just playing back the recorded actions and compared to the logged results in order to check effects of the change. One problem with such tools is that if there are continual changes to the product being tested, the recordings have to be changed so often that it becomes a very time-consuming task to continuously update the scripts. Another problem with such tools is the interpretation of the results (screens, data, logs, etc.) that can be a time-consuming task. You CAN learn to use automated testing tools, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q13. Give me five solutions to problems that occur during software development.
A: Solid requirements, realistic schedules, adequate testing, firm requirements and good communication.
Ensure the requirements are solid, clear, complete, detailed, cohesive, attainable and testable. All players should agree to requirements. Use prototypes to help nail down requirements.
Have schedules that are realistic. Allow adequate time for planning, design, testing, bug fixing, re-testing, changes and documentation. Personnel should be able to complete the project without burning out.

Do testing that is adequate. Start testing early on, re-test after fixes or changes, and plan for sufficient time for both testing and bug fixing.
Avoid new features. Stick to initial requirements as much as possible. Be prepared to defend design against changes and additions, once development has begun and be prepared to explain consequences. If changes are necessary, ensure they’re adequately reflected in related schedule changes. Use prototypes early on so customers’ expectations are clarified and customers can see what to expect; this will minimize changes later on.
Communicate. Require walkthroughs and inspections when appropriate; make extensive use of e-mail, networked bug-tracking tools, tools of change management. Ensure documentation is available and up-to-date. Use documentation that is electronic, not paper. Promote teamwork and cooperation.

Q14. What makes a good test engineer?
A: Rob Davis is a good test engineer because he
Has a “test to break” attitude,
Takes the point of view of the customer,
Has a strong desire for quality,
Has an attention to detail, He’s also
Tactful and diplomatic and
Has good a communication skill, both oral and written. And he
Has previous software development experience, too.
Good test engineers have a “test to break” attitude. We, good test engineers, take the point of view of the customer, have a strong desire for quality and an attention to detail. Tact and diplomacy are useful in maintaining a cooperative relationship with developers and an ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical people. Previous software development experience is also helpful as it provides a deeper understanding of the software development process, gives the test engineer an appreciation for the developers’ point of view and reduces the learning curve in automated test tool programming.

Q15. What makes a good QA engineer?
A: The same qualities a good test engineer has are useful for a QA engineer. Additionally, Rob Davis understands the entire software development process and how it fits into the business approach and the goals of the organization. Rob Davis’ communication skills and the ability to understand various sides of issues are important. Good QA engineers understand the entire software development process and how it fits into the business approach and the goals of the organization. Communication skills and the ability to understand various sides of issues are important.

Q16. What makes a good resume?
A: On the subject of resumes, there seems to be an unending discussion of whether you should or shouldn’t have a one-page resume. The followings are some of the comments I have personally heard: “Well, Joe Blow (car salesman) said I should have a one-page resume.” “Well, I read a book and it said you should have a one page resume.” “I can’t really go into what I really did because if I did, it’d take more than one page on my resume.” “Gosh, I wish I could put my job at IBM on my resume but if I did it’d make my resume more than one page, and I was told to never make the resume more than one page long.” “I’m confused, should my resume be more than one page? I feel like it should, but I don’t want to break the rules.” Or, here’s another comment, “People just don’t read resumes that are longer than one page.” I have heard some more, but we can start with these. So what’s the answer? There is no scientific answer about whether a one-page resume is right or wrong. It all depends on who you are and how much experience you have. The first thing to look at here is the purpose of a resume. The purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. If the resume is getting you interviews, then it is considered to be a good resume. If the resume isn’t getting you interviews, then you should change it. The biggest mistake you can make on your resume is to make it hard to read. Why? Because, for one, scanners don’t like odd resumes. Small fonts can make your resume harder to read. Some candidates use a 7-point font so they can get the resume onto one page. Big mistake. Two, resume readers do not like eye strain either. If the resume is mechanically challenging, they just throw it aside for one that is easier on the eyes. Three, there are lots of resumes out there these days, and that is also part of the problem. Four, in light of the current scanning scenario, more than one page is not a deterrent because many will scan your resume into their database. Once the resume is in there and searchable, you have accomplished one of the goals of resume distribution. Five, resume readers don’t like to guess and most won’t call you to clarify what is on your resume. Generally speaking, your resume should tell your story. If you’re a college graduate looking for your first job, a one-page resume is just fine. If you have a longer story, the resume needs to be longer. Please put your experience on the resume so resume readers can tell when and for whom you did what. Short resumes — for people long on experience — are not appropriate. The real audience for these short resumes is people with short attention spans and low IQ. I assure you that when your resume gets into the right hands, it will be read thoroughly.

Q17. What makes a good QA/Test Manager?
A: QA/Test Managers are familiar with the software development process; able to maintain enthusiasm of their team and promote a positive atmosphere; able to promote teamwork to increase productivity; able to promote cooperation between Software and Test/QA Engineers, have the people skills needed to promote improvements in QA processes, have the ability to withstand pressures and say *no* to other managers when quality is insufficient or QA processes are not being adhered to; able to communicate with technical and non-technical people; as well as able to run meetings and keep them focused.

Q18. What is the role of documentation in QA?
A: Documentation plays a critical role in QA. QA practices should be documented, so that they are repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules, inspection reports, configurations, code changes, test plans, test cases, bug reports, user manuals should all be documented. Ideally, there should be a system for easily finding and obtaining of documents and determining what document will have a particular piece of information. Use documentation change management, if possible.

Q19. What about requirements?
A: Requirement specifications are important and one of the most reliable methods of insuring problems in a complex software project is to have poorly documented requirement specifications. Requirements are the details describing an application’s externally perceived functionality and properties. Requirements should be clear, complete, reasonably detailed, cohesive, attainable and testable. A non-testable requirement would be, for example, “user-friendly”, which is too subjective. A testable requirement would be something such as, “the product shall allow the user to enter their previously-assigned password to access the application”. Care should be taken to involve all of a project’s significant customers in the requirements process. Customers could be in-house or external and could include end-users, customer acceptance test engineers, testers, customer contract officers, customer management, future software maintenance engineers, salespeople and anyone who could later derail the project. If his/her expectations aren’t met, they should be included as a customer, if possible. In some organizations, requirements may end up in high-level project plans, functional specification documents, design documents, or other documents at various levels of detail. No matter what they are called, some type of documentation with detailed requirements will be needed by test engineers in order to properly plan and execute tests. Without such documentation there will be no clear-cut way to determine if a software application is performing correctly. You CAN learn to capture requirements, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q20. What is a test plan?
A: A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software product. The completed document will help people outside the test group understand the why and how of product validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful, but not so thorough that none outside the test group will be able to read it.

Q21. What is a test case?
A: A test case is a document that describes an input, action, or event and its expected result, in order to determine if a feature of an application is working correctly. A test case should contain particulars such as a…
Test case identifier;
Test case name;
Objective;
Test conditions/setup;
Input data requirements/steps, and
Expected results.
Please note, the process of developing test cases can help find problems in the requirements or design of an application, since it requires you to completely think through the operation of the application. For this reason, it is useful to prepare test cases early in the development cycle, if possible.

Q22. What should be done after a bug is found?
A: When a bug is found, it needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it. After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested. Additionally, determinations should be made regarding requirements, software, hardware, safety impact, etc., for regression testing to check the fixes didn’t create other problems elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in place, it should encapsulate these determinations. A variety of commercial, problem-tracking/management software tools are available. These tools, with the detailed input of software test engineers, will give the team complete information so developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity, reproduce it and fix it.

Q23. What is configuration management?
A: Configuration management (CM) covers the tools and processes used to control, coordinate and track code, requirements, documentation, problems, change requests, designs, tools, compilers, libraries, patches, changes made to them and who makes the changes. Rob Davis has had experience with a full range of CM tools and concepts. Rob Davis can easily adapt to your software tool and process needs.

Q24. What if the software is so buggy it can’t be tested at all?
A: In this situation the best bet is to have test engineers go through the process of reporting whatever bugs or problems initially show up, with the focus being on critical bugs. Since this type of problem can severely affect schedules and indicates deeper problems in the software development process, such as insufficient unit testing, insufficient integration testing, poor design, improper build or release procedures, managers should be notified and provided with some documentation as evidence of the problem.

Q25. How do you know when to stop testing?
A: This can be difficult to determine. Many modern software applications are so complex and run in such an interdependent environment, that complete testing can never be done. Common factors in deciding when to stop are…
Deadlines, e.g. release deadlines, testing deadlines;
Test cases completed with certain percentage passed;
Test budget has been depleted;
Coverage of code, functionality, or requirements reaches a specified point;
Bug rate falls below a certain level; or
Beta or alpha testing period ends.

Q26. What if there isn’t enough time for thorough testing?
A: Since it’s rarely possible to test every possible aspect of an application, every possible combination of events, every dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is appropriate to most software development projects. Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. This requires judgment skills, common sense and experience. The checklist should include answers to the following questions:
· Which functionality is most important to the project’s intended purpose?
· Which functionality is most visible to the user?
· Which functionality has the largest safety impact?
· Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?
· Which aspects of the application are most important to the customer?
· Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the development cycle?
· Which parts of the code are most complex and thus most subject to errors?
· Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic mode?
· Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?
· Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large maintenance expenses?
· Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly thought out?
· What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the application?
· What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?
· What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service complaints?
· What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?
· Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to time-required ratio?

Q27. What if the project isn’t big enough to justify extensive testing?
A: Consider the impact of project errors, not the size of the project. However, if extensive testing is still not justified, risk analysis is again needed and the considerations listed under “What if there isn’t enough time for thorough testing?” do apply. The test engineer then should do “ad hoc” testing, or write up a limited test plan based on the risk analysis.

Q28. What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?
A: Work with management early on to understand how requirements might change, so that alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in advance. It is helpful if the application’s initial design allows for some adaptability, so that later changes do not require redoing the application from scratch. Additionally, try to…
· Ensure the code is well commented and well documented; this makes changes easier for the developers.
· Use rapid prototyping whenever possible; this will help customers feel sure of their requirements and minimize changes.
· In the project’s initial schedule, allow for some extra time to commensurate with probable changes.
· Move new requirements to a ‘Phase 2′ version of an application and use the original requirements for the ‘Phase 1′ version.
· Negotiate to allow only easily implemented new requirements into the project; move more difficult, new requirements into future versions of the application.
· Ensure customers and management understand scheduling impacts, inherent risks and costs of significant requirements changes. Then let management or the customers decide if the changes are warranted; after all, that’s their job.
· Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with the expected effort required to redo them to deal with changes.
· Design some flexibility into automated test scripts;
· Focus initial automated testing on application aspects that are most likely to remain unchanged;
· Devote appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes, in order to minimize regression-testing needs;
· Design some flexibility into test cases; this is not easily done; the best bet is to minimize the detail in the test cases, or set up only higher-level generic-type test plans;
· Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more on ad-hoc testing with an understanding of the added risk this entails.

Q29. What if the application has functionality that wasn’t in the requirements?
A: It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected or hidden functionality, which it would indicate deeper problems in the software development process. If the functionality isn’t necessary to the purpose of the application, it should be removed, as it may have unknown impacts or dependencies that were not taken into account by the designer or the customer.
If not removed, design information will be needed to determine added testing needs or regression testing needs. Management should be made aware of any significant added risks as a result of the unexpected functionality. If the functionality only affects areas, such as minor improvements in the user interface, it may not be a significant risk.

Q30. How can software QA processes be implemented without stifling productivity?
A: Implement QA processes slowly over time. Use consensus to reach agreement on processes and adjust and experiment as an organization grows and matures. Productivity will be improved instead of stifled. Problem prevention will lessen the need for problem detection. Panics and burnout will decrease and there will be improved focus and less wasted effort. At the same time, attempts should be made to keep processes simple and efficient, minimize paperwork, promote computer-based processes and automated tracking and reporting, minimize time required in meetings and promote training as part of the QA process. However, no one, especially talented technical types, like bureaucracy and in the short run things may slow down a bit. A typical scenario would be that more days of planning and development will be needed, but less time will be required for late-night bug fixing and calming of irate customers.

Q34. What is software quality assurance?
A: Software Quality Assurance, when Rob Davis does it, is oriented to *prevention*. It involves the entire software development process. Prevention is monitoring and improving the process, making sure any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed and ensuring problems are found and dealt with. Software Testing, when performed by Rob Davis, is also oriented to *detection*. Testing involves the operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results. Organizations vary considerably in how they assign responsibility for QA and testing. Sometimes they’re the combined responsibility of one group or individual. Also common are project teams, which include a mix of test engineers, testers and developers who work closely together, with overall QA processes monitored by project managers. It depends on what best fits your organization’s size and business structure. Rob Davis can provide QA and/or Software QA. This document details some aspects of how he can provide software testing/QA service.
Q35. What is quality assurance?
A: Quality Assurance ensures all parties concerned with the project adhere to the process and procedures, standards and templates and test readiness reviews.
Rob Davis’ QA service depends on the customers and projects. A lot will depend on team leads or managers, feedback to developers and communications among customers, managers, developers’ test engineers and testers.

Q36. Process and procedures - why follow them?
A: Detailed and well-written processes and procedures ensure the correct steps are being executed to facilitate a successful completion of a task. They also ensure a process is repeatable. Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed customer’s business processes and procedures, he will follow them. He will also recommend improvements and/or additions.

Q37. Standards and templates - what is supposed to be in a document?
A: All documents should be written to a certain standard and template. Standards and templates maintain document uniformity. It also helps in learning where information is located, making it easier for a user to find what they want. Lastly, with standards and templates, information will not be accidentally omitted from a document. Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards and templates, he will use them. He will also recommend improvements and/or additions.

Q38. What are the different levels of testing?
A: Rob Davis has expertise in testing at all testing levels listed below. At each test level, he documents the results. Each level of testing is either considered black or white box testing.

Q39. What is black box testing?
A: Black box testing is functional testing, not based on any knowledge of internal software design or code. Black box testing are based on requirements and functionality.

Q40. What is white box testing?
A: White box testing is based on knowledge of the internal logic of an application’s code. Tests are based on coverage of code statements, branches, paths and conditions.

Q41. What is unit testing?
A: Unit testing is the first level of dynamic testing and is first the responsibility of developers and then that of the test engineers. Unit testing is performed after the expected test results are met or differences are explainable/acceptable.

Q42. What is parallel/audit testing?
A: Parallel/audit testing is testing where the user reconciles the output of the new system to the output of the current system to verify the new system performs the operations correctly.

Q43. What is functional testing?
A: Functional testing is black-box type of testing geared to functional requirements of an application. Test engineers *should* perform functional testing.

Q44. What is usability testing?
A: Usability testing is testing for ‘user-friendliness’. Clearly this is subjective and depends on the targeted end-user or customer. User interviews, surveys, video recording of user sessions and other techniques can be used. Programmers and developers are usually not appropriate as usability testers.

Q45. What is incremental integration testing?
A: Incremental integration testing is continuous testing of an application as new functionality is recommended. This may require that various aspects of an application’s functionality are independent enough to work separately, before all parts of the program are completed, or that test drivers are developed as needed. This type of testing may be performed by programmers, software engineers, or test engineers.

Q46. What is integration testing?
A: Upon completion of unit testing, integration testing begins. Integration testing is black box testing. The purpose of integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the application still work in accordance to customer requirements. Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried out by the test team.
Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results and expected results are either in line or differences are explainable/acceptable based on client input.

Q47. What is system testing?
A: System testing is black box testing, performed by the Test Team, and at the start of the system testing the complete system is configured in a controlled environment. The purpose of system testing is to validate an application’s accuracy and completeness in performing the functions as designed. System testing simulates real life scenarios that occur in a “simulated real life” test environment and test all functions of the system that are required in real life. System testing is deemed complete when actual results and expected results are either in line or differences are explainable or acceptable, based on client input.
Upon completion of integration testing, system testing is started. Before system testing, all unit and integration test results are reviewed by Software QA to ensure all problems have been resolved. For a higher level of testing it is important to understand unresolved problems that originate at unit and integration test levels. You CAN learn system testing, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q48. What is end-to-end testing?
A: Similar to system testing, the *macro* end of the test scale is testing a complete application in a situation that mimics real world use, such as interacting with a database, using network communication, or interacting with other hardware, application, or system.

Q49. What is regression testing?
A: The objective of regression testing is to ensure the software remains intact. A baseline set of data and scripts is maintained and executed to verify changes introduced during the release have not “undone” any previous code. Expected results from the baseline are compared to results of the software under test. All discrepancies are highlighted and accounted for, before testing proceeds to the next level.

Q50. What is sanity testing?
A: Sanity testing is performed whenever cursory testing is sufficient to prove the application is functioning according to specifications. This level of testing is a subset of regression testing. It normally includes a set of core tests of basic GUI functionality to demonstrate connectivity to the database, application servers, printers, etc.

White box testing and black box testing

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White box and black box testing are terms used to describe the point of view a test engineer takes when designing test cases. Black box being an external view of the test object and white box being an internal view. Software testing is partly intuitive, but largely systematic. Good testing involves much more than just running the program a few times to see whether it works. Thorough analysis of the program under test, backed by a broad knowledge of testing techniques and tools are prerequisites to systematic testing. Software Testing is the process of executing software in a controlled manner; in order to answer the question “Does this software behave as specified?” Software testing is used in association with Verification and Validation. Verification is the checking of or testing of items, including software, for conformance and consistency with an associated specification. Software testing is just one kind of verification, which also uses techniques as reviews, inspections, walk-through.
Validation is the process of checking what has been specified is what the user actually wanted.

What is Software testing

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It is the process used to help identify the correctness, completeness, security, and quality of developed computer software. Testing is a process of technical investigation, performed on behalf of stakeholders, that is intended to reveal quality-related information about the product with respect to the context in which it is intended to operate. This includes, but is not limited to, the process of executing a program or application with the intent of finding errors. Quality is not an absolute; it is value to some person. With that in mind, testing can never completely establish the correctness of arbitrary computer software; testing furnishes a criticism or comparison that compares the state and behaviour of the product against a specification. An important point is that software testing should be distinguished from the separate discipline of Software Quality Assurance (SQA), which encompasses all business process areas, not just testing.

Software Testing Glossary

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Acceptance Testing: Testing conducted to enable a user/customer to determine whether to accept a software product. Normally performed to validate the software meets a set of agreed acceptance criteria.
Accessibility Testing: Verifying a product is accessible to the people having disabilities (deaf, blind, mentally disabled etc.).
Ad Hoc Testing: A testing phase where the tester tries to 'break' the system by randomly trying the system's functionality. Can include negative testing as well.
Agile Testing: Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm.
Application Binary Interface (ABI): A specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms across defferent system platforms and environments.
Application Programming Interface (API): A formalized set of software calls and routines that can be referenced by an application program in order to access supporting system or network services.
Automated Software Quality (ASQ): The use of software tools, such as automated testing tools, to improve software quality.

Automated Testing:
Testing employing software tools which execute tests without manual intervention. Can be applied in GUI, performance, API, etc. testing.
The use of software to control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual outcomes to predicted outcomes, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and test reporting functions.
Backus-Naur Form: A metalanguage used to formally describe the syntax of a language.
Basic Block: A sequence of one or more consecutive, executable statements containing no branches.
Basis Path Testing: A white box test case design technique that uses the algorithmic flow of the program to design tests.
Baseline: The point at which some deliverable produced during the software engineering process is put under formal change control.
Benchmark Testing: Tests that use representative sets of programs and data designed to evaluate the performance of computer hardware and software in a given configuration.
Beta Testing: Testing of a rerelease of a software product conducted by customers.
Binary Portability Testing: Testing an executable application for portability across system platforms and environments, usually for conformation to ABI specification.
Black Box Testing: Testing based on an analysis of the specification of a piece of software without reference to its internal workings. The goal is to test how well the component conforms to the published requirements for the component.
Bottom Up Testing: An approach to integration testing where the lowest level components are tested first, then used to facilitate the testing of higher level components. The process is repeated until the component at the top of the hierarchy is tested.
Boundary Testing: Test which focus on the boundary or limit conditions of the software being tested. (Some of these tests are stress tests).
Boundary Value Analysis: In boundary value analysis, test cases are generated using the extremes of the input domaini, e.g. maximum, minimum, just inside/outside boundaries, typical values, and error values. BVA is similar to Equivalence Partitioning but focuses on "corner cases".
Branch Testing: Testing in which all branches in the program source code are tested at least once.
Breadth Testing: A test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does not test features in detail.
Bug: A fault in a program which causes the program to perform in an unintended or unanticipated manner.

CAST: Computer Aided Software Testing.
Capture/Replay Tool: A test tool that records test input as it is sent to the software under test. The input cases stored can then be used to reproduce the test at a later time. Most commonly applied to GUI test tools.
CMM: The Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM or SW-CMM) is a model for judging the maturity of the software processes of an organization and for identifying the key practices that are required to increase the maturity of these processes.
Cause Effect Graph: A graphical representation of inputs and the associated outputs effects which can be used to design test cases.
Code Complete: Phase of development where functionality is implemented in entirety; bug fixes are all that are left. All functions found in the Functional Specifications have been implemented.
Code Coverage: An analysis method that determines which parts of the software have been executed (covered) by the test case suite and which parts have not been executed and therefore may require additional attention.
Code Inspection: A formal testing technique where the programmer reviews source code with a group who ask questions analyzing the program logic, analyzing the code with respect to a checklist of historically common programming errors, and analyzing its compliance with coding standards.
Code Walkthrough: A formal testing technique where source code is traced by a group with a small set of test cases, while the state of program variables is manually monitored, to analyze the programmer's logic and assumptions.
Coding: The generation of source code.
Compatibility Testing: Testing whether software is compatible with other elements of a system with which it should operate, e.g. browsers, Operating Systems, or hardware.
Component: A minimal software item for which a separate specification is available.

Concurrency Testing: Multi-user testing geared towards determining the effects of accessing the same application code, module or database records. Identifies and measures the level of locking, deadlocking and use of single-threaded code and locking semaphores.
Conformance Testing: The process of testing that an implementation conforms to the specification on which it is based. Usually applied to testing conformance to a formal standard.
Context Driven Testing: The context-driven school of software testing is flavor of Agel testing that advocates continuous and creative evaluation of testing opportunities in light of the potential information revealed and the value of that information to the organization right now.
Conversion Testing: Testing of programs or procedures used to convert data from existing systems for use in replacement systems.
Cyclomatic Complexity: A measure of the logical complexity of an algorithm, used in white-box testing.
Data Dictionary: A database that contains definitions of all data items defined during analysis.
Data Flow Diagram: A modeling notation that represents a functional decomposition of a system.
Data Driven Testing: Testing in which the action of a test case is parameterized by externally defined data values, maintained as a file or spreadsheet. A common technique in Automated testing.
Debugging: The process of finding and removing the causes of software failures.
Defect: Nonconformance to requirements or functional / program specification
Dependency Testing: Examines an application's requirements for pre-existing software, initial states and configuration in order to maintain proper functionality.
Depth Testing: A test that exercises a feature of a product in full detail.
Dynamic Testing: Testing software through executing it.
Emulator: A device, computer program, or system that accepts the same inputs and produces the same outputs as a given system.
Endurance Testing: Checks for memory leaks or other problems that may occur with prolonged execution.
End-to-End testing: Testing a complete application environment in a situation that mimics real-world use, such as interacting with a database, using network communications, or interacting with other hardware, applications, or systems if appropriate.
Equivalence Class: A portion of a component's input or output domains for which the component's behaviour is assumed to be the same from the component's specification.
Equivalence Partitioning: A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed to execute representatives from equivalence classes.
Error: A mistake in the system under test; usually but not always a coding mistake on the part of the developer.

Exhaustive Testing: Testing which covers all combinations of input values and preconditions for an element of the software under test.
Functional Decomposition: A technique used during planning, analysis and design; creates a functional hierarchy for the software.
Functional Specification: A document that describes in detail the characteristics of the product with regard to its intended features.
Functional Testing: See also Black Box testing Testing, the features and operational behavior of a product to ensure they correspond to its specifications.
Testing that ignores the internal mechanism of a system or component and focuses solely on the outputs generated in response to selected inputs and execution conditions.

Glass Box Testing: A synonym for White Box Testing.
Gorilla Testing: Testing one particular module, functionality heavily.
Gray Box Testing: A combination of Black Box and White Box testing methodologies: testing a piece of software against its specification but using some knowledge of its internal workings.

High Order Tests: Black-box tests conducted once the software has been integrated.
Independent Test Group (ITG): A group of people whose primary responsibility is software testing.
Inspection: A group review quality improvement process for written material. It consists of two aspects; product (document itself) improvement and process improvement (of both document production and inspection).

Integration Testing: Testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together correctly. Usually performed after unit and functional testing. This type of testing is especially relevant to client/server and distributed systems.
Installation Testing: Confirms that the application under test recovers from expected or unexpected events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk space, unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions.
Load Testing: See Performance Testing.
Localization Testing: This term refers to making software specifically designed for a specific locality.
Loop Testing: A white box testing technique that exercises program loops.
Metric: A standard of measurement. Software metrics are the statistics describing the structure or content of a program. A metric should be a real objective measurement of something such as number of bugs per lines of code.
Monkey Testing: Testing a system or an Application on the fly, i.e just few tests here and there to ensure the system or an application does not crash out.
Mutation Testing: Testing done on the application where bugs are purposely added to it.
Negative Testing: Testing aimed at showing software does not work. Also known as "test to fail".
N+1 Testing: A variation of Regression Testing. Testing conducted with multiple cycles in which errors found in test cycle N are resolved and the solution is retested in test cycle N+1. The cycles are typically repeated until the solution reaches a steady state and there are no errors. See also Regression Testing.

Path Testing: Testing in which all paths in the program source code are tested at least once.
Performance Testing: Testing conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with specified performance requirements. Often this is performed using an automated test tool to simulate large number of users. Also know as "Load Testing".
Positive Testing: Testing aimed at showing software works. Also known as "test to pass". See also Negative Testing.
Quality Assurance: All those planned or systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service is of the type and quality needed and expected by the customer.
Quality Audit: A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and related results comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives.
Quality Circle: A group of individuals with related interests that meet at regular intervals to consider problems or other matters related to the quality of outputs of a process and to the correction of problems or to the improvement of quality.
Quality Control: The operational techniques and the activities used to fulfill and verify requirements of quality.
Quality Management: That aspect of the overall management function that determines and implements the quality policy.
Quality Policy: The overall intentions and direction of an organization as regards quality as formally expressed by top management.
Quality System: The organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes, and resources for implementing quality management.
Race Condition: A cause of concurrency problems. Multiple accesses to a shared resource, at least one of which is a write, with no mechanism used by either to moderate simultaneous access.
Ramp Testing: Continuously raising an input signal until the system breaks down.
Recovery Testing: Confirms that the program recovers from expected or unexpected events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk space, unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions.
Regression Testing: Retesting a previously tested program following modification to ensure that faults have not been introduced or uncovered as a result of the changes made.
Release Candidate: A pre-release version, which contains the desired functionality of the final version, but which needs to be tested for bugs (which ideally should be removed before the final version is released).
Sanity Testing: Brief test of major functional elements of a piece of software to determine if its basically operational. See also Smoke Testing.
Scalability Testing: Performance testing focused on ensuring the application under test gracefully handles increases in work load.
Security Testing: Testing which confirms that the program can restrict access to authorized personnel and that the authorized personnel can access the functions available to their security level.
Smoke Testing: A quick-and-dirty test that the major functions of a piece of software work. Originated in the hardware testing practice of turning on a new piece of hardware for the first time and considering it a success if it does not catch on fire.
Soak Testing: Running a system at high load for a prolonged period of time. For example, running several times more transactions in an entire day (or night) than would be expected in a busy day, to identify and performance problems that appear after a large number of transactions have been executed.
Software Requirements Specification: A deliverable that describes all data, functional and behavioral requirements, all constraints, and all validation requirements for software/
Software Testing: A set of activities conducted with the intent of finding errors in software.
Static Analysis: Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.
Static Analyzer: A tool that carries out static analysis.
Static Testing: Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.
Storage Testing: Testing that verifies the program under test stores data files in the correct directories and that it reserves sufficient space to prevent unexpected termination resulting from lack of space. This is external storage as opposed to internal storage.
Stress Testing: Testing conducted to evaluate a system or component at or beyond the limits of its specified requirements to determine the load under which it fails and how. Often this is performance testing using a very high level of simulated load.
Structural Testing: Testing based on an analysis of internal workings and structure of a piece of software. See also White Box Testing.
System Testing: Testing that attempts to discover defects that are properties of the entire system rather than of its individual components.
Testability: The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met.

Testing:
The process of exercising software to verify that it satisfies specified requirements and to detect errors.
The process of analyzing a software item to detect the differences between existing and required conditions (that is, bugs), and to evaluate the features of the software item (Ref. IEEE Std 829).
The process of operating a system or component under specified conditions, observing or recording the results, and making an evaluation of some aspect of the system or component.
Test Automation: See Automated Testing.
Test Bed: An execution environment configured for testing. May consist of specific hardware, OS, network topology, configuration of the product under test, other application or system software, etc. The Test Plan for a project should enumerated the test beds(s) to be used.

Test Case:
Test Case is a commonly used term for a specific test. This is usually the smallest unit of testing. A Test Case will consist of information such as requirements testing, test steps, verification steps, prerequisites, outputs, test environment, etc.
A set of inputs, execution preconditions, and expected outcomes developed for a particular objective, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement.
Test Driven Development: Testing methodology associated with Agile Programming in which every chunk of code is covered by unit tests, which must all pass all the time, in an effort to eliminate unit-level and regression bugs during development. Practitioners of TDD write a lot of tests, i.e. an equal number of lines of test code to the size of the production code.
Test Driver: A program or test tool used to execute a tests. Also known as a Test Harness.
Test Environment: The hardware and software environment in which tests will be run, and any other software with which the software under test interacts when under test including stubs and test drivers.
Test First Design: Test-first design is one of the mandatory practices of Extreme Programming (XP).It requires that programmers do not write any production code until they have first written a unit test.
Test Harness: A program or test tool used to execute a tests. Also known as a Test Driver.
Test Plan: A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of intended testing activities. It identifies test items, the features to be tested, the testing tasks, who will do each task, and any risks requiring contingency planning. Ref IEEE Std 829.
Test Procedure: A document providing detailed instructions for the execution of one or more test cases.
Test Scenario: Definition of a set of test cases or test scripts and the sequence in which they are to be executed.
Test Script: Commonly used to refer to the instructions for a particular test that will be carried out by an automated test tool.
Test Specification: A document specifying the test approach for a software feature or combination or features and the inputs, predicted results and execution conditions for the associated tests.
Test Suite: A collection of tests used to validate the behavior of a product. The scope of a Test Suite varies from organization to organization. There may be several Test Suites for a particular product for example. In most cases however a Test Suite is a high level concept, grouping together hundreds or thousands of tests related by what they are intended to test.
Test Tools: Computer programs used in the testing of a system, a component of the system, or its documentation.
Thread Testing: A variation of top-down testing where the progressive integration of components follows the implementation of subsets of the requirements, as opposed to the integration of components by successively lower levels.
Top Down Testing: An approach to integration testing where the component at the top of the component hierarchy is tested first, with lower level components being simulated by stubs. Tested components are then used to test lower level components. The process is repeated until the lowest level components have been tested.
Total Quality Management: A company commitment to develop a process that achieves high quality product and customer satisfaction.
Traceability Matrix: A document showing the relationship between Test Requirements and Test Cases.
Usability Testing: Testing the ease with which users can learn and use a product.
Use Case: The specification of tests that are conducted from the end-user perspective. Use cases tend to focus on operating software as an end-user would conduct their day-to-day activities.
User Acceptance Testing: A formal product evaluation performed by a customer as a condition of purchase.
Unit Testing: Testing of individual software components.

Validation: The process of evaluating software at the end of the software development process to ensure compliance with software requirements. The techniques for validation is testing, inspection and reviewing.
Verification: The process of determining whether of not the products of a given phase of the software development cycle meet the implementation steps and can be traced to the incoming objectives established during the previous phase. The techniques for verification are testing, inspection and reviewing.
Volume Testing: Testing which confirms that any values that may become large over time (such as accumulated counts, logs, and data files), can be accommodated by the program and will not cause the program to stop working or degrade its operation in any manner.
Walkthrough: A review of requirements, designs or code characterized by the author of the material under review guiding the progression of the review.

White Box Testing: Testing based on an analysis of internal workings and structure of a piece of software. Includes techniques such as Branch Testing and Path Testing. Also known as Structural Testing and Glass Box Testing. Contrast with Black Box Testing.
Workflow Testing: Scripted end-to-end testing which duplicates specific workflows which are expected to be utilized by the end-user.

Testing Methods

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Approach of boxes
Software testing methods are traditionally divided into black box testing and white box testing. These two approaches are used to describe the point of view that a test engineer takes when designing test cases.

Black box testing treats the software as a "black box"—without any knowledge of internal implementation. Black box testing methods include: equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, all-pairs testing, fuzz testing, model-based testing, traceability matrix, exploratory testing and specification-based testing.

Specification-based testing: Specification-based testing aims to test the functionality of software according to the applicable requirements. Thus, the tester inputs data into, and only sees the output from, the test object. This level of testing usually requires thorough test cases to be provided to the tester, who then can simply verify that for a given input, the output value (or behavior), either "is" or "is not" the same as the expected value specified in the test case.
Specification-based testing is necessary, but it is insufficient to guard against certain risks.

Advantages and disadvantages: The black box tester has no "bonds" with the code, and a tester's perception is very simple: a code must have bugs. Using the principle, "Ask and you shall receive," black box testers find bugs where programmers do not. But, on the other hand, black box testing has been said to be "like a walk in a dark labyrinth without a flashlight," because the tester doesn't know how the software being tested was actually constructed. As a result, there are situations when
(1) a tester writes many test cases to check something that could have been tested by only one test case, and/or
(2) some parts of the back-end are not tested at all.
Therefore, black box testing has the advantage of "an unaffiliated opinion," on the one hand, and the disadvantage of "blind exploring," on the other.

White box testing is when the tester has access to the internal data structures and algorithms including the code that implement these.
Types of white box testing
The following types of white box testing exist:

API testing (application programming interface) - Testing of the application using Public and Private APIs
Code coverage - creating tests to satisfy some criteria of code coverage (e.g., the test designer can create tests to cause all statements in the program to be executed at least once)
Fault injection methods
Mutation testing methods
Static testing - White box testing includes all static testing
Code completeness evaluation
White box testing methods can also be used to evaluate the completeness of a test suite that was created with black box testing methods. This allows the software team to examine parts of a system that are rarely tested and ensures that the most important function points have been tested.

Two common forms of code coverage are:
Function coverage, which reports on functions executed
Statement coverage, which reports on the number of lines executed to complete the test
They both return a code coverage metric, measured as a percentage.

Grey box testing involves having access to internal data structures and algorithms for purposes of designing the test cases, but testing at the user, or black-box level. Manipulating input data and formatting output do not qualify as grey box, because the input and output are clearly outside of the "black-box" that we are calling the system under test. This distinction is particularly important when conducting integration testing between two modules of code written by two different developers, where only the interfaces are exposed for test. However, modifying a data repository does qualify as grey box, as the user would not normally be able to change the data outside of the system under test. Grey box testing may also include reverse engineering to determine, for instance, boundary values or error messages.

Main article: Integration testing
Integration testing is any type of software testing, that seeks to uncover collisions of individual software modules to each other. Such integration defects can arise, when the new modules are developed in separate branches, and then integrated into the main project.

Main article: Regression testing
Regression testing is any type of software testing, that seeks to uncover software regressions. Such regression occur whenever software functionality, that was previously working correctly, stops working as intended. Typically, regressions occur as an unintended consequence of program changes, when the newly developed part of the software collides with the previously existing. Common methods of regression testing include re-running previously run tests and checking whether previously fixed faults have re-emerged. The depth of testing depends on the phase in the release process and the risk of the added features. They can either be complete, for changes added late in the release or deemed to be risky, to very shallow, consisting of positive tests on each feature, if the changes are early in the release or deemed to be of low risk.

Main article: Acceptance testing
Acceptance testing can mean one of two things:
A smoke test is used as an acceptance test prior to introducing a new build to the main testing process, i.e. before integration or regression.
Acceptance testing performed by the customer, often in their lab environment on their own HW, is known as user acceptance testing (UAT).

Special methods exist to test non-functional aspects of software.
Performance testing checks to see if the software can handle large quantities of data or users. This is generally referred to as software scalability. This activity of Non Functional Software Testing is often referred to as Endurance Testing.
Stability testing checks to see if the software can continuously function well in or above an acceptable period. This activity of Non Functional Software Testing is oftentimes referred to as load (or endurance) testing.
Usability testing is needed to check if the user interface is easy to use and understand.
Security testing is essential for software that processes confidential data to prevent system intrusion by hackers.
Internationalization and localization is needed to test these aspects of software, for which a pseudolocalization method can be used.
In contrast to functional testing, which establishes the correct operation of the software (correct in that it matches the expected behavior defined in the design requirements), non-functional testing verifies that the software functions properly even when it receives invalid or unexpected inputs.
Software fault injection, in the form of fuzzing, is an example of non-functional testing. Non-functional testing, especially for software, is designed to establish whether the device under test can tolerate invalid or unexpected inputs, thereby establishing the robustness of input validation routines as well as error-handling routines. Various commercial non-functional testing tools are linked from the Software fault injection page; there are also numerous open-source and free software tools available that perform non-functional testing..

Main article: Destructive testing
Destructive testing attempts to cause the software or a sub-system to fail, in order to test its robustness.

A common practice of software testing is performed by an independent group of testers after the functionality is developed before it is shipped to the customer.
This practice often results in the testing phase being used as project buffer to compensate for project delays, thereby compromising the time devoted to testing. Another practice is to start software testing at the same moment the project starts and it is a continuous process until the project finishes.
In counterpoint, some emerging software disciplines such as extreme programming and the agile software development movement, adhere to a "test-driven software development" model. In this process, unit tests are written first, by the software engineers (often with pair programming in the extreme programming methodology). Of course these tests fail initially; as they are expected to. Then as code is written it passes incrementally larger portions of the test suites. The test suites are continuously updated as new failure conditions and corner cases are discovered, and they are integrated with any regression tests that are developed. Unit tests are maintained along with the rest of the software source code and generally integrated into the build process (with inherently interactive tests being relegated to a partially manual build acceptance process).
Testing can be done on the following levels:

Unit testing tests the minimal software component, or module. Each unit (basic component) of the software is tested to verify that the detailed design for the unit has been correctly implemented. In an object-oriented environment, this is usually at the class level, and the minimal unit tests include the constructors and destructors.

Integration testing exposes defects in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components (modules). Progressively larger groups of tested software components corresponding to elements of the architectural design are integrated and tested until the software works as a system.

System testing tests a completely integrated system to verify that it meets its requirements.

System integration testing verifies that a system is integrated to any external or third party systems defined in the system requirements.
Before shipping the final version of software, alpha and beta testing are often done additionally:
Alpha testing is simulated or actual operational testing by potential users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site. Alpha testing is often employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance testing, before the software goes to beta testing.
Beta testing comes after alpha testing. Versions of the software, known as beta versions, are released to a limited audience outside of the programming team. The software is released to groups of people so that further testing can ensure the product has few faults or bugs. Sometimes, beta versions are made available to the open public to increase the feedback field to a maximal number of future users.
Finally, acceptance testing can be conducted by the end-user, customer, or client to validate whether or not to accept the product. Acceptance testing may be performed as part of the hand-off process between any two phases of development.

Main article: Regression testing
After modifying software, either for a change in functionality or to fix defects, a regression test re-runs previously passing tests on the modified software to ensure that the modifications have not unintentionally caused a regression of previous functionality. Regression testing can be performed at any or all of the above test levels. These regression tests are often automated.
More specific forms of regression testing are known as sanity testing (which quickly checks for bizarre behavior) and smoke testing (which tests for basic functionality).
Benchmarks may be employed during regression testing to ensure that the performance of the newly modified software will be at least as acceptable as the earlier version or, in the case of code optimization, that some real improvement has been achieved.

It is commonly believed that the earlier a defect is found the cheaper it is to fix it.
The following table shows the cost of fixing the defect depending on the stage it was found.
For example, if a problem in the requirements is found only post-release, then it would cost 10–100 times more to fix than if it had already been found by the requirements review.

Testing question

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1. What is SQA Activities?
2. How can we perform testing without expected results?
3. Which of the following statements about regression testing are true?
a. Regression Testing must consist of a fixed set of tests to create a baseline
b. Regression Testing should be used to detect defects in new featuresc. Regression Testing can be run on every buildd. Regression Testing should be targeted to areas of high risk and known code changee. Regression Testing, when automated, is highly effective in preventing defects
4. How do you conduct boundary analyst testing for “ok”pushbutton
5. What is an exit and entry criteria in a Test Plan ?
6. To whom you send test deliverables?
7. What is configuration Management?
8. Who writes the Business requirements? What you do when you have the BRD?
9. What we normally check for in the Database Testing?
10. What is walk through and inspection?
11. What are the key elements for creating test plan?
12. How do you ensure the quality of the product?
13. What is the job of Quality assurance engineer? Difference between the testing & Quality Assurance job.
14. Can any one send information regarding manual testing. I know just how to use winrunner load runner tool with sample flight reservation application. can any one send me the information how to test web logic and web sphere.
15. What are the demerits of winrunner?
16. How you used white box and block box technologies in your application?
17. What is the role of QA in a project development?
18. How can u test the white page ?
19. How do you scope, organize, and execute a test project?
20. What is the role of QA in a company that produces software?
21. Describe to me when you would consider employing a failure mode and defect analysis?
22. In general, how do you see automation fitting into the overall process of testing?
23. How do you decide when you have ‘tested enough?’
24. Describe to the basic elements you put in a defect report?
25. What is use case? What is the difference between test cases and use cases?
26. What is the importance of a requirements traceability in a product testing?
27. If the actual result doesn’t match with expected result in this situation what should we do?28. Explain about Metrics and types of metrics like schedule variance , effort variance?
29. What is the difference between functional testing & black box testing?
30. What is heuristic checklist used in Unit Testing?
31. What is the difference between System Testing,Integration Testing & System Integration Testing?
32. How to calculate the estimate for test case design and review?
33. What is Requirements Traceability ? What is the purpose of it ? Explain types of traceability matrices ?
34. What are the contents of Risk management Plan? Have you ever prepared a Risk Management Plan ?
35. What metrics used to measure the size of the software?

what is software testing?

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Testing is a process used to help identify the correctness, completeness and quality of developed computer software. With that in mind, testing can never completely establish the correctness of computer software.
There are many approaches to software testing, but effective testing of complex products is essentially a process of investigation, not merely a matter of creating and following rote procedure. One definition of testing is "the process of questioning a product in order to evaluate it", where the "questions" are things the tester tries to do with the product, and the product answers with its behavior in reaction to the probing of the tester. Although most of the intellectual processes of testing are nearly identical to that of review or inspection, the word testing is connoted to mean the dynamic analysis of the product—putting the product through its paces.
The quality of the application can and normally does vary widely from system to system but some of the common quality attributes include reliability, stability, portability, maintainability and usability. Refer to the ISO standard ISO 9126 for a more complete list of attributes and criteria.
Testing helps is Verifying and Validating if the Software is working as it is intended to be working. Thins involves using Static and Dynamic methodologies to Test the application.
Because of the fallibility of its human designers and its own abstract, complex nature, software development must be accompanied by quality assurance activities. It is not unusual for developers to spend 40% of the total project time on testing. For life-critical software (e.g. flight control, reactor monitoring), testing can cost 3 to 5 times as much as all other activities combined. The destructive nature of testing requires that the developer discard preconceived notions of the correctness of his/her developed software.
Software Testing Fundamentals
Testing objectives include
1. Testing is a process of executing a program with the intent of finding an error.
2. A good test case is one that has a high probability of finding an as yet undiscovered error.
3. A successful test is one that uncovers an as yet undiscovered error.Testing should systematically uncover different classes of errors in a minimum amount of time and with a minimum amount of effort. A secondary benefit of testing is that it demonstrates that the software appears to be working as stated in the specifications. The data collected through testing can also provide an indication of the software's reliability and quality. But, testing cannot show the absence of defect -- it can only show that software defects are present.