The Importance of Software Testing
Testing Solutions Group Limited
6th Floor, Walbrook House
23-29 Walbrook,
London EC4N 8BT
email: enquiry@testing-solutions.com
http://www.testing-solutions.com
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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A Necessary Evil
 All project managers know that they must
do some testing
 The basic questions are;
 How much?
 What sort?
 By whom?
 When and by when?
 All difficult questions.
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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Why do we test?
Provide confidence in the system
Identify areas of weakness
Establish the degree of quality
Establish the extent that the requirements have
been met, i.e. what the users asked for is what
they got not what someone else though they
wanted
 To provide an understanding of the overall system
 To prove it is both usable and operable
 To provide sufficient information to allow an
objective decision on applicability to deploy
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Another view – cynical?
 To use up spare budget
 To provide a good excuse why the project is
late
 To provide jobs for people who can’t code
 To make the developers look good
 To provide the project manager with some
contingency in the plan and can be cut if if
push come to shove!
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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First up – How much?
 How good does the product need to be?
 How do we measure it?
 How do we make a decision?
 Are there any legal or compliance issues?
 What industry are you in?
 What will it cost?
 Time and resource [human and machine]
 Are we capable?
 We know what we need to do but can we do it?
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How do we decide?
 What matters to our users?
 What does the system do?
 Risk
 Requirements
 Money
 Test Techniques - Coverage
 Static
 Dynamic
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Secondly – What sort?
 Unit
 Interface
 Functionality
 Performance
 Usability
 Security
 Availability
 Operability
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
………plus about another
20 ‘abilities’
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Do we need tools to help?
 Automated test tools are often seen as a silver
bullet
 Some tests cannot be successfully executed or
analysed without them
 80% of test tools end up as shelfware through:
 Abandonment
 Neglect
 Banishment
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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Thirdly – By whom?
 Users: those who will ultimately use the
system
 Customers: those who define the system –
are they the same as the users?
 Testers
 Analysts
 Developers
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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Are we capable of testing?
 Is an experienced tester better than an
experienced user at finding faults?
 How can testers help themselves and users?
 Working with the users to understand their
systems
 Providing testing skills transfer
 Attending testing industry conferences
 Attaining industry recognised software testing
qualifications
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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More information
 Non-Functional test technique definitions and other
standards: www.testingstandards.co.uk
 STQE Magazine: www.stqemagazine.com
 BCS ISEB Software Testing Certification
 Foundation
 Practitioner
 http://www1.bcs.org.uk/
 Special Interest Group in Software Testing –
SIGiST: http://www1.bcs.org.uk/
 EuroSTAR: www.testingconferences.com
 ICSTest: www.icstest.com
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Lastly – When?
 Once the code is complete?
 As soon as the architecture is defined?
 Once the system delivery is complete?
 During development?
 Once the business requirements have been
defined?
 As soon as the project is given the goahead?
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Test then Code
Then test some more……………………
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By when?
 Project deadline driven by:
 Legislation
 Arbitrary date
 Financial year
 Calendar date
 Seasonal
 Marketing window
 Safety Criticality
 Money
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Summary
 Testing is an integral part of the system
development function, not an afterthought:
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Testing starts with the requirements not the code
Testing is a static and dynamic activity
Prevention is better than cure
The sooner you find the fault the cheaper it is to fix
Create re-usable ‘testware’
Process first then tools
Not everyone can test well, use professional testers
Planned testing in a controlled environment provides
objective metrics
 To gain a Return on Investment you must first Invest
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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The Importance of Software Testing
Testing Solutions Group Limited
6th Floor, Walbrook House
23-29 Walbrook,
London EC4N 8BT
email: enquiry@testing-solutions.com
http://www.testing-solutions.com
© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003
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