Why is it important?

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2 What is it? Software is tested to uncover errors that were made inadvertently as it was designed and constructed. But how do you conduct the tests? Should you develop a formal plan for your tests? Should you test the entire program as a whole or run tests only on a small part of it? Should you rerun tests you ve already conducted as you add new components to a large system? When should you involve the customer? These and many other questions are answered when you develop a software testing strategy

3 Why is it important? Testing often accounts for more project effort than any other software engineering activity. If it is conducted haphazardly, time is wasted, unnecessary effort is expended, and even worse, errors sneak through undetected. It would therefore seem reasonable to establish a systematic strategy for testing software.

4 Strategic approach to Software Testing To perform effective testing, a software team should conduct effective formal technical reviews. Many errors will be eliminated, before testing commences. Testing begins at the component level and works outward toward theintegration oftheentirecomputer based system. Different testing techniques are appropriate at different points in time Testing is conducted by the developer of the software and an independent test group. Testing and debugging are different activities, but debugging must be accommodated in any testing strategy.

5 A strategy for software testing integrates test case design methods into well-planned series of steps that result in the successful construction of software. The strategy provides a road map that describes the steps to be conducted as part of testing, when these steps are planned and then undertaken, and how much effort, time, and resource will be required.

6 If testing is conducted with lack of plan, order and direction then it results in:- Time is wasted. Unnecessary effort is expended Errors sneak through undetected. It would therefore seem reasonable to establish systematic strategy for testing software.

7 Verification refers to the set of activities that ensure that software correctly implements a specific function. Validation refers to a different set of activities that ensure that the software that has been built is traceable to customer requirements. Verification: Are we building the product right? Validation: Are we building the right product?

8 The software process may be viewed as the spiral. To develop computer software, we spiral inward. 1. System engineering defines the role of software and leads to software requirements analysis where the information domain, function, behavior, performance, constraints, and validation criteria is established. 2. The next step is design and finally the coding.

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10 A strategy for software testing may also be viewed in the context of the spiral. 1. Unit testing begins at the vortex of the spiral and concentrates on each unit of the software as implemented in source code. 2. Testing progresses by moving outward along the spiral to integration testing, where the focus is on design and the construction of the software architecture. 3. The next turn leads to validation testing, where requirements established as part of software requirement analysis are validated against the software that has been construction 4. Finally at system testing, the software and other system elements are tested as a whole.

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12 Strategy for software testing The process from a procedure point of view, testing within the context of software engineering is actually a series of four steps that are implemented sequentially. Tests focus on each component individually, ensuring that it functions properly as a unit. Hence, the name unit testing Components must be assembled or integrated to form the complete software package. Integration testing addresses the issues associated with the dual problems of verification and program construction. The software has been integrated a set of high order tests are conducted. Validation criteria must be evaluated. Validation testing provides final assurance that software meets all functional, behavioral and performance requirements. Last high order testing step falls outside the boundary of software engineering and into the broad context of computer system engineering.

13 It focuses verification effort on the smallest unit of software design. (The component or module). Using the component level design descriptions as a Guide, important control paths are tested to uncover errors within the boundary Of the Module The unit test focuses on the internal processing logic and data structures within the boundaries of the component. This type of testing can be conducted in parallel for multiple components.

14 All independent paths through the control structure are exercised to ensure that all statements in a module have been executed at least once. Boundary conditions are tested to ensure that the module operates properly. Error handling paths are tested.

15 Unit testing is normally considered as an adjunct to the coding step. Design of tests can be done before coding begins (Agile programming). Since each component is not a stand alone program, a bit of work must be done to perform the test.

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17 Data can be lost across an interface. One module can have an inadvertent effect on another. Global data structures can present problems Individually acceptable imprecision may become magnified. Resource issues.

18 o Integration testing is a systematic technique for constructing the software architecture while at the same time conducting tests to uncover errors associated with interfacing. o The objective is to take unit tested components and build a program structure that has been dictated by design. o There is a tendency to attempt non incremental integration construct the whole program via a big-bang approach. o Thus to combine all components at once and test it as an entire program.

19 The testing of object oriented system present a different set of challenges for the software engineer. The definition of testing must be broadened to includes error discovery techniques(eg. Formal technical Reviews) that are applied to analysis and design models. The completeness and consistency of object oriented representation must be assessed as they are built. Unit testing loses some of its meaning and integration strategies change significantly.

20 It s best to provide customers with an outline of the things that you would like them to focus on and specific test scenarios for them to execute. Provide with customers who are actively involved with a commitment to fix defects that they discover

21 A important element of the validation process is a configuration review. The configuration review, some times called a audit. The intent of the review is to ensure all the element of the s/w configuration have been properly developed, are cataloged, and have the necessary detail to bolster the support phase of the software cycle.

22 Testing the behavior of the whole software/system as defined in software requirements specification(srs) is known as system testing, its main focus is to verify that the customer requirements are fulfilled. System testing is done after integration testing is complete. System testing should test functional and non functional requirements of the software.

23 " Recovery is ability to restart the operation after integrity of application is lost. " It includes reverting to a point where integrity of system is known, then reprocessing up until the point of failure. " The time taken to recover depends upon : the number of restart points volume of application training and skill of people conducting recovery activities tools available for recovery

24 Authentication - Testing the authentication schema means understanding how the authentication process works and using that information to circumvent the authentication mechanism. Basically, it allows a receiver to have confidence that information it receives originated from a specific known source Authorization - Determining that a requester is allowed to receive a service or perform an operation.

25 Confidentiality - A security measure which protects the disclosure of data or information to parties other than the intended. Integrity Whether the intended receiver receives the information or data which is not altered in transmission. Non-repudiation - Interchange of authentication information with some form of provable time stamp e.g. with session id etc

26 Stress testing provides information about how your heart works during physical stress. Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working hard and beating fast. During stress testing, you exercise (walk or run on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike) to make your heart work hard and beat fast. Tests are done on your heart while you exercise

27 Performance testing is the process of determining the speed or effectiveness of a computer, network, software program or device. This process can involve quantitative tests done in a lab, such as measuring the response time or the number of MIPS (millions of instructions per second) at which a system functions. Qualitative attributes such as reliability, scalability and interoperability may also be evaluated. Performance testing is often done in conjunction with stress testing.

28 In computers, debugging is the process of locating and fixing or bypassing bugs (errors) in computer program code. To debug a program or hardware device is to start with a problem, isolate the source of the problem, and then fix it. A user of a program that does not know how to fix the problem may learn enough about the problem to be able to avoid It until it is permanently fixed. When someone says they've debugged a program or "worked the bugs out" of a program, they imply that they fixed it so that the bugs no longer exist.

29 Debugging is not testing but always occurs as a consequence of testing. The debugging process begins with the execution of a test case. Results are assessed and a lack of correspondence between expected and actual performance is encountered. In many cases, the noncorresponding data are a symptom of an underlying cause as yet hidden. Debugging attempts to match symptom with cause, thereby leading to error correction. Debugging will always have one of two outcomes: (1) the cause will be found and corrected (2) the cause will not be found

30 The person performing debugging may suspect a cause, design one or more test cases to help validate that suspicion, and work toward error correction in an iterative fashion. A few characteristics of bugs provide some clues: The symptom and the cause may be geographically remote. That is, the symptom may appear in one part of a program, while the cause may actually be located at a site that is far removed. Highly coupled components exacerbate this situation. The symptom may disappear when another error is corrected.

31 The symptom may be a result of timing problems, rather than processing problems. It may be difficult to accurately reproduce input conditions (e.g., a real-time application in which input ordering is indeterminate) The symptom may be intermittent. This is particularly common is embedded systems that couple hardware and software inextricably. The symptom may be due to causes that are distributed across a number of tasks running on different processors. The symptom may be caused by human error that is not easily traced. The symptom may actually be caused by non-errors.

32 Regression Testing A new module is added as part of integration testing, the software changes. New data flow paths are established, new I/O may occur, and new control logic is invoked. These changes may cause problems with functions that previously worked flawlessly. An integration test strategy, regression testing is the reexecution of some subset of tests that have already been conducted to ensure that changes have not propagated unintended side effects.

33 Regression Testing The regression test suit contains three different classes of test cases. A representative sample of tests that will exercise all software functions. Additional tests that focus on software functions that are likely to be affected by the change. Tests that focus on the software components that have been changed.

34 Regression Testing As integration testing proceeds, the number of regression tests can grow quite large. Therefore, the regression test suite should be designed to include only those tests that address one or more classes of errors in each of the major program functions. It is impractical and inefficient to re execute every test for every program function once a change has occurred.

35 Smoke Testing Smoke testing is an integration testing approach that is commonly used when software products are being developed. It is designed as a pacing mechanism for timecritical projects, allowing the software team to assess its project on a frequent basis.

36 Smoke Testing The smoke testing approach encompasses the following activities. Software components that have been translated into code are integrated into a build. A build includes all data files, libraries, reusable modules and engineered components that are required to implement one or more product functions. A series of tests is designed to expose errors that will keep the build from properly performing its function. The intent should be to uncover show stopper errors that have the highest likelihood of throwing the software project behind schedule.