1. 1© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 The Importance of Software Testing Testing Solutions Group Limited 6 th Floor, Walbrook House 23-29 Walbrook, London EC4N 8BT email: enquiry@testing-solutions.com http://www.testing-solutions.com

2. 2© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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.

3. 3© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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

4. 4© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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!

5. 5© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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?

6. 6© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 How do we decide?  What matters to our users?  What does the system do?  Risk  Requirements  Money  Test Techniques - Coverage  Static  Dynamic

7. 7© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 Secondly – What sort?  Unit  Interface  Functionality  Performance  Usability  Security  Availability  Operability ………plus about another 20 ‘abilities’

8. 8© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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

9. 9© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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

10. 10© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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

11. 11© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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

12. 12© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 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 go- ahead?

13. 13© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 Test then Code Then test some more……………………

14. 14© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003  Project deadline driven by:  Legislation  Arbitrary date  Financial year  Calendar date  Seasonal  Marketing window  Safety Criticality  Money By when?

15. 15© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 Summary  Testing is an integral part of the system development function, not an afterthought:  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

16. 16© Testing Solutions Group Limited 2003 The Importance of Software Testing Testing Solutions Group Limited 6 th Floor, Walbrook House 23-29 Walbrook, London EC4N 8BT email: enquiry@testing-solutions.com http://www.testing-solutions.com