1:-What is baseline testing?
Baseline testing is the process of running a set of tests to capture performance information. Baseline testing use the information collected to made the changes in the application to improve performance and capabilities of the application. Baseline compares present performance of application with its own previous performance.
2:-What is benchmark testing?
Benchmarking testing is the process of comparing application performance with respect to industry standard which is given by some other organization. Benchmark informs us where our application stands with respect to others. Benchmark compares our application performance with other company’s application’s performance.
3:-What is verification and validation?
Verification: process of evaluating work-products of a development phase to determine whether they meet the specified requirements for that phase. Validation: process of evaluating software during or at the end of the development process to determine whether it specified requirements. Difference between Verification and Validation: - Verification is Static Testing where as Validations is Dynamic Testing. - Verification takes place before validation. - Verification evaluates plans, document, requirements and specification, where as Validation evaluates product. - Verification inputs are checklist, issues list, walkthroughs and inspection ,where as in Validation testing of actual product. - Verification output is set of document, plans, specification and requirement documents where as in Validation actual product is output.
4:-Explain Branch Coverage and Decision Coverage. - Branch Coverage is testing performed in order to ensure that every branch of the software is executed atleast. To perform the Branch coverage testing we take the help of the Control Flow Graph. - Decision coverage testing ensures that every decision taking statement is executed atleast once. - Both decision and branch coverage testing is done to ensure the tester that no branch and decision taking statement, will not lead to failure of the software. - To Calculate Branch Coverage: Branch Coverage = Tested Decision Outcomes / Total Decision Outcomes.
5:-What is difference between Retesting and Regression testing?
The differences between Retesting and Regression testing are below: - Retesting is done to verify defect fix previous in now working correctly where as regression is perform to check if the defect fix have not impacted other functionality that was working fine before doing changes in the code. - Retesting is specific and is performed on the bug which is fixed where as in regression is not be always specific to any defect fix it is performed when any bug is fixed. - Retesting concern with executing those test cases that are failed earlier where as regression concern with executing test cases that was passed in earlier builds. - Retesting has higher priority over regression.
6:-What is Mutation testing & when can it be done?
Mutation testing is a performed to find out the defect in the program. It is performed to find put bugs in specific module or component of the application. Mutation testing is based on two assumptions: Competent programmer hypothesis: according this hypothesis we suppose that program write the correct code of the program. Coupling effect: according to this effect collection of different set of test data can also find large and complex bugs. In this testing we insert few bugs into program to examine the optimal test inputs.
7:-What is severity and priority of bug?
Give some example. Priority: concern with application from the business point of view. It answers: How quickly we need to fix the bug?
Or how soon the bug should get fixed?
Severity: concern with functionality of application. How much the bug is affecting the functionality of the application?
Ex. 1. High Priority and Low Severity: If a company logo is not properly displayed on their website. 2. High Priority and High Severity: Suppose you are doing online shopping and filled payment information, but after submitting the form, you get a message like "Order has been cancelled." 3. Low Priority and High Severity: If we have a typical scenario in which the application get crashed, but that scenario exists rarely. 4. Low Priority and Low Severity: There is a mistake like "You have registered success" instead of successfully, success is written.
8:-Explain bug leakage and bug release. Bug Leakage: When customer or end user discovered a bug which can be detected by the testing team. Or when a bug is detected which can be detected in pervious build then this is called as Bug Leakage. Bug release: is when a build is handed to testing team with knowing that defect is present in the release. The priority and severity of bug is low. It is done when customer want the application on the time. Customer can tolerate the bug in the released then the delay in getting the application and the cost involved in removing that bug. These bugs are mentioned in the Release Notes handed to client for the future improvement chances.
9:-What is alpha and beta testing?
Alpha testing: is performed by the IN-House developers. After alpha testing the software is handed over to software QA team, for additional testing in an environment that is similar to the client environment. Beta testing: beta testing becomes active. It is performed by end user. So that they can make sure that the product is bug free or working as per the requirement. IN-house developers and software QA team perform alpha testing. The public, a few select prospective customers or the general public performs beta testing.
10:-What is Monkey testing?
Monkey testing is a type of Black Box Testing used mostly at the Unit Level. In this tester enter the data in any format and check the software is not crashing. In this testing we use Smart monkey and Dumb monkey. Smart monkeys are used for load and stress testing, they will help in finding the bugs. They are very expensive to develop. Dumb monkey, are important for basic testing. They help in finding those bugs which are having high severity. Dumb monkey are less expensive as compare to Smart monkeys. Example: In phone number filed Symbols are entered.
11:-What is test driver and test stub?
- The Stub is called from the software component to be tested. It is used in top down approach. - The driver calls a component to be tested. It is used in bottom up approach. - Both test stub and test driver are dummy software components. We need test stub and test driver because of following reason: - Suppose we want to test the interface between modules A and B and we have developed only module A. So we cannot test module A but if a dummy module is prepare, using that we can test module A. - Now module B cannot send or receive data from module A directly so, in these cases we have to transfer data from one module to another module by some external features. This external feature used is called Driver.
12:-What is random testing?
When tester performs testing of application by using random input from the input domain of the system, this is Random Testing. Random testing involve following procedures: - Selection of input domain. - Randomly selecting any input from input domain. - Using these test input testing of application is performed. - The results are compared to the system specification. The test is a failure if any input leads to incorrect results, otherwise it is a success.
13:-What is Agile Testing?
Agile Testing means to quickly validation of the client requirements and make the application of good quality user interface. When the build is released to the testing team, testing of the application is started to find the bugs. As a Tester, we need to focus on the customer or end user requirements. We put the efforts to deliver the quality product in spite of short time frame which will further help in reducing the cost of development and test feedbacks will be implemented in the code which will avoid the defects coming from the end user.
14:-Describe Use Case Testing. Use Case: A use case is a description of the process which is performed by the end user for a particular task. Use case contains a sequence of step which is performed by the end user to complete a specific task or a step by step process that describe how the application and end user interact with each other. Use case is written by the user point of view. Use case Testing: the use case testing uses this use case to evaluate the application. So that, the tester can examines all the functionalities of the application. Use case testing cover whole application,
15:-What is the purpose of test strategy?
We need Test Strategy for the following reasons: 1. To have a signed, sealed, and delivered document, where the document contains details about the testing methodology, test plan, and test cases. 2. Test strategy document tells us how the software product will be tested. 3. Test strategy document helps to review the test plan with the project team members. 4. It describes the roles, responsibilities and the resources required for the test and schedule. 5. When we create a test strategy document, we have to put into writing any testing issues requiring resolution. The test strategy is decided first, before lower level decisions are made on the test plan, test design, and other testing issues.
16:-Explain bug life cycle. Bug Life Cycle: - When a tester finds a bug .The bug is assigned with NEW or OPEN status, - The bug is assigned to development project manager who will analyze the bug .He will check whether it is a valid defect. If not valid bug is rejected then status is REJECTED. - If not, next the defect is checked whether it is in scope. When bug is not part of the current release .Such defects are POSTPONED - Now, Tester checks whether a similar defect was raised earlier. If yes defect is assigned a status DUPLICATE - When bug is assigned to developer. During this stage bug is assigned a status IN-PROGRESS - Once code is fixed. Defect is assigned a status FIXED - Next the tester will re-test the code. In case the test case passes the defect is CLOSED - If the test case fails again the bug is RE-OPENED and assigned to the developer. That’s all to Bug Life Cycle.
17:-What is Error guessing and Error seeding?
Error Guessing is a test case design technique where the tester has to guess what faults might occur and to design the tests to represent them. Error Seeding is the process of adding known faults intentionally in a program for the reason of monitoring the rate of detection & removal and also to estimate the number of faults remaining in the program.
18:-Explain Compatibility testing with an example. Compatibility testing is to evaluate the application compatibility with the computing environment like Operating System, Database, Browser compatibility, backwards compatibility, computing capacity of the Hardware Platform and compatibility of the Peripherals. Example, If Compatibility testing is done on a Game application, before installing a game on a computer, its compatibility is checked with the computer specification that whether it is compatible with the computer having that much of specification or not.
19:-What is Test Harness?
A test harness is a collection of software and test data required to test the application by running it in different testing condition like stress, load, data- driven, and monitoring its behavior and outputs. Test Harness contains two main parts: - Test execution engine - Test script repository Automation testing is the use of a tool to control the execution of tests and compare the actual results with the expected results. It also involves the setting up of test pre-conditions.
20:-Explain Statement coverage. Statement Coverage is a metric used in White Box Testing. Statement coverage is used to ensure that all the statement in the program code is executed at least once. The advantages of Statement Coverage are: - Verifies that written code is correct. - Measures the quality of code written. - Determine the control flow of the program. - To Calculate Statement Coverage: - Statement Coverage = Statements Tested / Total No. of Statements.
21:-What are the types of testing?
There are two types of testing: - Static testing: Static testing is a technique used in the earlier phase of the development life cycle. The code error detection and execution of program is not concern in this type of testing. Also known as non-execution technique. The Verification of the product is performed in this testing technique like Code Reviews, Inspections, Walkthroughs are mostly done in this stage of testing. - Dynamic testing: Dynamic Testing is concern with the execution of the software. This technique is used to test the dynamic behavior of the code. Most of the bugs are identified using this technique. These are the Validation activities. It uses different methodologies to perform testing like Unit Tests, Integration Tests, System Tests and Acceptance Testing, etc.
22:-Explain User acceptance testing. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is performed by the end users on the applications before accepting the application. Alpha testing: is performed by the IN-House developers. After alpha testing the software is handed for the Beta testing phase, for additional testing in an environment that is similar to the client environment. Beta testing: is performed by the end user. So that they can make sure that the product is bug free or working as per the requirement. IN-house developers and software QA team perform alpha testing. The public, a few select prospective customers or the general public performs beta testing. Gamma Testing: Gamma Testing is done when the software is ready for release with specified requirements. This testing is done directly by skipping all the in-house testing activities.
23:-What should be done after a bug is found?
After finding the bug the first step is bug to be locked in bug report. Then this bug needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it. After the bug is fixes by the developer, fixes should be re-tested, and determinations made regarding requirements for regression testing to check that fixes didn't create problems elsewhere.
24:-What if the software is so buggy it can't really be tested at all?
In this situation is for the testers to go through the process of reporting of bugs 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 project managers should be notified, and provided with some documentation.
25:-What are the types of maintenance?
There are four types of maintenance. They are: - Corrective Maintenance - Adaptive Maintenance - Perfective Maintenance - Preventive Maintenance
26:-What are the advantages of waterfall model?
The advantages of the waterfall model are: - Simple to implement and required fewer amounts of resources. - After every phase output is generate. - Help in methods of analysis, design, coding, testing and maintenance. - Preferred in projects where quality is more important than schedule and cost. - Systematic and sequential model. - Proper documentation of the project.
27:-What is Rapid Application Development model (RAD)?
The RAD model Rapid Application development (RAD) is incremental software development process models that focus on the development of the project in very short time. It is enhanced version of Waterfall model. It is proposed when requirements and solutions can be made independently system or software components, which is developed by different teams. After these smaller system components are developed, they are integrated to produce the large software system solution.
28:-What are the advantages of black box testing?
The advantages of this type of testing include: - Developer and tester are independent of each other. - The tester does not need knowledge of any programming languages. - The test is done from the point-of-view of the user. - Test cases can be designed when specifications are complete. - Testing helps to identify issues related to functional specifications.
29:-What is software review?
A software review can be defined as a filter for the software engineering process. The purpose of any review is to discover errors in the analysis, design, and coding, testing and implementation phases of the software development cycle. The other purpose of a review is to see whether procedures are applied uniformly and in a manageable manner. It is used to check the process followed to develop the software is right.
30:-What is reverse engineering?
By analyzing a final product the process of recreating a design is known as reverse engineering. Reverse engineering is the process followed in order to find difficult, unknown, and hidden information about a software system. It is important when software products lack proper documentation, and are highly unstructured, or their structure has degraded through a series of maintenance efforts. Maintenance activities cannot be performed without a complete understanding of the software system.
31:-What is data flow diagram?
The Data Flow Diagram gives us information of the flow of data within the application. - The DFD can be used to analyze the design of the application. - It is a graphical representation of the structure of the data. - A developer draws context level DFD first showing interaction between the different components of the application. - DFD help in developing the software by clarifying the requirements and major functionalities. - DFDs show the flow of data through a system. - It is an important modeling tool that allows us to picture a system as a network of functional processes.
32:-What is exploratory testing?
Exploratory testing: means testing an application without a test plan and test script. In exploring testing test explore the application on the basis on his knowledge. The tester has no knowledge about the application previously. He explores the application like an end user and try to use it. While using the application his main motive is to find the bugs which are in the application.
33:-What is compatibility testing?
Compatibility testing is a type of testing used to find out the compatibility between the application and platform on which application works, web browsers, hardware, operating systems etc. Good software must be compatible with different hardware, web browser and database.
34:-What is SRS and BRS document?
Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is documented form of the requirement of the customer. It consists of all requirement of the customer regarding that software to be developed. The SRS document work as agreement between the company and the customer consisting of all functional and non functional requirements. Business Requirement Specification (BRS) are the requirements as described by the business people. The business tells “what” they want for the application to do. In simple word BRS contain the functional requirement of the application.
35:-Can you explain V model in manual testing?
V model: it is enhanced version of waterfall model where each level of the development lifecycle is verified before moving to next level. In this testing starts at the very beginning. By testing we mean verification by means of reviews and inspections, static testing. Each level of the development life - cycle has a corresponding test plan. A test plan is developed to prepare for the testing of the products of that phase. Be developing the test plans, we can also define the expected results for testing of the products for that level as well as defining the entry and exit criteria for each level.
36:-What is Concurrency Testing?
Concurrency Testing is used to know the effects of using the software by different users at the same time. In this type of testing we have multiple users performing the exact same requests at the same time. It helps in identifying and measuring the problems in Response time, levels of locking and deadlocking in the application. For this we use Load runner to create VUGen (Virtual User Generator) is used to add the number of concurrent users and perform operation on the application on the same time.
37:-What is an inspection in software testing?
An inspection is more formalized than a walkt hrough. Inspection technique involves 3 to 8 team member consisting of a moderator, reader, and a recorder to take notes. The subject of the inspection is typically a document such as a requirements or a test plan, and the purpose is to find problems and see what is missing, most problems will be found during this preparation. The result of the inspection meeting should be a written report. It is one of the most cost effective methods of ensuring quality.
38:-A Form has four mandatory fields to be entered before you Submit. How many numbers of test cases are required to verify this?
And what are they?
Five test cases are required to test: 1. Enter the data in all the mandatory fields and submit, should not display error message. 2. Enter data in any two mandatory fields and summit, should issue an error message. 3. Do not enter in any of the fields should issue an error message. 4. If the fields accept only number, enter numbers in the fields and submit, should not issue an error message, try to enter only in two fields should issue an error message, and enter alphabets in two fields and number in other two fields it should issue an error message. 5. If the fields do not accept special characters, then enter the characters and submit it.
39:-What is Cyclomatic Complexity?
Cyclomatic complexity is used to measure the complexity of the software using the control flow graph of the software. It is a graphical representation, consisting of following: NODE: statement of the program is taken as node of the graph. Edges: the flow of command is denoted by edges. Edges are used to connect two node , this show flow of control from one node to other node in the program. Using this node and edges we calculate the complexity of the program. This determines the minimum number of inputs you need to test always to execute the program.
1. What is 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.
2. What is Accessibility Testing?
Verifying a product is accessible to the people having disabilities (deaf, blind, mentally disabled etc.).
3. What is 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. See also Monkey Testing.
4. What is Agile Testing?
Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm. See also Test Driven Development.
5. What is Application Binary Interface (ABI)?
A specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms across different system platforms and environments.
6. What is 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.
7. What is Automated Software Quality (ASQ)?
The use of software tools, such as automated testing tools, to improve software quality.
8. What is 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.
9. What is Backus-Naur Form?
A metalanguage used to formally describe the syntax of a language.
10. What is Basic Block?
A sequence of one or more consecutive, executable statements containing no
branches.
11. What is Basis Path Testing?
A white box test case design technique that uses the algorithmic flow of the program to design tests.
12. What is Basis Set?
The set of tests derived using basis path testing.
13. What is Baseline?
The point at which some deliverable produced during the software engineering process is put under formal change control.
14. What you will do during the first day of job?
What would you like to do five years from now?
15. What is Beta Testing?
Testing of a rerelease of a software product conducted by customers.
16. What is Binary Portability Testing?
Testing an executable application for portability across system platforms and environments, usually for conformation to an ABI specification.
17. What is 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.
18. What is 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.
19. What is Boundary Testing?
Test which focus on the boundary or limit conditions of the software being tested. (Some of these tests are stress tests).
20. What is Boundary Value Analysis?
BVA is similar to Equivalence Partitioning but focuses on "corner cases" or values that are usually out of range as defined by the specification. his means that if a function expects all values in range of negative 100 to positive 1000, test inputs would include negative 101 and positive 1001.
21. What is Branch Testing?
Testing in which all branches in the program source code are tested at least once.
22. What is Breadth Testing?
A test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does not test features in detail.
23. What is CAST?
Computer Aided Software Testing.
24. What is 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.
25. What is 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.
:- 25:What's a 'test plan'?
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 no one outside the test group will read it. The following are some of the items that might be included in a test plan, depending on the particular project:
• Title
• Identification of software including version/release numbers
• Revision history of document including authors, dates, approvals
• Table of Contents
• Purpose of document, intended audience
• Objective of testing effort
• Software product overview
• Relevant related document list, such as requirements, design documents, other test plans, etc.
• Relevant standards or legal requirements
• Traceability requirements
• Relevant naming conventions and identifier conventions
• Overall software project organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilties
• Test organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilities
• Assumptions and dependencies
• Project risk analysis
• Testing priorities and focus
• Scope and limitations of testing
• Test outline - a decomposition of the test approach by test type, feature, functionality, process, system, module, etc. as applicable
• Outline of data input equivalence classes, boundary value analysis, error classes
• Test environment - hardware, operating systems, other required software, data configurations, interfaces to other systems
• Test environment validity analysis - differences between the test and production systems and their impact on test validity.
• Test environment setup and configuration issues
• Software migration processes
• Software CM processes
• Test data setup requirements
• Database setup requirements
• Outline of system-logging/error-logging/other capabilities, and tools such as screen capture software, that will be used to help describe and report bugs
• Discussion of any specialized software or hardware tools that will be used by testers to help track the cause or source of bugs
• Test automation - justification and overview
• Test tools to be used, including versions, patches, etc.
• Test script/test code maintenance processes and version control
• Problem tracking and resolution - tools and processes
• Project test metrics to be used
• Reporting requirements and testing deliverables
• Software entrance and exit criteria
• Initial sanity testing period and criteria
• Test suspension and restart criteria
• Personnel allocation
• Personnel pre-training needs
• Test site/location
• Outside test organizations to be utilized and their purpose, responsibilties, deliverables, contact persons, and coordination issues
• Relevant proprietary, classified, security, and licensing issues.
• Open issues
• Appendix - glossary, acronyms, etc.
:- 26:What's a 'test case'?
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• A test case is a document that describes an input, action, or event and an expected response, to determine if a feature of an application is working correctly. A test case should contain particulars such as test case identifier, test case name, objective, test conditions/setup, input data requirements, steps, and expected results.
• Note that the process of developing test cases can help find problems in the requirements or design of an application, since it requires completely thinking through the operation of the application. For this reason, it's useful to prepare test cases early in the development cycle if possible.
:- 28:What should be done after a bug is found?
The bug needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it. After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested, and determinations made regarding requirements for regression testing to check that fixes didn't create problems elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in place, it should encapsulate these processes. A variety of commercial problem-tracking/management software tools are available (see the 'Tools' section for web resources with listings of such tools). The following are items to consider in the tracking process:
• Complete information such that developers can understand the bug, get an idea of it's severity, and reproduce it if necessary.
• Bug identifier (number, ID, etc.)
• Current bug status (e.g., 'Released for Retest', 'New', etc.)
• The application name or identifier and version
• The function, module, feature, object, screen, etc. where the bug occurred
• Environment specifics, system, platform, relevant hardware specifics
• Test case name/number/identifier
• One-line bug description
• Full bug description
• Description of steps needed to reproduce the bug if not covered by a test case or if the developer doesn't have easy access to the test case/test script/test tool
• Names and/or descriptions of file/data/messages/etc. used in test
• File excerpts/error messages/log file excerpts/screen shots/test tool logs that would be helpful in finding the cause of the problem
• Severity estimate (a 5-level range such as 1-5 or 'critical'-to-'low' is common)
• Was the bug reproducible?
• Tester name
• Test date
• Bug reporting date
• Name of developer/group/organization the problem is assigned to
• Description of problem cause
• Description of fix
• Code section/file/module/class/method that was fixed
• Date of fix
• Application version that contains the fix
• Tester responsible for retest
• Retest date
• Retest results
• Regression testing requirements
• Tester responsible for regression tests
• Regression testing results A reporting or tracking process should enable notification of appropriate personnel at various stages. For instance, testers need to know when retesting is needed, developers need to know when bugs are found and how to get the needed information, and reporting/summary capabilities are needed for managers.
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:- 30:What is 'configuration management'?
Configuration management covers the 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. (See the 'Tools' section for web resources with listings of configuration management tools. Also see the Bookstore section's 'Configuration Management' category for useful books with more information.)
:- 31:What if the software is so buggy it can't really be tested at all?
The best bet in this situation is for the testers to go through the process of reporting whatever bugs or blocking-type 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 or insufficient integration testing, poor design, improper build or release procedures, etc.) managers should be notified, and provided with some documentation as evidence of the problem.
:- 32:How can it be known when to stop testing?
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 (release deadlines, testing deadlines, etc.)
• Test cases completed with certain percentage passed
• Test budget depleted
• Coverage of code/functionality/requirements reaches a specified point
• Bug rate falls below a certain level
• Beta or alpha testing period ends
:- 33:What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?
Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. 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. This requires judgement skills, common sense, and experience. (If warranted, formal methods are also available.) Considerations can include:
• 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?
:- 34:What if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive testing?
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 same considerations as described previously in 'What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?
' apply. The tester might then do ad hoc testing, or write up a limited test plan based on the risk analysis.
:- 35:What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?
A common problem and a major headache.
• Work with the project's stakeholders early on to understand how requirements might change so that alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in advance, if possible.
• It's helpful if the application's initial design allows for some adaptability so that later changes do not require redoing the application from scratch.
• If the code is well-commented and well-documented this makes changes easier for the developers.
• Use rapid prototyping whenever possible to help customers feel sure of their requirements and minimize changes.
• The project's initial schedule should allow for some extra time commensurate with the possibility of changes.
• Try to move new requirements to a 'Phase 2' version of an application, while using the original requirements for the 'Phase 1' version.
• Negotiate to allow only easily-implemented new requirements into the project, while moving more difficult new requirements into future versions of the application.
• Be sure that customers and management understand the scheduling impacts, inherent risks, and costs of significant requirements changes. Then let management or the customers (not the developers or testers) 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 re-do them to deal with changes.
• Try to 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 to minimize regression testing needs.
• Design some flexibility into test cases (this is not easily done; the best bet might be 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 that this entails).
:- 36:
:- 37:What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the requirements?
It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected or hidden functionality, and 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 effects areas such as minor improvements in the user interface, for example, it may not be a significant risk.
:- 38:How can Software QA processes be implemented without stifling productivity?
By implementing QA processes slowly over time, using consensus to reach agreement on processes, and adjusting and experimenting as an organization grows and matures, productivity will be improved instead of stifled. Problem prevention will lessen the need for problem detection, panics and burn-out 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 - likes rules or bureacracy, 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.
:- 39:What if an organization is growing so fast that fixed QA processes are impossible?
This is a common problem in the software industry, especially in new technology areas. There is no easy solution in this situation, other than:
• Hire good people
• Management should 'ruthlessly prioritize' quality issues and maintain focus on the customer
• Everyone in the organization should be clear on what 'quality' means to the customer
:- 40:How does a client/server environment affect testing?
Client/server applications can be quite complex due to the multiple dependencies among clients, data communications, hardware, and servers. Thus testing requirements can be extensive. When time is limited (as it usually is) the focus should be on integration and system testing. Additionally, load/stress/performance testing may be useful in determining client/server application limitations and capabilities. There are commercial tools to assist with such testing. (See the 'Tools' section for web resources with listings that include these kinds of test tools.)
:- 41:How can World Wide Web sites be tested?
Web sites are essentially client/server applications - with web servers and 'browser' clients. Consideration should be given to the interactions between html pages, TCP/IP communications, Internet connections, firewalls, applications that run in web pages (such as applets, javascript, plug-in applications), and applications that run on the server side (such as cgi scripts, database interfaces, logging applications, dynamic page generators, asp, etc.). Additionally, there are a wide variety of servers and browsers, various versions of each, small but sometimes significant differences between them, variations in connection speeds, rapidly changing technologies, and multiple standards and protocols. The end result is that testing for web sites can become a major ongoing effort. Other considerations might include:
• What are the expected loads on the server (e.g., number of hits per unit time?
), and what kind of performance is required under such loads (such as web server response time, database query response times). What kinds of tools will be needed for performance testing (such as web load testing tools, other tools already in house that can be adapted, web robot downloading tools, etc.)?
• Who is the target audience?
What kind of browsers will they be using?
What kind of connection speeds will they by using?
Are they intra- organization (thus with likely high connection speeds and similar browsers) or Internet-wide (thus with a wide variety of connection speeds and browser types)?
• What kind of performance is expected on the client side (e.g., how fast should pages appear, how fast should animations, applets, etc. load and run)?
• Will down time for server and content maintenance/upgrades be allowed?
how much?
• What kinds of security (firewalls, encryptions, passwords, etc.) will be required and what is it expected to do?
How can it be tested?
• How reliable are the site's Internet connections required to be?
And how does that affect backup system or redundant connection requirements and testing?
• What processes will be required to manage updates to the web site's content, and what are the requirements for maintaining, tracking, and controlling page content, graphics, links, etc.?
• Which HTML specification will be adhered to?
How strictly?
What variations will be allowed for targeted browsers?
• Will there be any standards or requirements for page appearance and/or graphics throughout a site or parts of a site?
?
• How will internal and external links be validated and updated?
how often?
• Can testing be done on the production system, or will a separate test system be required?
How are browser caching, variations in browser option settings, dial-up connection variabilities, and real-world internet 'traffic congestion' problems to be accounted for in testing?
• How extensive or customized are the server logging and reporting requirements; are they considered an integral part of the system and do they require testing?
• How are cgi programs, applets, javascripts, ActiveX components, etc. to be maintained, tracked, controlled, and tested?
Some sources of site security information include the Usenet newsgroup 'comp.security.announce' and links concerning web site security in the 'Other Resources' section. Some usability guidelines to consider - these are subjective and may or may not apply to a given situation (Note: more information on usability testing issues can be found in articles about web site usability in the 'Other Resources' section):
• Pages should be 3-5 screens max unless content is tightly focused on a single topic. If larger, provide internal links within the page.
• The page layouts and design elements should be consistent throughout a site, so that it's clear to the user that they're still within a site.
• Pages should be as browser-independent as possible, or pages should be provided or generated based on the browser-type.
• All pages should have links external to the page; there should be no dead-end pages.
• The page owner, revision date, and a link to a contact person or organization should be included on each page. Many new web site test tools have appeared in the recent years and more than 280 of them are listed in the 'Web Test Tools' section.
:- 42:
:- 43:How is testing affected by object-oriented designs?
Well-engineered object-oriented design can make it easier to trace from code to internal design to functional design to requirements. While there will be little affect on black box testing (where an understanding of the internal design of the application is unnecessary), white-box testing can be oriented to the application's objects. If the application was well-designed this can simplify test design.
:- 44:What is Extreme Programming and what's it got to do with testing?
Extreme Programming (XP) is a software development approach for small teams on risk-prone projects with unstable requirements. It was created by Kent Beck who described the approach in his book 'Extreme Programming Explained' (See the Softwareqatest.com Books page.). Testing ('extreme testing') is a core aspect of Extreme Programming. Programmers are expected to write unit and functional test code first - before the application is developed. Test code is under source control along with the rest of the code. Customers are expected to be an integral part of the project team and to help develope scenarios for acceptance/black box testing. Acceptance tests are preferably automated, and are modified and rerun for each of the frequent development iterations. QA and test personnel are also required to be an integral part of the project team. Detailed requirements documentation is not used, and frequent re-scheduling, re-estimating, and re-prioritizing is expected. For more info see the XP-related listings in the Softwareqatest.com 'Other Resources' section.
:- 45:What is 'Software Quality Assurance'?
Software QA involves the entire software development PROCESS - monitoring and improving the process, making sure that any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed, and ensuring that problems are found and dealt with. It is oriented to 'prevention'. (See the Bookstore section's 'Software QA' category for a list of useful books on Software Quality Assurance.)
:- 46:What is 'Software Testing'?
Testing involves operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results (eg, 'if the user is in interface A of the application while using hardware B, and does C, then D should happen'). The controlled conditions should include both normal and abnormal conditions. Testing should intentionally attempt to make things go wrong to determine if things happen when they shouldn't or things don't happen when they should. It is oriented to 'detection'. (See the Bookstore section's 'Software Testing' category for a list of useful books on Software Testing.)
• 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 that include a mix of testers and developers who work closely together, with overall QA processes monitored by project managers. It will depend on what best fits an organization's size and business structure.
:- 47:What are some recent major computer system failures caused by software bugs?
• A major U.S. retailer was reportedly hit with a large government fine in October of 2003 due to web site errors that enabled customers to view one anothers' online orders.
• News stories in the fall of 2003 stated that a manufacturing company recalled all their transportation products in order to fix a software problem causing instability in certain circumstances. The company found and reported the bug itself and initiated the recall procedure in which a software upgrade fixed the problems.
• In August of 2003 a U.S. court ruled that a lawsuit against a large online brokerage company could proceed; the lawsuit reportedly involved claims that the company was not fixing system problems that sometimes resulted in failed stock trades, based on the experiences of 4 plaintiffs during an 8-month period. A previous lower court's ruling that "...six miscues out of more than 400 trades does not indicate negligence." was invalidated.
• In April of 2003 it was announced that the largest student loan company in the U.S. made a software error in calculating the monthly payments on 800,000 loans. Although borrowers were to be notified of an increase in their required payments, the company will still reportedly lose $8 million in interest. The error was uncovered when borrowers began reporting inconsistencies in their bills.
• News reports in February of 2003 revealed that the U.S. Treasury Department mailed 50,000 Social Security checks without any beneficiary names. A spokesperson indicated that the missing names were due to an error in a software change. Replacement checks were subsequently mailed out with the problem corrected, and recipients were then able to cash their Social Security checks.
• In March of 2002 it was reported that software bugs in Britain's national tax system resulted in more than 100,000 erroneous tax overcharges. The problem was partly attibuted to the difficulty of testing the integration of multiple systems.
• A newspaper columnist reported in July 2001 that a serious flaw was found in off-the-shelf software that had long been used in systems for tracking certain U.S. nuclear materials. The same software had been recently donated to another country to be used in tracking their own nuclear materials, and it was not until scientists in that country discovered the problem, and shared the information, that U.S. officials became aware of the problems.
• According to newspaper stories in mid-2001, a major systems development contractor was fired and sued over problems with a large retirement plan management system. According to the reports, the client claimed that system deliveries were late, the software had excessive defects, and it caused other systems to crash.
• In January of 2001 newspapers reported that a major European railroad was hit by the aftereffects of the Y2K bug. The company found that many of their newer trains would not run due to their inability to recognize the date '31/12/2000'; the trains were started by altering the control system's date settings.
• News reports in September of 2000 told of a software vendor settling a lawsuit with a large mortgage lender; the vendor had reportedly delivered an online mortgage processing system that did not meet specifications, was delivered late, and didn't work.
• In early 2000, major problems were reported with a new computer system in a large suburban U.S. public school district with 100,000+ students; problems included 10,000 erroneous report cards and students left stranded by failed class registration systems; the district's CIO was fired. The school district decided to reinstate it's original 25-year old system for at least a year until the bugs were worked out of the new system by the software vendors.
• In October of 1999 the $125 million NASA Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft was believed to be lost in space due to a simple data conversion error. It was determined that spacecraft software used certain data in English units that should have been in metric units. Among other tasks, the orbiter was to serve as a communications relay for the Mars Polar Lander mission, which failed for unknown reasons in December 1999. Several investigating panels were convened to determine the process failures that allowed the error to go undetected.
• Bugs in software supporting a large commercial high-speed data network affected 70,000 business customers over a period of 8 days in August of 1999. Among those affected was the electronic trading system of the largest U.S. futures exchange, which was shut down for most of a week as a result of the outages.
• In April of 1999 a software bug caused the failure of a $1.2 billion U.S. military satellite launch, the costliest unmanned accident in the history of Cape Canaveral launches. The failure was the latest in a string of launch failures, triggering a complete military and industry review of U.S. space launch programs, including software integration and testing processes. Congressional oversight hearings were requested.
• A small town in Illinois in the U.S. received an unusually large monthly electric bill of $7 million in March of 1999. This was about 700 times larger than its normal bill. It turned out to be due to bugs in new software that had been purchased by the local power company to deal with Y2K software issues.
• In early 1999 a major computer game company recalled all copies of a popular new product due to software problems. The company made a public apology for releasing a product before it was ready.
:- 48:
:- 49:Why is it often hard for management to get serious about quality assurance?
Solving problems is a high-visibility process; preventing problems is low-visibility. This is illustrated by an old parable: In ancient China there was a family of healers, one of whom was known throughout the land and employed as a physician to a great lord. The physician was asked which of his family was the most skillful healer. He replied, "I tend to the sick and dying with drastic and dramatic treatments, and on occasion someone is cured and my name gets out among the lords." "My elder brother cures sickness when it just begins to take root, and his skills are known among the local peasants and neighbors." "My eldest brother is able to sense the spirit of sickness and eradicate it before it takes form. His name is unknown outside our home."
:- 50:Why does software have bugs?
• miscommunication or no communication - as to specifics of what an application should or shouldn't do (the application's requirements).
• software complexity - the complexity of current software applications can be difficult to comprehend for anyone without experience in modern-day software development. Windows-type interfaces, client-server and distributed applications, data communications, enormous relational databases, and sheer size of applications have all contributed to the exponential growth in software/system complexity. And the use of object-oriented techniques can complicate instead of simplify a project unless it is well-engineered.
• programming errors - programmers, like anyone else, can make mistakes.
• changing requirements (whether documented or undocumented) - the customer may not understand the effects of changes, or may understand and request them anyway - redesign, rescheduling of engineers, effects on other projects, work already completed that may have to be redone or thrown out, hardware requirements that may be affected, etc. If there are many minor changes or any major changes, known and unknown dependencies among parts of the project are likely to interact and cause problems, and the complexity of coordinating changes may result in errors. Enthusiasm of engineering staff may be affected. In some fast-changing business environments, continuously modified requirements may be a fact of life. In this case, management must understand the resulting risks, and QA and test engineers must adapt and plan for continuous extensive testing to keep the inevitable bugs from running out of control - see 'What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?
' in Part 2 of the FAQ.
• time pressures - scheduling of software projects is difficult at best, often requiring a lot of guesswork. When deadlines loom and the crunch comes, mistakes will be made.
• egos - people prefer to say things like: 'no problem' 'piece of cake' 'I can whip that out in a few hours' 'it should be easy to update that old code' instead of: 'that adds a lot of complexity and we could end up making a lot of mistakes' 'we have no idea if we can do that; we'll wing it' 'I can't estimate how long it will take, until I take a close look at it' 'we can't figure out what that old spaghetti code did in the first place' If there are too many unrealistic 'no problem's', the result is bugs.
• poorly documented code - it's tough to maintain and modify code that is badly written or poorly documented; the result is bugs. In many organizations management provides no incentive for programmers to document their code or write clear, understandable, maintainable code. In fact, it's usually the opposite: they get points mostly for quickly turning out code, and there's job security if nobody else can understand it ('if it was hard to write, it should be hard to read').
• software development tools - visual tools, class libraries, compilers, scripting tools, etc. often introduce their own bugs or are poorly documented, resulting in added bugs.
:- 51:How can new Software QA processes be introduced in an existing organization?
• A lot depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large organizations with high-risk (in terms of lives or property) projects, serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary.
• Where the risk is lower, management and organizational buy-in and QA implementation may be a slower, step-at-a-time process. QA processes should be balanced with productivity so as to keep bureaucracy from getting out of hand.
• For small groups or projects, a more ad-hoc process may be appropriate, depending on the type of customers and projects. A lot will depend on team leads or managers, feedback to developers, and ensuring adequate communications among customers, managers, developers, and testers.
• The most value for effort will be in (a) requirements management processes, with a goal of clear, complete, testable requirement specifications embodied in requirements or design documentation and (b) design inspections and code inspections.
:- 52:What is verification?
validation?
Verification 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. Validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. The term 'IV & V' refers to Independent Verification and Validation.
:- 53:What is a 'walkthrough'?
A 'walkthrough' is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. Little or no preparation is usually required.
:- 54:What's an 'inspection'?
An inspection is more formalized than a 'walkthrough', typically with 3-8 people including a moderator, reader, and a recorder to take notes. The subject of the inspection is typically a document such as a requirements spec or a test plan, and the purpose is to find problems and see what's missing, not to fix anything. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by reading thru the document; most problems will be found during this preparation. The result of the inspection meeting should be a written report. Thorough preparation for inspections is difficult, painstaking work, but is one of the most cost effective methods of ensuring quality. Employees who are most skilled at inspections are like the 'eldest brother' in the parable in 'Why is it often hard for management to get serious about quality assurance?
'. Their skill may have low visibility but they are extremely valuable to any software development organization, since bug prevention is far more cost-effective than bug detection.
:- 55:
:- 56:What kinds of testing should be considered?
• Black box testing - not based on any knowledge of internal design or code. Tests are based on requirements and functionality.
• White box testing - based on knowledge of the internal logic of an application's code. Tests are based on coverage of code statements, branches, paths, conditions.
• unit testing - the most 'micro' scale of testing; to test particular functions or code modules. Typically done by the programmer and not by testers, as it requires detailed knowledge of the internal program design and code. Not always easily done unless the application has a well-designed architecture with tight code; may require developing test driver modules or test harnesses.
• incremental integration testing - continuous testing of an application as new functionality is added; requires that various aspects of an application's functionality be independent enough to work separately before all parts of the program are completed, or that test drivers be developed as needed; done by programmers or by testers.
• integration testing - testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together correctly. The 'parts' can be code modules, individual applications, client and server applications on a network, etc. This type of testing is especially relevant to client/server and distributed systems.
• functional testing - black-box type testing geared to functional requirements of an application; this type of testing should be done by testers. This doesn't mean that the programmers shouldn't check that their code works before releasing it (which of course applies to any stage of testing.)
• system testing - black-box type testing that is based on overall requirements specifications; covers all combined parts of a system.
• end-to-end testing - similar to system testing; the 'macro' end of the test scale; involves testing of 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.
• sanity testing or smoke testing - typically an initial testing effort to determine if a new software version is performing well enough to accept it for a major testing effort. For example, if the new software is crashing systems every 5 minutes, bogging down systems to a crawl, or corrupting databases, the software may not be in a 'sane' enough condition to warrant further testing in its current state.
• regression testing - re-testing after fixes or modifications of the software or its environment. It can be difficult to determine how much re-testing is needed, especially near the end of the development cycle. Automated testing tools can be especially useful for this type of testing.
• acceptance testing - final testing based on specifications of the end-user or customer, or based on use by end-users/customers over some limited period of time.
• load testing - testing an application under heavy loads, such as testing of a web site under a range of loads to determine at what point the system's response time degrades or fails.
• stress testing - term often used interchangeably with 'load' and 'performance' testing. Also used to describe such tests as system functional testing while under unusually heavy loads, heavy repetition of certain actions or inputs, input of large numerical values, large complex queries to a database system, etc.
• performance testing - term often used interchangeably with 'stress' and 'load' testing. Ideally 'performance' testing (and any other 'type' of testing) is defined in requirements documentation or QA or Test Plans.
• usability testing - testing for 'user-friendliness'. Clearly this is subjective, and will depend on the targeted end-user or customer. User interviews, surveys, video recording of user sessions, and other techniques can be used. Programmers and testers are usually not appropriate as usability testers.
• install/uninstall testing - testing of full, partial, or upgrade install/uninstall processes.
• recovery testing - testing how well a system recovers from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.
• security testing - testing how well the system protects against unauthorized internal or external access, willful damage, etc; may require sophisticated testing techniques.
• compatability testing - testing how well software performs in a particular hardware/software/operating system/network/etc. environment.
• exploratory testing - often taken to mean a creative, informal software test that is not based on formal test plans or test cases; testers may be learning the software as they test it.
• ad-hoc testing - similar to exploratory testing, but often taken to mean that the testers have significant understanding of the software before testing it.
• user acceptance testing - determining if software is satisfactory to an end-user or customer.
• comparison testing - comparing software weaknesses and strengths to competing products.
• alpha testing - testing of an application when development is nearing completion; minor design changes may still be made as a result of such testing. Typically done by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers.
• beta testing - testing when development and testing are essentially completed and final bugs and problems need to be found before final release. Typically done by end-users or others, not by programmers or testers.
• mutation testing - a method for determining if a set of test data or test cases is useful, by deliberately introducing various code changes ('bugs') and retesting with the original test data/cases to determine if the 'bugs' are detected. Proper implementation requires large computational resources.
:- 57:What are 5 common problems in the software development process?
• poor requirements - if requirements are unclear, incomplete, too general, or not testable, there will be problems.
• unrealistic schedule - if too much work is crammed in too little time, problems are inevitable.
• inadequate testing - no one will know whether or not the program is any good until the customer complains or systems crash.
• featuritis - requests to pile on new features after development is underway; extremely common.
• miscommunication - if developers don't know what's needed or customer's have erroneous expectations, problems are guaranteed.
:- 58:What are 5 common solutions to software development problems?
• solid requirements - clear, complete, detailed, cohesive, attainable, testable requirements that are agreed to by all players. Use prototypes to help nail down requirements.
• realistic schedules - 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.
• adequate testing - start testing early on, re-test after fixes or changes, plan for adequate time for testing and bug-fixing.
• stick to initial requirements as much as possible - be prepared to defend against changes and additions once development has begun, and be prepared to explain consequences. If changes are necessary, they should be adequately reflected in related schedule changes. If possible, use rapid prototyping during the design phase so that customers can see what to expect. This will provide them a higher comfort level with their requirements decisions and minimize changes later on.
• communication - require walkthroughs and inspections when appropriate; make extensive use of group communication tools - e-mail, groupware, networked bug-tracking tools and change management tools, intranet capabilities, etc.; insure that documentation is available and up-to-date - preferably electronic, not paper; promote teamwork and cooperation; use protoypes early on so that customers' expectations are clarified.
:- 59:What is software 'quality'?
Quality software is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and/or expectations, and is maintainable. However, quality is obviously a subjective term. It will depend on who the 'customer' is and their overall influence in the scheme of things. A wide-angle view of the 'customers' of a software development project might include end-users, customer acceptance testers, customer contract officers, customer management, the development organization's management/accountants/testers/salespeople, future software maintenance engineers, stockholders, magazine columnists, etc. Each type of 'customer' will have their 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.
:- 60:
:- 61:What is 'good code'?
'Good code' is code that works, is bug free, and is readable and maintainable. Some organizations have coding 'standards' that all developers are supposed to adhere to, but everyone has different ideas about what's best, or what is too many or too few rules. There are also various theories and metrics, such as McCabe Complexity metrics. It should be kept in mind that excessive use of standards and rules can stifle productivity and creativity. 'Peer reviews', 'buddy checks' code analysis tools, etc. can be used to check for problems and enforce standards. For C and C++ coding, here are some typical ideas to consider in setting rules/standards; these may or may not apply to a particular situation:
• minimize or eliminate use of global variables.
• use descriptive function and method names - use both upper and lower case, avoid abbreviations, use as many characters as necessary to be adequately descriptive (use of more than 20 characters is not out of line); be consistent in naming conventions.
• use descriptive variable names - use both upper and lower case, avoid abbreviations, use as many characters as necessary to be adequately descriptive (use of more than 20 characters is not out of line); be consistent in naming conventions.
• function and method sizes should be minimized; less than 100 lines of code is good, less than 50 lines is preferable.
• function descriptions should be clearly spelled out in comments preceding a function's code.
• organize code for readability.
• use whitespace generously - vertically and horizontally
• each line of code should contain 70 characters max.
• one code statement per line.
• coding style should be consistent throught a program (eg, use of brackets, indentations, naming conventions, etc.)
• in adding comments, err on the side of too many rather than too few comments; a common rule of thumb is that there should be at least as many lines of comments (including header blocks) as lines of code.
• no matter how small, an application should include documentaion of the overall program function and flow (even a few paragraphs is better than nothing); or if possible a separate flow chart and detailed program documentation.
• make extensive use of error handling procedures and status and error logging.
• for C++, to minimize complexity and increase maintainability, avoid too many levels of inheritance in class heirarchies (relative to the size and complexity of the application). Minimize use of multiple inheritance, and minimize use of operator overloading (note that the Java programming language eliminates multiple inheritance and operator overloading.)
• for C++, keep class methods small, less than 50 lines of code per method is preferable.
• for C++, make liberal use of exception handlers
:- 62:What is 'good design'?
'Design' could refer to many things, but often refers to 'functional design' or 'internal design'. 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. Good functional design is indicated by an application whose functionality can be traced back to customer and end-user requirements. (See further discussion of functional and internal design in 'What's the big deal about requirements?
' in FAQ #2.) For programs that have a user interface, it's often a good idea to assume that the end user will have little computer knowledge and may not read a user manual or even the on-line help; some common rules-of-thumb include:
• the program should act in a way that least surprises the user
• it should always be evident to the user what can be done next and how to exit
• the program shouldn't let the users do something stupid without warning them.
:- 63:What is SEI?
CMM?
ISO?
IEEE?
ANSI?
Will it help?
• SEI = 'Software Engineering Institute' at Carnegie-Mellon University; initiated by the U.S. Defense Department to help improve software development processes.
• CMM = 'Capability Maturity Model', developed by the SEI. It's a model of 5 levels of organizational 'maturity' that determine effectiveness in delivering quality software. It is geared to large organizations such as large U.S. Defense Department contractors. However, many of the QA processes involved are appropriate to any organization, and if reasonably applied can be helpful. Organizations can receive CMM ratings by undergoing assessments by qualified auditors. Level 1 - characterized by chaos, periodic panics, and heroic efforts required by individuals to successfully complete projects. Few if any processes in place; successes may not be repeatable. Level 2 - software project tracking, requirements management, realistic planning, and configuration management processes are in place; successful practices can be repeated. Level 3 - standard software development and maintenance processes are integrated throughout an organization; a Software Engineering Process Group is is in place to oversee software processes, and training programs are used to ensure understanding and compliance. Level 4 - metrics are used to track productivity, processes, and products. Project performance is predictable, and quality is consistently high. Level 5 - the focus is on continouous process improvement. The impact of new processes and technologies can be predicted and effectively implemented when required. Perspective on CMM ratings: During 1997-2001, 1018 organizations were assessed. Of those, 27% were rated at Level 1, 39% at 2, 23% at 3, 6% at 4, and 5% at 5. (For ratings during the period 1992-96, 62% were at Level 1, 23% at 2, 13% at 3, 2% at 4, and 0.4% at 5.) The median size of organizations was 100 software engineering/maintenance personnel; 32% of organizations were U.S. federal contractors or agencies. For those rated at Level 1, the most problematical key process area was in Software Quality Assurance.
• ISO = 'International Organisation for Standardization' - The ISO 9001:2000 standard (which replaces the previous standard of 1994) concerns quality systems that are assessed by outside auditors, and it applies to many kinds of production and manufacturing organizations, not just software. It covers documentation, design, development, production, testing, installation, servicing, and other processes. The full set of standards consists of: (a)Q9001-2000 - Quality Management Systems: Requirements; (b)Q9000-2000 - Quality Management Systems: Fundamentals and Vocabulary; (c)Q9004-2000 - Quality Management Systems: Guidelines for Performance Improvements. To be ISO 9001 certified, a third-party auditor assesses an organization, and certification is typically good for about 3 years, after which a complete reassessment is required. Note that ISO certification does not necessarily indicate quality products - it indicates only that documented processes are followed. Also see http://www.iso.ch/ for the latest information. In the U.S. the standards can be purchased via the ASQ web site at http://e-standards.asq.org/
• IEEE = 'Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' - among other things, creates standards such as 'IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation' (IEEE/ANSI Standard 829), 'IEEE Standard of Software Unit Testing (IEEE/ANSI Standard 1008), 'IEEE Standard for Software Quality Assurance Plans' (IEEE/ANSI Standard 730), and others.
• ANSI = 'American National Standards Institute', the primary industrial standards body in the U.S.; publishes some software-related standards in conjunction with the IEEE and ASQ (American Society for Quality).
• Other software development process assessment methods besides CMM and ISO 9000 include SPICE, Trillium, TickIT. and Bootstrap.
:- 64:What is the 'software life cycle'?
The life cycle begins when an application is first conceived and ends when it is no longer in use. It includes aspects such as initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design, internal design, documentation planning, test planning, coding, document preparation, integration, testing, maintenance, updates, retesting, phase-out, and other aspects.
:- 65:Will automated testing tools make testing easier?
• Possibly. For small projects, the time needed to learn and implement them may not be worth it. For larger projects, or on-going long-term projects they can be valuable.
• A common type of automated tool is the 'record/playback' type. For example, a tester could click through all combinations of menu choices, dialog box choices, buttons, etc. in an application GUI and have them 'recorded' and the results logged by a tool. The 'recording' is typically in the form of text based on a scripting language that is interpretable by the testing tool. If new buttons are added, or some underlying code in the application is changed, etc. the application might then be retested by just 'playing back' the 'recorded' actions, and comparing the logging results to check effects of the changes. The problem with such tools is that if there are continual changes to the system being tested, the 'recordings' may have to be changed so much that it becomes very time-consuming to continuously update the scripts. Additionally, interpretation and analysis of results (screens, data, logs, etc.) can be a difficult task. Note that there are record/playback tools for text-based interfaces also, and for all types of platforms.
• Other automated tools can include: code analyzers - monitor code complexity, adherence to standards, etc. coverage analyzers - these tools check which parts of the code have been exercised by a test, and may be oriented to code statement coverage, condition coverage, path coverage, etc. memory analyzers - such as bounds-checkers and leak detectors. load/performance test tools - for testing client/server and web applications under various load levels. web test tools - to check that links are valid, HTML code usage is correct, client-side and server-side programs work, a web site's interactions are secure. other tools - for test case management, documentation management, bug reporting, and configuration management.
54. What is Functional Specification?
A document that describes in detail the characteristics of the product with regard to its intended features.
55. What is Functional 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. or Black Box Testing.
56. What is Glass Box Testing?
A synonym for White Box Testing.
57. What is Gorilla Testing?
Testing one particular module, functionality heavily.
58. What is 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.
59. What is High Order Tests?
Black-box tests conducted once the software has been integrated.
60. What is Independent Test Group (ITG)?
A group of people whose primary responsibility is software testing,
61. What is 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).
62. What is 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.
63. What is 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.
64. What is Load Testing?
See Performance Testing.
65. What is Localization Testing?
This term refers to making software specifically designed for a specific locality.
66. What is Loop Testing?
A white box testing technique that exercises program loops.
67. What is 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.
68. What is 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.
69. What is Negative Testing?
Testing aimed at showing software does not work. Also known as "test to fail". See also Positive Testing.
70. What is Path Testing?
Testing in which all paths in the program source code are tested at least once.
71. What is 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".
72. What is Positive Testing?
Testing aimed at showing software works. Also known as "test to pass". See also Negative Testing.
73. What is 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. 74. What is 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.
75. What is 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.
76. What is Quality Control?
The operational techniques and the activities used to fulfill and verify requirements of quality.
77. What is Quality Management?
That aspect of the overall management function that determines and implements the quality policy.
78. What is Quality Policy?
The overall intentions and direction of an organization as regards quality as formally expressed by top management.
79. What is Quality System?
The organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes, and resources for implementing quality management.
80. What is 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.
81. What is Ramp Testing?
Continuously raising an input signal until the system breaks down.
82. What is 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
83. What is 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.
84. What is 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).
85. What is Sanity Testing?
Click Here for Smoke/Sanity definition 86. What is Scalability Testing?
Performance testing focused on ensuring the application under test gracefully handles increases in work load.
87. What is 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.
88. What is 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.
89. What is 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.
90. What is Software Requirements Specification?
A deliverable that describes all data, functional and behavioral requirements, all constraints, and all validation requirements for software/
91. What is Software Testing?
A set of activities conducted with the intent of finding errors in software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
:- 1. What is the MAIN benefit of designing tests early in the life cycle?
It helps prevent defects from being introduced into the code.
2. What is risk-based testing?
Risk-based testing is the term used for an approach to creating a test strategy that is based on prioritizing tests by risk. The basis of the approach is a detailed risk analysis and prioritizing of risks by risk level. Tests to address each risk are then specified, starting with the highest risk first.
3. A wholesaler sells printer cartridges. The minimum order quantity is 5. There is a 20% discount for orders of 100 or more printer cartridges. You have been asked to prepare test cases using various values for the number of printer cartridges ordered. Which of the following groups contain three test inputs that would be generated using Boundary Value Analysis?
4, 5, 99
4. What is the KEY difference between preventative and reactive approaches to testing?
Preventative tests are designed early; reactive tests are designed after the software has been produced.
5. What is the purpose of exit criteria?
The purpose of exit criteria is to define when a test level is completed.
6. What determines the level of risk?
The likelihood of an adverse event and the impact of the event determine the level of risk.
7. When is used Decision table testing?
Decision table testing is used for testing systems for which the specification takes the form of rules or cause-effect combinations. In a decision table the inputs are listed in a column, with the outputs in the same column but below the inputs. The remainder of the table explores combinations of inputs to define the outputs produced. Learn More About Decision Table Testing Technique in the Video Tutorial here
8. What is the MAIN objective when reviewing a software deliverable?
To identify defects in any software work product.
9. Which of the following defines the expected results of a test?
Test case specification or test design specification. Test case specification defines the expected results of a test.
10. What is the benefit of test independence?
It avoids author bias in defining effective tests.
11. As part of which test process do you determine the exit criteria?
The exit criteria is determined on the bases of 'Test Planning'.
12. What is beta testing?
Testing performed by potential customers at their own locations.
13. Given the following fragment of code, how many tests are required for 100% decision coverage?
if width > length
thenbiggest_dimension = width
if height > width
thenbiggest_dimension = height
end_if elsebiggest_dimension = length
if height > length
thenbiggest_dimension = height
end_if end_if 4
14. You have designed test cases to provide 100% statement and 100% decision coverage for the following fragment of code. if width > length then biggest_dimension = width else biggest_dimension = length end_if The following has been added to the bottom of the code fragment above. print "Biggest dimension is " &biggest_dimensionprint "Width: " & width print "Length: " & length How many more test cases are required?
None, existing test cases can be used.
15. Rapid Application Development?
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is formally a parallel development of functions and subsequent integration. Components/functions are developed in parallel as if they were mini projects, the developments are time-boxed, delivered, and then assembled into a working prototype. This can very quickly give the customer something to see and use and to provide feedback regarding the delivery and their requirements. Rapid change and development of the product is possible using this methodology. However the product specification will need to be developed for the product at some point, and the project will need to be placed under more formal controls prior to going into production.
16. What is the difference between Testing Techniques and Testing Tools?
Testing technique: – Is a process for ensuring that some aspects of the application system or unit functions properly there may be few techniques but many tools. Testing Tools: – Is a vehicle for performing a test process. The tool is a resource to the tester, but itself is insufficient to conduct testing Learn More About Testing Tools here
17. We use the output of the requirement analysis, the requirement specification as the input for writing …
User Acceptance Test Cases
18. Repeated Testing of an already tested program, after modification, to discover any defects introduced or uncovered as a result of the changes in the software being tested or in another related or unrelated software component:
Regression Testing
19. What is component testing?
Component testing, also known as unit, module and program testing, searches for defects in, and verifies the functioning of software (e.g. modules, programs, objects, classes, etc.) that are separately testable. Component testing may be done in isolation from the rest of the system depending on the context of the development life cycle and the system. Most often stubs and drivers are used to replace the missing software and simulate the interface between the software components in a simple manner. A stub is called from the software component to be tested; a driver calls a component to be tested. Here is an awesome video on Unit Testing
20. What is functional system testing?
Testing the end to end functionality of the system as a whole is defined as a functional system testing.
21. What are the benefits of Independent Testing?
Independent testers are unbiased and identify different defects at the same time.
22. In a REACTIVE approach to testing when would you expect the bulk of the test design work to be begun?
The bulk of the test design work begun after the software or system has been produced.
23. What are the different Methodologies in Agile Development Model?
There are currently seven different agile methodologies that I am aware of: Extreme Programming (XP) Scrum Lean Software Development Feature-Driven Development Agile Unified Process Crystal Dynamic Systems Development Model (DSDM)
24. Which activity in the fundamental test process includes evaluation of the testability of the requirements and system?
A 'Test Analysis' and 'Design' includes evaluation of the testability of the requirements and system.
25. What is typically the MOST important reason to use risk to drive testing efforts?
Because testing everything is not feasible.
26. What is random/monkey testing?
When it is used?
Random testing often known as monkey testing. In such type of testing data is generated randomly often using a tool or automated mechanism. With this randomly generated input the system is tested and results are analysed accordingly. These testing are less reliable; hence it is normally used by the beginners and to see whether the system will hold up under adverse effects.
27. Which of the following are valid objectives for incident reports?
Provide developers and other parties with feedback about the problem to enable identification, isolation and correction as necessary. Provide ideas for test process improvement. Provide a vehicle for assessing tester competence. Provide testers with a means of tracking the quality of the system under test.
28. Consider the following techniques. Which are static and which are dynamic techniques?
Equivalence Partitioning. Use Case Testing. Data Flow Analysis. Exploratory Testing. Decision Testing. Inspections. Data Flow Analysis and Inspections are static; Equivalence Partitioning, Use Case Testing, Exploratory Testing and Decision Testing are dynamic.
29. Why are static testing and dynamic testing described as complementary?
Because they share the aim of identifying defects but differ in the types of defect they find.
30. What are the phases of a formal review?
In contrast to informal reviews, formal reviews follow a formal process. A typical formal review process consists of six main steps: Planning Kick-off Preparation Review meeting Rework Follow-up.
31. What is the role of moderator in review process?
The moderator (or review leader) leads the review process. He or she determines, in co-operation with the author, the type of review, approach and the composition of the review team. The moderator performs the entry check and the follow-up on the rework, in order to control the quality of the input and output of the review process. The moderator also schedules the meeting, disseminates documents before the meeting, coaches other team members, paces the meeting, leads possible discussions and stores the data that is collected. Learn More about Review process in Video Tutorial here
32. What is an equivalence partition (also known as an equivalence class)?
An input or output ranges of values such that only one value in the range becomes a test case.
33. When should configuration management procedures be implemented?
During test planning.
34. A Type of functional Testing, which investigates the functions relating to detection of threats, such as virus from malicious outsiders?
Security Testing
35. Testing where in we subject the target of the test , to varying workloads to measure and evaluate the performance behaviours and ability of the target and of the test to continue to function properly under these different workloads?
Load Testing
36. Testing activity which is performed to expose defects in the interfaces and in the interaction between integrated components is?
Integration Level Testing
37. What are the Structure-based (white-box) testing techniques?
Structure-based testing techniques (which are also dynamic rather than static) use the internal structure of the software to derive test cases. They are commonly called 'white-box' or 'glass-box' techniques (implying you can see into the system) since they require knowledge of how the software is implemented, that is, how it works. For example, a structural technique may be concerned with exercising loops in the software. Different test cases may be derived to exercise the loop once, twice, and many times. This may be done regardless of the functionality of the software.
38. When "Regression Testing" should be performed?
After the software has changed or when the environment has changed Regression testing should be performed. 39. What is negative and positive testing?
A negative test is when you put in an invalid input and receives errors. While a positive testing, is when you put in a valid input and expect some action to be completed in accordance with the specification.
40. What is the purpose of a test completion criterion?
The purpose of test completion criterion is to determine when to stop testing
41. What can static analysis NOT find?
For example memory leaks.
42. What is the difference between re-testing and regression testing?
Re-testing ensures the original fault has been removed; regression testing looks for unexpected side effects.
43. What are the Experience-based testing techniques?
In experience-based techniques, people's knowledge, skills and background are a prime contributor to the test conditions and test cases. The experience of both technical and business people is important, as they bring different perspectives to the test analysis and design process. Due to previous experience with similar systems, they may have insights into what could go wrong, which is very useful for testing.
44. What type of review requires formal entry and exit criteria, including metrics?
Inspection
45. Could reviews or inspections be considered part of testing?
Yes, because both help detect faults and improve quality.
46. An input field takes the year of birth between 1900 and 2004 what are the boundary values for testing this field?
1899,1900,2004,2005
47. Which of the following tools would be involved in the automation of regression test?
a. Data tester b. Boundary tester c. Capture/Playback d. Output comparator. d. Output comparator
48. To test a function, what has to write a programmer, which calls the function to be tested and passes it test data.
Driver
49. What is the one Key reason why developers have difficulty testing their own work?
Lack of Objectivity
50."How much testing is enough?
" The answer depends on the risk for your industry, contract and special requirements.
51. When should testing be stopped?
It depends on the risks for the system being tested. There are some criteria bases on which you can stop testing. Deadlines (Testing, Release) Test budget has been depleted Bug rate fall below certain level Test cases completed with certain percentage passed Alpha or beta periods for testing ends Coverage of code, functionality or requirements are met to a specified point
52. Which of the following is the main purpose of the integration strategy for integration testing in the small?
The main purpose of the integration strategy is to specify which modules to combine when and how many at once.
53.What are semi-random test cases?
Semi-random test cases are nothing but when we perform random test cases and do equivalence partitioning to those test cases, it removes redundant test cases, thus giving us semi-random test cases.
54. Given the following code, which statement is true about the minimum number of test cases required for full statement and branch coverage?
Read p
Read q
IF p+q> 100
THEN Print "Large"
ENDIF IF p > 50
THEN Print "p Large"
ENDIF 1 test for statement coverage, 2 for branch coverage
55. What is black box testing?
What are the different black box testing techniques?
Black box testing is the software testing method which is used to test the software without knowing the internal structure of code or program. This testing is usually done to check the functionality of an application. The different black box testing techniques are Equivalence Partitioning Boundary value analysis Cause effect graphing
56. Which review is normally used to evaluate a product to determine its suitability for intended use and to identify discrepancies?
Technical Review.
57. Why we use decision tables?
The techniques of equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis are often applied to specific situations or inputs. However, if different combinations of inputs result in different actions being taken, this can be more difficult to show using equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis, which tend to be more focused on the user interface. The other two specification-based techniques, decision tables and state transition testing are more focused on business logic or business rules. A decision table is a good way to deal with combinations of things (e.g. inputs). This technique is sometimes also referred to as a 'cause-effect' table. The reason for this is that there is an associated logic diagramming technique called 'cause-effect graphing' which was sometimes used to help derive the decision table
58. Faults found should be originally documented by whom?
By testers.
59. Which is the current formal world-wide recognized documentation standard?
There isn't one.
60. Which of the following is the review participant who has created the item to be reviewed?
Author
61. A number of critical bugs are fixed in software. All the bugs are in one module, related to reports. The test manager decides to do regression testing only on the reports module. Regression testing should be done on other modules as well?
because fixing one module may affect other modules.
62. Why does the boundary value analysis provide good test cases?
Because errors are frequently made during programming of the different cases near the 'edges' of the range of values.
63. What makes an inspection different from other review types?
It is led by a trained leader, uses formal entry and exit criteria and checklists.
64. Why can be tester dependent on configuration management?
Because configuration management assures that we know the exact version of the testware and the test object.
65. What is a V-Model?
A software development model that illustrates how testing activities integrate with software development phases
66. What is maintenance testing?
Triggered by modifications, migration or retirement of existing software
67. What is test coverage?
Test coverage measures in some specific way the amount of testing performed by a set of tests (derived in some other way, e.g. using specification-based techniques). Wherever we can count things and can tell whether or not each of those things has been tested by some test, then we can measure coverage.
68. Why is incremental integration preferred over "big bang" integration?
Because incremental integration has better early defects screening and isolation ability
69. When do we prepare RTM (Requirement traceability matrix), is it before test case designing or after test case designing?
It would be before test case designing. Requirements should already be traceable from Review activities since you should have traceability in the Test Plan already. This question also would depend on the organisation. If the organisations do test after development started then requirements must be already traceable to their source. To make life simpler use a tool to manage requirements.
70. What is called the process starting with the terminal modules?
Bottom-up integration
71. During which test activity could faults be found most cost effectively?
During test planning
72. The purpose of requirement phase is To freeze requirements, to understand user needs,
to define the scope of testing
73. Why we split testing into distinct stages?
We split testing into distinct stages because of following reasons, Each test stage has a different purpose It is easier to manage testing in stages We can run different test into different environments Performance and quality of the testing is improved using phased testing
74. What is DRE?
To measure test effectiveness a powerful metric is used to measure test effectiveness known as DRE (Defect Removal Efficiency) From this metric we would know how many bugs we have found from the set of test cases. Formula for calculating DRE is DRE=Number of bugs while testing / number of bugs while testing + number of bugs found by user
75. Which of the following is likely to benefit most from the use of test tools providing test capture and replay facilities?
a) Regression testing b) Integration testing c) System testing d) User acceptance testing Regression testing
76. How would you estimate the amount of re-testing likely to be required?
Metrics from previous similar projects and discussions with the development team
77. What studies data flow analysis?
The use of data on paths through the code.
78. What is Alpha testing?
Pre-release testing by end user representatives at the developer's site.
79. What is a failure?
Failure is a departure from specified behaviour.
80. What are Test comparators?
Is it really a test if you put some inputs into some software, but never look to see whether the software produces the correct result?
The essence of testing is to check whether the software produces the correct result, and to do that, we must compare what the software produces to what it should produce.
A test comparator helps to automate aspects of that comparison.
81. Who is responsible for document all the issues, problems and open point that were identified?
during the review meeting Scribe
82. What is the main purpose of Informal review
Inexpensive way to get some benefit
83. What is the purpose of test design technique?
Identifying test conditions and Identifying test cases
84. When testing a grade calculation system, a tester determines that all scores from 90 to 100 will yield a grade of A, but scores below 90 will not. This analysis is known as:
Equivalence partitioning
85. A test manager wants to use the resources available for the automated testing of a web application.
The best choice is Tester, test automater, web specialist, DBA
86. During the testing of a module tester 'X' finds a bug and assigned it to developer. But developer rejects the same, saying that it's not a bug. What 'X' should do?
Send to the detailed information of the bug encountered and check the reproducibility
87. A type of integration testing in which software elements, hardware elements, or both are combined all at once into a component or an overall system, rather than in stages.
Big-Bang Testing
88. In practice, which Life Cycle model may have more, fewer or different levels of development and testing, depending on the project and the software product. For example, there may be component integration testing after component testing, and system integration testing after system testing.
V-Model
89. Which technique can be used to achieve input and output coverage?
It can be applied to human input, input via interfaces to a system, or interface parameters in integration testing. Equivalence partitioning
90. "This life cycle model is basically driven by schedule and budget risks" This statement is best suited for…
V-Model
91. In which order should tests be run?
The most important one must tests first
92. The later in the development life cycle a fault is discovered, the more expensive it is to fix. Why?
The fault has been built into more documentation, code, tests, etc
93. What is Coverage measurement?
It is a partial measure of test thoroughness.
94. What is Boundary value testing?
Test boundary conditions on, below and above the edges of input and output equivalence classes. For instance, let say a bank application where you can withdraw maximum Rs.20,000 and a minimum of Rs.100, so in boundary value testing we test only the exact boundaries, rather than hitting in the middle. That means we test above the maximum limit and below the minimum limit.
95. What is Fault Masking?
Error condition hiding another error condition.
96. What does COTS represent?
Commercial off The Shelf.
97.The purpose of wich is allow specific tests to be carried out on a system or network that resembles as closely as possible the environment where the item under test will be used upon release?
Test Environment
98. What can be thought of as being based on the project plan, but with greater amounts of detail?
Phase Test Plan
99. What is exploratory testing?
Exploratory testing is a hands-on approach in which testers are involved in minimum planning and maximum test execution. The planning involves the creation of a test charter, a short declaration of the scope of a short (1 to 2 hour) time-boxed test effort, the objectives and possible approaches to be used. The test design and test execution activities are performed in parallel typically without formally documenting the test conditions, test cases or test scripts. This does not mean that other, more formal testing techniques will not be used. For example, the tester may decide to use boundary value analysis but will think through and test the most important boundary values without necessarily writing them down. Some notes will be written during the exploratory-testing session, so that a report can be produced afterwards.
100. What is "use case testing"?
In order to identify and execute the functional requirement of an application from start to finish "use case" is used and the techniques used to do this is known as "Use Case Testing" Bonus!
101. What is the difference between STLC ( Software Testing Life Cycle) and SDLC ( Software Development Life Cycle) ?
The complete Verification and Validation of software is done in SDLC, while STLC only does Validation of the system. SDLC is a part of STLC.
102. What is traceability matrix?
The relationship between test cases and requirements is shown with the help of a document. This document is known as traceability matrix.
103. What is Equivalence partitioning testing?
Equivalence partitioning testing is a software testing technique which divides the application input test data into each partition at least once of equivalent data from which test cases can be derived. By this testing method it reduces the time required for software testing.
104. What is white box testing and list the types of white box testing?
White box testing technique involves selection of test cases based on an analysis of the internal structure (Code coverage, branches coverage, paths coverage, condition coverage etc.) of a component or system. It is also known as Code-Based testing or Structural testing. Different types of white box testing are Statement Coverage Decision Coverage
105. In white box testing what do you verify?
In white box testing following steps are verified. Verify the security holes in the code Verify the incomplete or broken paths in the code Verify the flow of structure according to the document specification Verify the expected outputs Verify all conditional loops in the code to check the complete functionality of the application Verify the line by line coding and cover 100% testing
106. What is the difference between static and dynamic testing?
Static testing: During Static testing method, the code is not executed and it is performed using the software documentation. Dynamic testing: To perform this testing the code is required to be in an executable form.
107. What is verification and validation?
Verification is a process of evaluating software at development phase and to decide whether the product of a given application satisfies the specified requirements. Validation is the process of evaluating software at the end of the development process and to check whether it meets the customer requirements.
108. What are different test levels?
There are four test levels Unit/component/program/module testing Integration testing System testing Acceptance testing
109. What is Integration testing?
Integration testing is a level of software testing process, where individual units of an application are combined and tested. It is usually performed after unit and functional testing.
110. What are the tables in testplans?
Test design, scope, test strategies , approach are various details that Test plan document consists of. Test case identifier Scope Features to be tested Features not to be tested Test strategy & Test approach Test deliverables Responsibilities Staffing and training Risk and Contingencies
111. What is the difference between UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and System testing?
System Testing: System testing is finding defects when the system under goes testing as a whole, it is also known as end to end testing. In such type of testing, the application undergoes from beginning till the end. UAT: User Acceptance Testing (UAT) involves running a product through a series of specific tests which determines whether the product will meet the needs of its users.
112. Mention the difference between Data Driven Testing and Retesting?
Retesting: It is a process of checking bugs that are actioned by development team to verify that they are actually fixed. Data Driven Testing (DDT): In data driven testing process, application is tested with multiple test data. Application is tested with different set of values.
113. What are the valuable steps to resolve issues while testing?
Record : Log and handle any problems which has happened Report: Report the issues to higher level manager Control: Define the issue management process
114. What is the difference between test scenarios, test cases and test script?
Difference between test scenarios and test cases is that Test Scenarios: Test scenario is prepared before the actual testing starts, it includes plans for testing product, number of team members, environmental condition, making test cases, making test plans and all the features that are to be tested for the product. Test Cases: It is a document that contains the steps that has to be executed, it has been planned earlier. Test Script: It is written in a programming language and it's a short program used to test part of functionality of the software system. In other words a written set of steps that should be performed manually.
115. What is Latent defect?
Latent defect: This defect is an existing defect in the system which does not cause any failure as the exact set of conditions has never been met
116. What are the two parameters which can be useful to know the quality of test execution?
To know the quality of test execution we can use two parameters Defect reject ratio Defect leakage ratio
117. What is the function of software testing tool "phantom"?
Phantom is a freeware, and is used for windows GUI automation scripting language. It allows to take control of windows and functions automatically. It can simulate any combination of key strokes and mouse clicks as well as menus, lists and more.
118. Explain what is Test Deliverables ?
Test Deliverables are set of documents, tools and other components that has to be developed and maintained in support of testing. There are different test deliverables at every phase of the software development lifecycle Before Testing During Testing After the Testing
119. What is mutation testing?
Mutation testing is a technique to identify if a set of test data or test case is useful by intentionally introducing various code changes (bugs) and retesting with original test data/ cases to determine if the bugs are detected.
120. What all things you should consider before selecting automation tools for the AUT?
Technical Feasibility Complexity level Application stability Test data Application size Re-usability of automated scripts Execution across environment
121. How will you conduct Risk Analysis?
For the risk analysis following steps need to be implemented a) Finding the score of the risk b) Making a profile for the risk c) Changing the risk properties d) Deploy the resources of that test risk e) Making a database of risk
122. What are the categories of debugging?
Categories for debugging a) Brute force debugging b) Backtracking c) Cause elimination d) Program slicing e) Fault tree analysis
123. What is fault masking explain with example?
When presence of one defect hides the presence of another defect in the system is known as fault masking. Example : If the "Negative Value" cause a firing of unhandled system exception, the developer will prevent the negative values inpu. This will resolve the issue and hide the defect of unhandled exception firing.
124. Explain what is Test Plan ?
What are the information that should be covered in Test Plan ?
A test plan can be defined as a document describing the scope, approach, resources and schedule of testing activities and a test plan should cover the following details. Test Strategy Test Objective Exit/Suspension Criteria Resource Planning Test Deliverables
125. How you can eliminate the product risk in your project ?
To eliminate product risk in your project, there is simple yet crucial step that can reduce the product risk in your project. Investigate the specification documents Have discussions about the project with all stakeholders including the developer As a real user walk around the website
126. What are the common risk that leads to the project failure?
The common risk that leads to a project failure are Not having enough human resource Testing Environment may not be set up properly Limited Budget Time Limitations
127. On what basis you can arrive to an estimation for your project?
To estimate your project , you have to consider following points Divide the whole project into a smallest tasks Allocate each task to team members Estimate the effort required to complete each task Validate the estimation
128. Explain how you would allocate task to team members ?
Task Member Analyze software requirement specification All the members Create the test specification Tester/Test Analyst Build up the test environment Test administrator Execute the test cases Tester, Test administrator Report defects Tester
129. Explain what is testing type and what are the commonly used testing type ?
To get an expected test outcome a standard procedure is followed which is referred as Testing Type. Commonly used testing types are Unit Testing: Test the smallest code of an application API Testing: Testing API created for the application Integration Testing: Individual software modules are combined and tested System Testing: Complete testing of system Install/UnInstall Testing: Testing done from the point of client/customer view Agile Testing: Testing through Agile technique
130. While monitoring your project what all things you have to consider ?
The things that has to be taken in considerations are Is you project on schedule Are you over budget Are you working towards the same career goal Have you got enough resources Are there any warning signs of impending problems Is there any pressure from management to complete the project sooner
131. What are the common mistakes which creates issues ?
Matching resources to wrong projects Test manager lack of skills Not listening to others Poor Scheduling Underestimating Ignoring the small problems Not following the process
132. What does a typical test report contains?
What are the benefits of test reports?
A test report contains following things: Project Information Test Objective Test Summary Defect The benefits of test reports are: Current status of project and quality of product are informed If required, stake holder and customer can take corrective action A final document helps to decide whether the product is ready for release 133. What is test management review and why it is important?
Management review is also referred as Software Quality Assurance or SQA. SQA focusses more on the software process rather than the software work products. It is a set of activities designed to make sure that the project manager follows the standard process. SQA helps test manager to benchmark the project against the set standards.
134. What are the best practices for software quality assurance?
The best practices for an effective SQA implementation is Continuous Improvement Documentation Tool Usage Metrics Responsibility by team members Experienced SQA auditors
135. When is RTM (Requirement Traceability Matrix) prepared ?
RTM is prepared before test case designing. Requirements should be traceable from review activities.
136. What is difference between Test matrix and Traceability matrix?
Test Matrix: Test matrix is used to capture actual quality, effort, the plan, resources and time required to capture all phases of software testing Traceability Matrix:Mapping between test cases and customer requirements is known as Traceability Matrix
137. In manual testing what are stubs and drivers?
Both stubs and drivers are part of incremental testing. In incremental testing there are two approaches namely bottom up and top down approach. Drivers are used in bottom up testing and stub is used for top down approach. In order to test the main module, stub is used, whuich is a dummy code or program .
138. What are the step you would follow once you find the defect?
Once defect is found you would follow the step a) Recreate the defect b) Attach the screen shot c) Log the defect
139. Explain what is "Test Plan Driven" or "Key Word Driven" method of testing?
This technique uses the actual test case document developed by testers using a spread sheet containing special "key Words". The key words control the processing.
140. What is DFD (Data Flow Diagram) ?
When a "flow of data" through an information system is graphically represented then it is known as Data Flow Diagram. It is also used for the visualization of data processing.
141. Explain what is LCSAJ?
LCSAJ stands for 'linear code sequence and jump'. It consists of the following three items a) Start of the linear sequence of executable statements b) End of the linear sequence c) The target line to which control flow is transferred at the end of the linear sequence
142. Explain what is N+1 testing?
The variation of regression testing is represented as N+1. In this technique the testing is performed in multiple cycles in which errors found in test cycle 'N' are resolved and re-tested in test cycle N+1. The cycle is repeated unless there are no errors found.
143. What is Fuzz testing and when it is used?
Fuzz testing is used to detect security loopholes and coding errors in software. In this technique random data is added to the system in attempt to crash the system. If vulnerability persists, a tool called fuzz tester is used to determine potential causes. This technique is more useful for bigger projects but only detects major fault.
144. Mention what are the main advantages of statement coverage metric of software testing?
The benefit of statement coverage metric is that a) It does not require processing source code and can be applied directly to object code b) Bugs are distributed evenly through code, due to which percentage of executable statements covered reflects the percentage of faults discovered
145. How to generate test cases for replace string method?
a) If characters in new string > characters in previous string. None of the characters should get truncated b) If characters in new string< characters in previous string. Junk characters should not be added c) Spaces after and before the string should not be deleted d) String should be replaced only for the first occurrence of the string
146. How will you handle a conflict amogst your team members ?
I will talk individually to each person and note their concerns I will find solution to the common problems raised by team members I will hold a team meeting , reveal the solution and ask people to co-operate
147. Mention what are the categories of defects?
Mainly there are three defect categories Wrong: When requirement is implemented incorrectly Missing: It is a variance from the specification, an indication that a specification was not implemented or a requirement of the customer is not met Extra: A requirement incorporated into the product that was not given by the end customer. It is considered as a defect because it is a variance from the existing requirements
148. Explain how does a test coverage tool works?
The code coverage testing tool runs parallel while performing testing on the actual product. The code coverage tool monitors the executed statements of the source code. When the final testing is done we get a complete report of the pending statements and also get the coverage percentage.
149. Mention what is the difference between a "defect" and a "failure" in software testing?
In simple terms when a defect reaches the end customer it is called a failure while the defect is identified internally and resolved then it is referred as defect.
150. Explain how to test documents in a project that span across the software development lifecycle?
The project span across the software development lifecycle in following manner Central/Project test plan: It is the main test plan that outlines the complete test strategy of the project. This plan is used till the end of the software development lifecycle Acceptance test plan: This document begins during the requirement phase and is completed at final delivery System test plan: This plan starts during the design plan and proceeds until the end of the project Integration and Unit test plan: Both these test plans start during the execution phase and last until the final delivery
151. Explain which test cases are written first black boxes or white boxes?
Black box test cases are written first as to write black box test cases; it requires project plan and requirement document all these documents are easily available at the beginning of the project. While writing white box test cases requires more architectural understanding and is not available at the start of the project.
152. Explain what is the difference between latent and masked defects?
Latent defect: A latent defect is an existing defect that has not caused a failure because the sets of conditions were never met Masked defect: It is an existing defect that has not caused a failure because another defect has prevented that part of the code from being executed
153. Mention what is bottom up testing?
Bottom up testing is 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.
154. Mention what are the different types of test coverage techniques?
Different types of test coverage techniques include Statement Coverage: It verifies that each line of source code has been executed and tested Decision Coverage: It ensures that every decision in the source code is executed and tested Path Coverage: It ensures that every possible route through a given part of code is executed and tested
155. Mention what is the meaning of breadth testing?
Breadth testing is a test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does not test features in detail
156. Mention what is the difference between Pilot and Beta testing?
The difference between pilot and beta testing is that pilot testing is actually done using the product by the group of user before the final deployment and in beta testing we do not input real data, but it is installed at the end customer to validate if the product can be used in production.
157. Explain what is the meaning of Code Walk Through?
Code Walk Through is the informal analysis of the program source code to find defects and verify coding techniques
158. Mention what are the basic components of defect report format?
The basic components of defect report format includes Project Name Module Name Defect detected on Defect detected by Defect ID and Name Snapshot of the defect Priority and Severity status Defect resolved by Defect resolved on
159. Mention what is the purpose behind doing end-to-end testing?
End-to end testing is done after functional testing. The purpose behind doing end-to-end testing is that To validate the software requirements and integration with external interfaces Testing application in real world environment scenario Testing of interaction between application and database
160. Explain what it means by test harness?
A test harness is configuring a set of tools and test data to test an application in various conditions, it involves monitoring the output with expected output for correctness.
161. Explain in a testing project what testing activities would you automate?
In a testing project testing activities you would automate are Tests that need to be run for every build of the application Tests that use multiple data for the same set of actions Identical tests that needs to be executed using different browsers Mission critical pages Transaction with pages that do not change in short time
:- Can you explain the PDCA cycle and where testing fits in?
Software testing is an important part of the software development process. In normal software development there are four important steps, also referred to, in short, as the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle. Let's review the four steps in detail. Plan: Define the goal and the plan for achieving that goal. Do/Execute: Depending on the plan strategy decided during the plan stage we do execution accordingly in this phase. Check: Check/Test to ensure that we are moving according to plan and are getting the desired results. Act: During the check cycle, if any issues are there, then we take appropriate action accordingly and revise our plan again. So developers and other stakeholders of the project do the "planning and building," while testers do the check part of the cycle. Therefore, software testing is done in check part of the PDCA cyle.
:- What is the difference between white box, black box, and gray box testing?
Black box testing is a testing strategy based solely on requirements and specifications. Black box testing requires no knowledge of internal paths, structures, or implementation of the software being tested. White box testing is a testing strategy based on internal paths, code structures, and implementation of the software being tested. White box testing generally requires detailed programming skills. There is one more type of testing called gray box testing. In this we look into the "box" being tested just long enough to understand how it has been implemented. Then we close up the box and use our knowledge to choose more effective black box tests. The above figure shows how both types of testers view an accounting application during testing. Black box testers view the basic accounting application. While during white box testing the tester knows the internal structure of the application. In most scenarios white box testing is done by developers as they know the internals of the application. In black box testing we check the overall functionality of the application while in white box testing we do code reviews, view the architecture, remove bad code practices, and do component level testing.
:- Can you explain usability testing?
Usability testing is a testing methodology where the end customer is asked to use the software to see if the product is easy to use, to see the customer's perception and task time. The best way to finalize the customer point of view for usability is by using prototype or mock-up software during the initial stages. By giving the customer the prototype before the development start-up we confirm that we are not missing anything from the user point of view.
:- What are the categories of defects?
There are three main categories of defects: Wrong: The requirements have been implemented incorrectly. This defect is a variance from the given specification. Missing: There was a requirement given by the customer and it was not done. This is a variance from the specifications, an indication that a specification was not implemented, or a requirement of the customer was not noted properly. Extra: A requirement incorporated into the product that was not given by the end customer. This is always a variance from the specification, but may be an attribute desired by the user of the product. However, it is considered a defect because it's a variance from the existing requirements.
:- How do you define a testing policy?
The following are the important steps used to define a testing policy in general. But it can change according to your organization. Let's discuss in detail the steps of implementing a testing policy in an organization. Definition: The first step any organization needs to do is define one unique definition for testing within the organization so that everyone is of the same mindset. How to achieve: How are we going to achieve our objective?
Is there going to be a testing committee, will there be compulsory test plans which need to be executed, etc?
. Evaluate: After testing is implemented in a project how do we evaluate it?
Are we going to derive metrics of defects per phase, per programmer, etc. Finally, it's important to let everyone know how testing has added value to the project?
. Standards: Finally, what are the standards we want to achieve by testing?
For instance, we can say that more than 20 defects per KLOC will be considered below standard and code review should be done for it.
:- On what basis is the acceptance plan prepared?
In any project the acceptance document is normally prepared using the following inputs. This can vary from company to company and from project to project. Requirement document: This document specifies what exactly is needed in the project from the customers perspective. Input from customer: This can be discussions, informal talks, emails, etc. Project plan: The project plan prepared by the project manager also serves as good input to finalize your acceptance test. The following diagram shows the most common inputs used to prepare acceptance test plans.
:- What is configuration management?
Configuration management is the detailed recording and updating of information for hardware and software components. When we say components we not only mean source code. It can be tracking of changes for software documents such as requirement, design, test cases, etc. When changes are done in adhoc and in an uncontrolled manner chaotic situations can arise and more defects injected. So whenever changes are done it should be done in a controlled fashion and with proper versioning. At any moment of time we should be able to revert back to the old version. The main intention of configuration management is to track our changes if we have issues with the current system. Configuration management is done using baselines.
:- How does a coverage tool work?
While doing testing on the actual product, the code coverage testing tool is run simultaneously. While the testing is going on, the code coverage tool monitors the executed statements of the source code. When the final testing is completed we get a complete report of the pending statements and also get the coverage percentage.
:- Which is the best testing model?
In real projects, tailored models are proven to be the best, because they share features from The Waterfall, Iterative, Evolutionary models, etc., and can fit into real life time projects. Tailored models are most productive and beneficial for many organizations. If it's a pure testing project, then the V model is the best.
style = "color:green; background-color:lightblue;font-family : cursive; font-size:25px">:- What is the difference between a defect and a failure?
When a defect reaches the end customer it is called a failure and if the defect is detected internally and resolved it's called a defect.
:- Should testing be done only after the build and execution phases are complete?
In traditional testing methodology testing is always done after the build and execution phases. But that's a wrong way of thinking because the earlier we catch a defect, the more cost effective it is. For instance, fixing a defect in maintenance is ten times more costly than fixing it during execution. In the requirement phase we can verify if the requirements are met according to the customer needs. During design we can check whether the design document covers all the requirements. In this stage we can also generate rough functional data. We can also review the design document from the architecture and the correctness perspectives. In the build and execution phase we can execute unit test cases and generate structural and functional data. And finally comes the testing phase done in the traditional way. i.e., run the system test cases and see if the system works according to the requirements. During installation we need to see if the system is compatible with the software. Finally, during the maintenance phase when any fixes are made we can retest the fixes and follow the regression testing. Therefore, Testing should occur in conjunction with each phase of the software development.
:- Are there more defects in the design phase or in the coding phase?
The design phase is more error prone than the execution phase. One of the most frequent defects which occur during design is that the product does not cover the complete requirements of the customer. Second is wrong or bad architecture and technical decisions make the next phase, execution, more prone to defects. Because the design phase drives the execution phase it's the most critical phase to test. The testing of the design phase can be done by good review. On average, 60% of defects occur during design and 40% during the execution phase.
:- What group of teams can do software testing?
When it comes to testing everyone in the world can be involved right from the developer to the project manager to the customer. But below are different types of team groups which can be present in a project. Isolated test team Outsource - we can hire external testing resources and do testing for our project. Inside test team Developers as testers QA/QC team.
:- What impact ratings have you used in your projects?
Normally, the impact ratings for defects are classified into three types: Minor: Very low impact but does not affect operations on a large scale. Major: Affects operations on a very large scale. Critical: Brings the system to a halt and stops the show.
:- Does an increase in testing always improve the project?
No an increase in testing does not always mean improvement of the product, company, or project. In real test scenarios only 20% of test plans are critical from a business angle. Running those critical test plans will assure that the testing is properly done. The following graph explains the impact of under testing and over testing. If you under test a system the number of defects will increase, but if you over test a system your cost of testing will increase. Even if your defects come down your cost of testing has gone up.
:- What's the relationship between environment reality and test phases?
Environment reality becomes more important as test phases start moving ahead. For instance, during unit testing you need the environment to be partly real, but at the acceptance phase you should have a 100% real environment, or we can say it should be the actual real environment. The following graph shows how with every phase the environment reality should also increase and finally during acceptance it should be 100% real.
:- What are different types of verifications?
Verification is static type of s/w testing. It means code is not executed. The product is evaluated by going through the code. Types of verification are: Walkthrough: Walkthroughs are informal, initiated by the author of the s/w product to a colleague for assistance in locating defects or suggestions for improvements. They are usually unplanned. Author explains the product; colleague comes out with observations and author notes down relevant points and takes corrective actions. Inspection: Inspection is a thorough word-by-word checking of a software product with the intention of Locating defects, Confirming traceability of relevant requirements etc.
:- How do test documents in a project span across the software development lifecycle?
The following figure shows pictorially how test documents span across the software development lifecycle. The following discusses the specific testing documents in the lifecycle: Central/Project test plan: This is the main test plan which outlines the complete test strategy of the software project. This document should be prepared before the start of the project and is used until the end of the software development lifecycle. Acceptance test plan: This test plan is normally prepared with the end customer. This document commences during the requirement phase and is completed at final delivery. System test plan: This test plan starts during the design phase and proceeds until the end of the project. Integration and unit test plan: Both of these test plans start during the execution phase and continue until the final delivery.
:- Which test cases are written first: white boxes or black boxes?
Normally black box test cases are written first and white box test cases later. In order to write black box test cases we need the requirement document and, design or project plan. All these documents are easily available at the initial start of the project. White box test cases cannot be started in the initial phase of the project because they need more architecture clarity which is not available at the start of the project. So normally white box test cases are written after black box test cases are written. Black box test cases do not require system understanding but white box testing needs more structural understanding. And structural understanding is clearer i00n the later part of project, i.e., while executing or designing. For black box testing you need to only analyze from the functional perspective which is easily available from a simple requirement document.
:- Explain Unit Testing, Integration Tests, System Testing and Acceptance Testing?
Unit testing - Testing performed on a single, stand-alone module or unit of code. Integration Tests - Testing performed on groups of modules to ensure that data and control are passed properly between modules. System testing - Testing a predetermined combination of tests that, when executed successfully meets requirements. Acceptance testing - Testing to ensure that the system meets the needs of the organization and the end user or customer (i.e., validates that the right system was built).
:- What is a test log?
The IEEE Std. 829-1998 defines a test log as a chronological record of relevant details about the execution of test cases. It's a detailed view of activity and events given in chronological manner. The following figure shows a test log and is followed by a sample test log.
:- Can you explain requirement traceability and its importance?
In most organizations testing only starts after the execution/coding phase of the project. But if the organization wants to really benefit from testing, then testers should get involved right from the requirement phase. If the tester gets involved right from the requirement phase then requirement traceability is one of the important reports that can detail what kind of test coverage the test cases have.
:- What does entry and exit criteria mean in a project?
Entry and exit criteria are a must for the success of any project. If you do not know where to start and where to finish then your goals are not clear. By defining exit and entry criteria you define your boundaries. For instance, you can define entry criteria that the customer should provide the requirement document or acceptance plan. If this entry criteria is not met then you will not start the project. On the other end, you can also define exit criteria for your project. For instance, one of the common exit criteria in projects is that the customer has successfully executed the acceptance test plan.
:- What is the difference between verification and validation?
Verification is a review without actually executing the process while validation is checking the product with actual execution. For instance, code review and syntax check is verification while actually running the product and checking the results is validation.
:- What is the difference between latent and masked defects?
A latent defect is an existing defect that has not yet caused a failure because the sets of conditions were never met. A masked defect is an existing defect that hasn't yet caused a failure just because another defect has prevented that part of the code from being executed.
:- Can you explain calibration?
It includes tracing the accuracy of the devices used in the production, development and testing. Devices used must be maintained and calibrated to ensure that it is working in good order.
:- What's the difference between alpha and beta testing?
Alpha and beta testing has different meanings to different people. Alpha testing is the acceptance testing done at the development site. Some organizations have a different visualization of alpha testing. They consider alpha testing as testing which is conducted on early, unstable versions of software. On the contrary beta testing is acceptance testing conducted at the customer end. In short, the difference between beta testing and alpha testing is the location where the tests are done.
:- How does testing affect risk?
A risk is a condition that can result in a loss. Risk can only be controlled in different scenarios but not eliminated completely. A defect normally converts to a risk.
:- What is coverage and what are the different types of coverage techniques?
Coverage is a measurement used in software testing to describe the degree to which the source code is tested. There are three basic types of coverage techniques as shown in the following figure: Statement coverage: This coverage ensures that each line of source code has been executed and tested. Decision coverage: This coverage ensures that every decision (true/false) in the source code has been executed and tested. Path coverage: In this coverage we ensure that every possible route through a given part of code is executed and tested.
:- A defect which could have been removed during the initial stage is removed in a later stage. How does this affect cost?
If a defect is known at the initial stage then it should be removed during that stage/phase itself rather than at some later stage. It's a recorded fact that if a defect is delayed for later phases it proves more costly. The following figure shows how a defect is costly as the phases move forward. A defect if identified and removed during the requirement and design phase is the most cost effective, while a defect removed during maintenance is 20 times costlier than during the requirement and design phases. For instance, if a defect is identified during requirement and design we only need to change the documentation, but if identified during the maintenance phase we not only need to fix the defect, but also change our test plans, do regression testing, and change all documentation. This is why a defect should be identified/removed in earlier phases and the testing department should be involved right from the requirement phase and not after the execution phase.
:- What kind of input do we need from the end user to begin proper testing?
The product has to be used by the user. He is the most important person as he has more interest than anyone else in the project. From the user we need the following data: The first thing we need is the acceptance test plan from the end user. The acceptance test defines the entire test which the product has to pass so that it can go into production. We also need the requirement document from the customer. In normal scenarios the customer never writes a formal document until he is really sure of his requirements. But at some point the customer should sign saying yes this is what he wants. The customer should also define the risky sections of the project. For instance, in a normal accounting project if a voucher entry screen does not work that will stop the accounting functionality completely. But if reports are not derived the accounting department can use it for some time. The customer is the right person to say which section will affect him the most. With this feedback the testers can prepare a proper test plan for those areas and test it thoroughly. The customer should also provide proper data for testing. Feeding proper data during testing is very important. In many scenarios testers key in wrong data and expect results which are of no interest to the customer.
:- Can you explain the workbench concept?
In order to understand testing methodology we need to understand the workbench concept. A Workbench is a way of documenting how a specific activity has to be performed. A workbench is referred to as phases, steps, and tasks as shown in the following figure. There are five tasks for every workbench: Input: Every task needs some defined input and entrance criteria. So for every workbench we need defined inputs. Input forms the first steps of the workbench. Execute: This is the main task of the workbench which will transform the input into the expected output. Check: Check steps assure that the output after execution meets the desired result. Production output: If the check is right the production output forms the exit criteria of the workbench. Rework: During the check step if the output is not as desired then we need to again start from the execute step.
:- Can you explain the concept of defect cascading?
Defect cascading is a defect which is caused by another defect. One defect triggers the other defect. For instance, in the accounting application shown here there is a defect which leads to negative taxation. So the negative taxation defect affects the ledger which in turn affects four other modules.
:- Can you explain cohabiting software?
When we install the application at the end client it is very possible that on the same PC other applications also exist. It is also very possible that those applications share common DLLs, resources etc., with your application. There is a huge chance in such situations that your changes can affect the cohabiting software. So the best practice is after you install your application or after any changes, tell other application owners to run a test cycle on their application.
:- What is the difference between pilot and beta testing?
The difference between pilot and beta testing is that pilot testing is nothing but actually using the product (limited to some users) and in beta testing we do not input real data, but it's installed at the end customer to validate if the product can be used in production.
:- What are the different strategies for rollout to end users?
There are four major ways of rolling out any project: Pilot: The actual production system is installed at a single or limited number of users. Pilot basically means that the product is actually rolled out to limited users for real work. Gradual Implementation: In this implementation we ship the entire product to the limited users or all users at the customer end. Here, the developers get instant feedback from the recipients which allow them to make changes before the product is available. But the downside is that developers and testers maintain more than one version at one time. Phased Implementation: In this implementation the product is rolled out to all users in incrementally. That means each successive rollout has some added functionality. So as new functionality comes in, new installations occur and the customer tests them progressively. The benefit of this kind of rollout is that customers can start using the functionality and provide valuable feedback progressively. The only issue here is that with each rollout and added functionality the integration becomes more complicated. Parallel Implementation: In these types of rollouts the existing application is run side by side with the new application. If there are any issues with the new application we again move back to the old application. One of the biggest problems with parallel implementation is we need extra hardware, software, and resources.
:- What's the difference between System testing and Acceptance testing?
Acceptance testing checks the system against the "Requirements." It is similar to System testing in that the whole system is checked but the important difference is the change in focus: System testing checks that the system that was specified has been delivered. Acceptance testing checks that the system will deliver what was requested. The customer should always do Acceptance testing and not the developer. The customer knows what is required from the system to achieve value in the business and is the only person qualified to make that judgement. This testing is more about ensuring that the software is delivered as defined by the customer. It's like getting a green light from the customer that the software meets expectations and is ready to be used.
:- Can you explain regression testing and confirmation testing?
Regression testing is used for regression defects. Regression defects are defects occur when the functionality which was once working normally has stopped working. This is probably because of changes made in the program or the environment. To uncover such kind of defect regression testing is conducted. The following figure shows the difference between regression and confirmation testing. If we fix a defect in an existing application we use confirmation testing to test if the defect is removed. It's very possible because of this defect or changes to the application that other sections of the application are affected. So to ensure that no other section is affected we can use regression testing to confirm this.
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