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Testing is not a phase. Software developers should not simply throw software over the wall to test engineers when the developers have finished coding. A coordinated program of peer reviews and testing not only supplements a good software development process, it supports it.
A good testing life cycle begins during the requirements elucidation phase of software development, and concludes when the product is ready to install or ship following a successful system test.
Nevertheless, there is no one true way to test software; the best one can hope for is to possess a formal testing process that fits the needs of the testers as well as those of the organization and its customers.
A formal test plan is more than an early step in the software testing process—it's a vital part of your software development life cycle. This book presents a series of tasks to help you develop a formal testing process model, as well as the inputs and outputs associated with each task. These tasks include:
Whether you are an experienced test engineer looking for ways to improve your testing process, a new test engineer hoping to learn how to perform a good testing process, a newly assigned test manager or team leader who needs to learn more about testing, or a process improvement leader, this book will help you maximize your effectiveness.
Preface to Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process: A Menu of Testing Tasks
Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 3 and Index)
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
Chapter 1: Introduction 3
1.1: Overview 3
1.2: The Software Development Life Cycle 4
1.3: The Formal Testing Life Cycle 6
1.4: Organizational Considerations 11
1.5: The Need for the Process Model 16
1.6: How to Use the Formal Testing Process Model 17
1.7: Input-Process-Output Models 21
1.8: Level 0 IPO Model for Formal Testing 24
1.9: Level 1 IPO Model for Formal Testing 25
1.10: Limitations Inherent in This Book's Scope 26
1.11: What's Next? 27
Chapter 2: The Formal Testing Process Model: Level 1 IPO Diagrams 28
2.1: Overview 28
2.2: Extract Test Information from Program Plans–Level 1 IPO Diagram 28
2.3: Create Test Plan 34
2.4: Create Test Design, Test Cases, Test Software, and Test Procedures 39
2.5: Perform Formal Test 43
2.6: Update Test Documentation 47
2.7: What's Next? 50
Chapter 3: Extract Test Information from Program Plans: Levels 2 and 3 IPO Diagrams 51
3.1: Overview 51
3.2: Extract Test Information from Program Plans–Level 2 IPO Diagram 52
3.3: Review Program Management Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 56
3.4: Review Quality Assurance Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 60
3.5: Review Software Development Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 64
3.6: Review Configuration Management Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 69
3.7: What's Next? 72
Chapter 4: Create Test Plan: Levels 2 and 3 IPO Diagrams 73
4.1: Overview 73
4.2: Create Test Plan–Level 2 IPO Diagram 74
4.3: Analyze Requirements–Level 3 IPO Diagram 78
4.4: Write Test Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 83
4.5: Review Test Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 89
4.6: What's Next? 93
Chapter 5: Create Test Design, Test Cases, Test Software, and Test Procedures: Levels 2 and 3 IPO Diagrams 94
5.1: Overview 94
5.2: Create Test Design, Test Cases, Test Software, and Test Procedures–Level 2 IPO Diagram 95
5.3: Review Test Plan–Level 3 IPO Diagram 102
5.4: Create Test Design–Level 3 IPO Diagram 105
5.5: Review Test Design–Level 3 IPO Diagram 109
5.6: Create Test Cases–Level 3 IPO Diagram 113
5.7: Acquire Test Software-Build–Level 3 IPO Diagram 119
5.8: Acquire Test Software-Buy–Level 3 IPO Diagram 123
5.9: Create Test Procedures–Level 3 IPO Diagram 126
5.10: What's Next? 131
Chapter 6: Perform Formal Test: Levels 2 and 3 IPO Diagrams 132
6.1: Overview 132
6.2: Perform Formal Test–Level 2 IPO Diagram 133
6.3: Hold Pretest Meeting–Level 3 IPO Diagram 137
6.4: Execute Test–Level 3 IPO Diagram 141
6.5: Determine Disposition of Incidents–Level 3 IPO Diagram 146
6.6: Hold Posttest Meeting–Level 3 IPO Diagram 151
6.7: Write Test Report–Level 3 IPO Diagram 155
6.8: What's Next? 159
Chapter 7: Update Test Documentation: Levels 2 and 3 IPO Diagrams 160
7.1: Overview 160
7.2: Update Test Documentation–Level 2 IPO Diagram 161
7.3: Analyze Test Documentation Problems–Level 3 IPO Diagram 164
7.4: Update Test Documents–Level 3 IPO Diagram 167
7.5: Review and Approve Software Test Documents–Level 3 IPO Diagram 170
7.6: What's Next? 173
Chapter 8: Tailoring the Model 174
8.1: Overview 174
8.2: Using the Testing Process Model for Large, Safety-Critical, or Profit-Critical Programs 175
8.3: Using the Testing Process Model for Medium-Size Programs 178
8.4: Using the Testing Process Model on Small Projects 179
8.5: Using the Process Model with Extreme Programming 181
8.6: Starting from Scratch 183
Chapter 9: Summing Up 188
9.1: Reprise: How to Use the Testing Process Model 188
9.2: Summary Thoughts 193
9.3: Conclusion 196
Appendices 197
Appendix A: The Software Engineering Institute, the Capability Maturity Model-Software, and the Capability Maturity Model Integration 199
A. 1: The Capability Maturity Model from the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University 199
A.2: Capability Maturity Model Integration 202
Appendix B: Preferred Practices 204
B.1: Program Management Plan and Template 204
B.2: Software Development Plan and Template 213
B.3: Software Quality Assurance Plan and Template 221
B.4: Configuration Management Plan and Template 229
Appendix C: Questionnaire for Evaluating Local Testing Processes 249
C.1: Extract Test Information from Program Plans 249
C.2: Create Test Plan 252
C.3: Create Test Design, Test Cases, Test Software, and Test Procedures 254
C.4: Perform Formal Test 257
C.5: Update Test Documentation 259
Appendix D: A Primer for Test Execution 260
Glossary 267
Bibliography 275
Index 281