Testing and Configuration Management
2005
Software is our lifeblood and the source of profound advances, but no one can deny that much of it is error-prone and likely to become more so with increasing complexity. Useful software is the abstraction of a problem and its solution, conditionally stable for the operational range that has been tested. That definition has spawned thousands of viewgraphs and millions of words, but still the stuff hangs and crashes. It may be obvious, but not trivial, to restate that untested systems will not work. Today testing is an art, whether it is the fine, meticulous art of debugging or the broader-brush scenario testing. The tools already exist for moving test design theory from an art form to the scientific role of The Price of Quality Unit Testing Integration Testing System Testing Reliability Testing Stress Testing Robust Testing Robust Design Prototypes Identify Expected Results Orthogonal Array Test Sets (OATS) Testing Techniques One-Factor-at-a-Time Exhaustive Deductive Analytical Method Random/Intuitive Method Orthogonal Array-Based Method Defect Analysis Case Study: The Case of the Impossible Overtime Cooperative Testing Graphic Footprint Testing Strategy Test Incrementally Test Under No Load Test Under Expected Load Test Under Heavy Load Test Under Overload Test the Error Recovery Code Diabolic Testing Reliability Tests Footprint Regression Tests Software Hot Spots Software Manufacturing Defined Configuration Management Outsourcing Test Modules Faster Iteration Meaningful Test Process Metrics