in this issue
The Value of Software Testing to Business: The Dead Moose on the Table
by Gerald D. Everett, Ph.D.
Article Goal – to initiate discussion in the testing profession community that culminates in a concise, measurable definition of the value of software testing to business.
Rule-Based Design Reviews:
Objective Design Reviews and Using Evolutionary Quantified Continuous Feedback to Judge Designs
by Tom Gilb
Design reviews would benefit from the support of formal rules. By the use of relevant rules, it should be possible to ensure prior to a review that all the relevant information for a review is present in the design specifications, and that all the minimum review criteria are met. This will ensure management time is not wasted and aid better decision-making. This paper recommends that the Specification Quality Control (SQC) method be used to do this additional quality control. In addition, this paper outlines the impact of Evolutionary Project Management (Evo) on the design review process.
Turning Software Testing into the Backbone of your Quality Assurance System
by Thierry Duchamp
This article describes an efficient way to create a global quality improvement programme based on an existing testing strategy. This approach drastically improves the quality of the software which will be apparent to customers or end-users. This approach uses a global quality system (e.g. CMM-I) that guarantees coherency of quick-wins in a longer term quality improvement programme.
Requirements-Based Testing – Ambiguity Reviews
by Gary E. Mogyorodi, B.Math., M.B.A.
This article provides an overview of the Requirements-Based Testing (RBT) process. RBT is a rigorous process for improving the quality of requirements and for deriving the minimum number of test cases to cover 100% of those requirements. RBT is comprised of two techniques: Ambiguity Reviews and Cause-Effect Graphing.
Surveying Test Strategies: A Guide to Smart Selection and Blending
by Rex Black
A test strategy provides a set of organizing principles for testing, as well as a project-independent methodology for testing. In some cases, the test strategy is documented. However, in this article, I won’t examine how to document test strategies, but rather start at the beginning by discussing types of test strategies.
Finally Usability Testing?
by Erik van Veenendaal
I recently came upon some case study papers regarding usability testing of web site. I assume that this means (some) attention is provided to one of the most critical success factors for websites: usability and thus usability testing. In fact usability has been identified in various surveys as one of the main reason for project success in any IT project!
Requirements and test management: More safety in vehicles through traceable testing
by Norbert Ruck, Ralf Lulei, Thorsten Geiselhart and Gerd Rockweiler
Testing is generally understood as concerned with finding defects in systems under development. The objective is to gain confidence in knowing whether a technical development functions as expected and whether it behaves in a consistent manner.
Implementing a new test management platform is not child’s play, but it shouldn’t be rocket science either…
by Joel Montvelisky
Test management platforms have evolved and became more complex over the past 10 years. What started as simple bug and test tracking tables have become intricate process and information management systems integrating the Testing Team with its Development and Project Management counterparts.
Traceable Knowledge by enhancing Requirements Management
by Heiko Köppen
Different studies come to the following conclusion: approximately half of all system problems can be explained by unsatisfactory dealing with requirements[1],[2],[3]. The appreciation of the concept of “Requirements Engineering” frequently confines itself to customer requirements.
Treasuries from the dump -
The software tester as an IT-archaeologist
by Dr. Konrad Schlude
What has archaeology to do with software testing? From a simplified point of view, archaeology is about finding, securing, and interpreting human artefacts; software testing is about deriving test cases and running these test cases in a test environment.
The Future of Software Security
by Prof. Dr. Sachar Paulus
Today’s IT Security business is mainly dominated by the fact that there are companies that make a huge amount of money with the fact that standard software is inherently insecure. There are a couple of initiatives underway that will change this picture sustainably.
The T2 test framework at InterComponentWare: All tools in one box
by Torsten Zimmermann
The quality assurance of applications is now more than ever a factor that is critical to success. In ensuring the quality of software it is important to follow a comprehensive and structured test concept. This must be an integral part of the design and development process right from the start in order to be able to exclude errors and performance problems from applications even before they go into operation – not an easy task for the responsible IT departments.
Testing - the easy way
by Chris Rupp
Before beginning to write a program – let alone test it – you’ve got to have a clear idea of what the program is going to be about, which needs it will fulfill and just how it’s going to do so. That’s where requirements engineering comes in.
Test management in different Software development life cycle models
by Dieter Arnouts
Software development has gone through a lot of changes, different models have been and are being to build applications in the most efficient way depending on the requirements and specifications.
Each model has its own characteristics that influence the way of testing. Test management differs every time. Therefore an insight into the used development life cycle is important to guarantee qualitative testing output and therefore also a qualitative end product.
This article gives an overview of some of the most commonly used software development lifecycle models and how to adapt the test (management) process to development.
Testing Web Services with TTCN-3
by Theofanis Vassiliou-Gioles
Web Service technology is gaining more and more importance in the design and operation of new IT services. Therefore, a thorough testing of both single Web Service as well as whole services is a crucial factor for the complete business case.
Test management with ITIL v3®
by Björn Lemke
ITIL® is a library with concepts for the management of IT services. Since the middle of the 1980s it has been developed by the British “Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency” (CCTA), today part of the “Office of Government Commerce” (OGC). The most recent version is version 3, which was published in May 2007.
Mind the gap
between Test Strategy and Execution
by Erik Runhaar
“We want 100% coverage of all functions. This means 100% service readiness, overall”. This was a statement I heard an airplane-factory manager say to the R&D department of an ERP software house.
Yaron’s Forecourt Testing Organizations:
The Stability Challenge
by Yaron Tsubery
I am pleased to welcome you to my forecourt, and would like to invite you to take an active part in discussing subjects that will be raised in this and coming columns.
