Software Testing : A Guide to the TMap Approach

by Pol, Martin; Teunissen, Ruud; Van Veenendaal, Erik

• ISBN13: 9780201745719
• ISBN10: 0201745712
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Summary

Software Testing: A Guide to the TMapreg; Approach Martin Pol, Ruud Teunissen, Erik can VeenENDaal Testing is an essential part of the software development lifecycle, focusing on issues that must be addressed before the information system goes into production. Have all parts and characteristics of the information system been checked sufficiently? Have issues such as suitability, performance and security been looked at? Have all defects been corrected without any new ones being introduced during the re-work process? It is crucial that these questions are not left unanswered until the final stages, therefore, a well-structured and reliable test process is required. TMap (Test Management approach) is a well-established and internationally proven methodology, having been developed in the Netherlands and Belgium by IQUIP Informatica B.V, a softwaretesting specialist. It will help save your company time and money by producing well-designed, reliable quality systems. As the method is non-proprietary and is indepENDent of any development method and platform, you can adapt it to suit your organization and its specific requirements. If you are directly involved in the test process, Software Testing: A Guide to the Tmapreg; Approach is for you. It will: bull; bull;Introduce you to the method and take you through it step-by-step bull; bull;Enable you to address organizational issues and how to deal with them, including functions within a team, training, consulting and administration of the process bull; bull;Cover practical infrastructure issues, like the option of using an automation tool to aid the test process bull;Outline the different development situations in which TMap has been used, for example, client server, GUI, Object-Oriented, ERP and web-enabled, and give tips on what problems to look out for in each one Features: bull; bull;A running case study, including a test plan using a real-life example bull;A companion website containing updated examples, test case templates, documentation and checklists bull;Foreword by Dorothy Graham About the AUTHORs: Martin Pol is both CEO and senior consultant of Polteq International Testing Services B.V. and an advisor to the R&D department of IQUIP Informatica B.V. He has had over 25 years' experience in structured testing and was involved in the development of Tmap. Martin is a highly regarded lecturer and speaker throughout the world and has twice chaired the EuroSTAR conference. He has recently received the European Testing Excellence Award for his contribution to the field of testing. Ruud Teunissen is an international test consultant for IQUIP Informatica B.V. and Gitek, Belgium. He has an outstanding track record in test management and test consultancy and is a regular speaker at international conferences. Erik van VeenENDaal is a co-founder of Improve Quality Services and is also a lecturer and researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty of Technology Management. He is the AUTHOR of a number of software quality and testing books, a regular speaker at conferences and is a leading trainer in the field of software testing.

Author Biography

Martin Pol is both CEO and senior consultant of Polteq International Testing Services B.V. and an advisor to the R&D department of IQUIP Informatica B.V. Ruud Teunissen is an international test consultant for IQUIP Informatica B.V. and Gitek, Belgium Erik van Veenendaal is a co-founder of Improve Quality Services and is also a lecturer and researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty of Technology Management

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xviii
Recommendations	xix
Part I General principles	1	(52)
Introduction	3	(4)
What is testing?	3	(1)
Why use testing?	4	(1)
Where does testing fit in?	5	(2)
Framework and importance	7	(6)
The aim of testing	7	(1)
What testing is not	8	(2)
Quality management and testing	10	(1)
The quality of information systems	11	(2)
The context of testing	13	(12)
Dynamic explicit testing	13	(1)
Dynamic implicit testing	13	(1)
Static testing	14	(1)
Test levels and techniques	14	(4)
The development and test process	18	(1)
Boundaries between test levels	19	(2)
Test types	21	(4)
Structured testing	25	(10)
Unstructured testing: findings	25	(3)
Structured testing: recommendations	28	(3)
The four cornerstones of a structured approach to testing	31	(2)
TMap	33	(2)
TMap in a nutshell	35	(18)
Testing as a process	35	(2)
Lifecycle	37	(6)
Techniques	43	(3)
Infrastructure	46	(3)
Organization	49	(4)
Part II Lifecycle	53	(76)
Introduction to the lifecycle	55	(2)
The cornerstones	55	(1)
Test levels	55	(1)
Describing the lifecycle	56	(1)
Master test planning	57	(14)
Introduction	57	(1)
Scope	58	(1)
Preconditions	59	(1)
Procedure	60	(1)
Activities	60	(11)
Lifecycle of high-level tests	71	(40)
Introduction	71	(1)
Planning and control phase	71	(19)
Preparation phase	90	(4)
Specification phase	94	(6)
Execution phase	100	(5)
Completion phase	105	(6)
Lifecycle of low-level tests	111	(18)
Introduction	111	(1)
Characteristics of low-level testing	111	(1)
Is there more structure and depth of testing in low-level testing?	112	(2)
Planning and control phase	114	(9)
Preparation phase	123	(1)
Specification phase	123	(1)
Execution phase	124	(1)
Completion phase	125	(1)
Coordination between low-level tests	125	(4)
Part III Techniques	129	(182)
Introduction to the techniques	131	(4)
The cornerstones	131	(1)
Planning and control phase	132	(1)
Preparation phase	132	(1)
Specification phase	133	(1)
Execution phase	133	(1)
Completion phase	133	(2)
Development of a test strategy	135	(22)
Introduction	135	(1)
Risk assessment	136	(2)
Quality characteristics	138	(5)
Procedure	143	(14)
Test point analysis and estimation	157	(22)
Introduction	157	(1)
Philosophy	157	(2)
Global procedure	159	(1)
Principles	160	(1)
Test point analysis: details of the technique	161	(12)
Test point analysis at an early stage	173	(1)
Test point analysis calculation example	173	(3)
Other estimation techniques	176	(3)
Testability review of the test basis	179	(12)
Introduction	179	(1)
Procedure	179	(2)
Test-specification techniques checklist	181	(4)
High-level test checklists	185	(3)
Low-level test checklists	188	(3)
Inspections	191	(6)
Introduction	191	(1)
Advantages	192	(1)
Procedure	192	(5)
Test-specification techniques	197	(80)
Why use test-specification techniques?	197	(1)
Generic description of the steps	198	(1)
Characteristics	199	(8)
Algorithm test	207	(5)
Data combination test	212	(7)
Data cycle test	219	(4)
Decision table test	223	(14)
Elementary comparison test	237	(9)
Error guessing	246	(1)
Process cycle test	247	(8)
Program interface test	255	(4)
Real-life test	259	(4)
Semantic test	263	(5)
Syntactic test	268	(9)
Checklists for quality characteristics	277	(20)
Introduction	277	(1)
Connectivity	278	(1)
Continuity	279	(5)
Data controllability	284	(1)
Flexibility	284	(1)
(Suitability of) infrastructure	285	(1)
Maintainability	286	(1)
Manageability	287	(3)
Portability	290	(1)
Reusability	290	(1)
Security	291	(2)
Testability	293	(2)
User-friendliness	295	(2)
Other checklists	297	(14)
Introduction	297	(1)
Test project evaluation	298	(2)
Global investigation of the information system	300	(1)
Preconditions and assumptions	301	(1)
Test project risks	302	(1)
Structuring	303	(3)
Test facilities	306	(2)
Production release	308	(3)
Part IV Organization	311	(106)
Introduction to the organization	313	(4)
Test organization	313	(1)
Strategic level	313	(1)
Tactical level	314	(1)
Operational level	314	(1)
Note	315	(1)
Set-up of the organization	315	(2)
Test roles	317	(20)
Testing	317	(1)
Team leader	318	(2)
Test management	320	(1)
Methodology support	321	(2)
Technical support	323	(2)
Subject matter support	325	(1)
Intermediary	326	(1)
Control	327	(1)
Test regulation	328	(1)
Monitoring	329	(1)
Coordination and advice	330	(3)
System management support	333	(1)
Application integrator	333	(1)
Test automation architect	334	(1)
Test automation engineer	335	(2)
Staff and training	337	(8)
Staff	337	(2)
Training	339	(2)
Career perspectives	341	(4)
Organizational structure	345	(10)
Synergy	345	(1)
Test roles and tasks	345	(1)
A universal organizational structure?	346	(1)
Methods and considerations	347	(5)
Consultation structures	352	(3)
Test control	355	(28)
Introduction	355	(1)
Control of the test process	356	(8)
Control of the test infrastructure	364	(2)
Control of test deliverables	366	(3)
Defect management	369	(10)
Control and quality management	379	(4)
Metrics	383	(8)
Introduction	383	(1)
The goal-question-metric method in six steps	384	(2)
Hints and tips	386	(1)
Practical starting set of test metrics	387	(2)
Checklist of test object metrics	389	(1)
Checklist of metrics for the benefit of the test process	389	(2)
Structuring: the implementation of TMap	391	(12)
Introduction	391	(1)
The process of test structuring	392	(5)
Organization of the change process	397	(1)
Required knowledge and skills	398	(1)
Resistance	399	(1)
Benefits and costs	400	(1)
Critical factors	400	(3)
The test process improvement model	403	(14)
Introduction	403	(1)
Description	403	(14)
Part V Infrastructure	417	(32)
Test environments	419	(10)
Introduction	419	(1)
Types of test environment	420	(4)
Choices and considerations	424	(2)
Facilities for the construction and use of test files	426	(3)
Test tools	429	(18)
Introduction	429	(1)
A closer look at test tools	430	(1)
Advantages	431	(1)
Considerations	431	(1)
Overview of test tools	432	(8)
Automation of the execution of tests	440	(7)
Office environment	447	(2)
Office space	447	(1)
Workspaces	447	(1)
Access control	448	(1)
Catering	448	(1)
Part VI Variations	449	(56)
Variations on the theme	451	(54)
Introduction	451	(1)
Variations	452	(1)
Testing in maintenance situations	452	(2)
Integrated testing	454	(3)
Client/server testing	457	(8)
Graphical user interfaces	465	(1)
Object-oriented development	466	(6)
Rapid application development and evolutionary system development	472	(5)
General impact	477	(1)
Testing packages	478	(9)
Testing e-business	487	(18)
Appendix A Model of a test plan	505	(20)
Appendix B ISO/IEC 9126-1 quality characteristics	525	(6)
Glossary	531	(8)
Bibliography	539	(6)
References	545	(2)
Software Control	547	(2)
Gitek nv	549	(2)
Index	551

Excerpts

TMap: the book The TMap T est M anagement ap proach is based on years of practical software testing experiences and developed by the R&D department of IQUIP Informatica B.V. It enjoyed an overwhelming interest from its first publication in Dutch in 1995. Many companies and government departments arranged their organization and performed their test processes as much as possible according to TMap. Within a few years, it became the standard for software testing within the Dutch-speaking countries. The generic approach of the model offers ample space to tune the TMap standard to specific applications and organizational needs. TMap withstands the frequent innovations in IT since one of its main advantages is the possibility to create extensions for progressing IT developments, such as object orientation (OO), enterprise resource planning (ERP), component-based development (CBD), test automation, the Internet, etc. In 1998, the English summary ‘Structured testing: an introduction to TMap' was published. It caught the attention of several international organizations, and the demand for the complete English version became enormous, especially through the well-attended TMap-courses. These courses are successfully organized in the Benelux and other parts of the world (UK, USA, Scandinavia, etc.). Through these courses and, in particular, the continuously increasing international use of the TMap approach, the number of TMap experts is constantly growing, thereby creating an unprecedented flow of information on the application of TMap within different organizations and projects. As authors, we felt obliged to gather all experiences and new developments and share them with the TMap user community: publications in the press and on the Internet; papers, tutorials and track presentations at international test conferences; publication of the German version and TMap-related books regarding test process improvement (TPI); test automation; and finally the reviewed Dutch edition of the standard in 1999. But the demand of the English-speaking community kept on growing. The authors are proud to present this book: the first complete English version of testing according to TMap. We wish you success in applying TMap, and are keen to share your experiences and critics. Let us continue to improve the testing profession and, by doing so, help the IT industry to introduce even better products to society. TMap: the approach This book describes TMap as the approach for the structured (white-box and black-box) testing of information systems. It answers the what, when, how, by what, and by whom questions regarding testing. In order to make the design and execution of test processes more structured, TMap is based on four cornerstones related to those questions. The ‘what/when' questions are answered by the lifecycle model , a description of the test cycle related to the development cycle. The ‘how' question is answered in the description of the techniques for planning, preparation and execution of several tests. The ‘by what' question is considered in the description of the infrastructure . And the description of the organization

Rewards Program

Currently unavailable