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11-Jul-08

COPYRIGHT NOTICECopyright © 2008 Polaris Software Lab LimitedAll rights reserved. These materials are confidential and proprietary to Polaris and no part of these materials should be reproduced, published in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy or any information storage or retrieval system nor should the materials be disclosed to third parties without the express written authorization of Polaris Software Lab Limited.

Software Testing Workshop

Manual Testing

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Presentation path

Test Planning

Test Preparation

Test Closure

Test Execution

Test Process

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Test planning

Understand Project, Functional & Testing

scope

Define Functional & Testing scope

Estimate effortsPrepare Test Plan

Prove your understanding Obtain sign off

4

Test planning

Understand Project, Functional & Testing

scope

Define Functional & Testing scope

Estimate effortsPrepare Test Plan

Prove your understanding

Best Practices

• Have a formal query-tracker and raise all queries through this tracker (no question is a stupid question if not asked again & again)

• Treat the module owner as a Subject Matter Authority

• Write out-of-scope in enough detail so that every one understands clearly. Otherwise, potentially, you are dropping off your guards.

• Understand the existing Test processes & Tools

• If working application is all what you have to refer – prepare a document and use this for traceability.

Risks

• Look for Requirement, Schedule, Effort, Test environment, Test Data related risks

Metrics

• Turnaround time for the query-response

• Checkpoint: At module level, do number of queries correspond to the complexity, ambiguity and size of the functionality

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Test planning

Understand Project, Functional & Testing

scope

Define Functional & Testing scope

Estimate effortsPrepare Test Plan

Prove your understanding

Best Practices

• Find out the defect density and factor it in effort estimate

• Assess and publish the productivity factors for key testing activities

• State the risks, issues and assumptions

• Invite all the stakeholders for reverse presentations

• Include functionality, testing scope, test process in the reverse presentation

Risks

• Interfaces, Data feeds, Batch jobs, Test environment components

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Test Preparation

Prepare Test scenarios, Test cases & Traceability

Detailed peer reviews

Document Test Data requirements

Obtain sign-off on the test artefacts

Best Practices

• Traceability is not an after-thought

• Negative test cases to include functionally-negative conditions

• Peer reviews can bring out >95% of the defects in the artefacts

• Understand the process and efforts behind test data preparation

• Walkthrough the test cases for critical & new functionality

Risks

• Gaps in test coverage

• Convoluted flow of test cases

Metrics

• Productivity: Number of Test cases per person-day / Tester

• Quality of the deliverable: Number of defects / Unit volume

• Review efficiency: Defects leaked %

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Test Execution

Execute Test cases

Log and Manage defects

Publish Progress & Status

Increase the rigor of testing as required

Best Practices

• Encourage exploratory testing along with formal Test case based testing

• Log defects after a thorough re-test and ensure defect details are impersonal, detailed & persuasive

• Accurate progress & status reporting

• Keep track of the test cases (a) that are incorrect, (b) that cannot be executed

Risks

• Test suspension, excessive re-testing, too many impeding defects, frequent builds, unstable test environment

Metrics

• Productivity: Number of Test cases executed per person-day

• Actual defect density found Vs assumed

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Test Closure

Publish Test report & recommendation

Conduct closure meeting

Handover to the BAU team

Best Practices

• Record the best practices & lessons learnt

Risks

Metrics

• Publish all the metrics: Schedule variance, Effort variance, Size variance, Test coverage, Defect density, Defect leakage, Process compliance Index

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Points to ponder…

• Test Strategy

• Early detection of defects

• Defect prevention

• Limitations of manual testing

Thank You

COPYRIGHT NOTICECopyright © 2008 Polaris Software Lab LimitedAll rights reserved. These materials are confidential and proprietary to Polaris and no part of these materials should be reproduced, published in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy or any information storage or retrieval system nor should the materials be disclosed to third parties without the express written authorization of Polaris Software Lab Limited.

For further details Please contact:Shyamala.balram@polaris.co.in

a.ginige@uws.edu.au