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How Early, Proactive Test Planning Contributes to Project Success

How Early, Proactive Test Planning Contributes to Project Success. Based on a paper to be presented at the International Information Management Association in Dublin, Ireland - September, 2005. Presentation Outline. Introduction Brief primer on requirements Where does the test plan fit in?

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How Early, Proactive Test Planning Contributes to Project Success

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  1. How Early, Proactive Test Planning Contributes to Project Success Based on a paper to be presented at the International Information Management Association in Dublin, Ireland - September, 2005 Jim Nindel-Edwards

  2. Presentation Outline • Introduction • Brief primer on requirements • Where does the test plan fit in? • Addressing requirements issues with the test plan • Conclusion • Q & A, Comments, Discussion Jim Nindel-Edwards

  3. Survey of the Requirements Process • The importance of requirements • Just cannot succeed without them • Requirements can be missed • And too often are missed until late the process • Missed functional requirements vs. other types of requirements • Development methodologies can help, or hinder the requirements process • How can the test plan help? Jim Nindel-Edwards

  4. Requirements – Definitions Dorfman and Thayer (1990) • A software capability needed by the user to solve a problem to achieve an objective • A software capability that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed documentation Jim Nindel-Edwards

  5. Unknown Requirements Watts Humphrey (1990) “Each error, when found, is a surprise whose correction is both expensive and disruptive.” • Unknown “The users think they know what is wanted, but during initial use they discover that their real needs are not what they had thought.” • Misunderstood Requirements “Even when the requirements are known and stable, the implementers often do not understand them in the detail required to produce a satisfactory product.” Jim Nindel-Edwards

  6. What types of requirements are there anyway? • Functional – gets most of the attention • Application Architecture • Environmental • Standards • Functional needs - secondary user groups • Security Jim Nindel-Edwards

  7. Where does the Test Plan fit? Functional requirements: • Test what is supposed to work (of course) • Test what is not supposed to work (Negative testing) • Testing in priority sequence (Pri1, Pri2, etc.) • Regression Testing • Testing conflicting requirements (Rich feature set, ease of use) Jim Nindel-Edwards

  8. Application Architecture Target hardware and OS environments • Performance Test • Stress Test • Limits Testing • Target installation environment vs. actual implementation environment • How does the application respond to installation in unanticipated environments? Jim Nindel-Edwards

  9. Environmental Requirements • Glenford Myers’s Project Objective List • Efficiency • Compatibility • Security (more later) • Reliability • Maintainability • Upgradeability • Shared environments Jim Nindel-Edwards

  10. Standards Requirements • Standards – Abstractions of hardware and software • Target Operating System(s) • Target Hardware • Supported vs. non-supported environments • Industry standards (XML, SOAP, UDDI, etc.) • Validation that standards are met • Edge, boundary, and “corner” tests Jim Nindel-Edwards

  11. Secondary User Groups Secondary users are users also! • Installers, super users, DBAs • Testing the documentation for all types of users groups • Testing the installation, upgrade, rollback, and trouble shooting processes • Conversion and upgrades from other software packages and/or old versions • Reliability, efficiency, storage requirements Jim Nindel-Edwards

  12. Product and System Security • Security requirements – Application or Environment? • Security holes typically lie in-between these two areas • Making certain the security requirements are clearly documented, and testable • Continuous testing of security features, and searching for security holes • Tests must include all user groups Jim Nindel-Edwards

  13. Back to the test plan • Verify functionality, find defects • Use a checklist (handout) • Build the test plan early in the project, and keep it up to date • You will affect the requirements document in this process! • Test all aspects of the product at every milestone • Early test failure(s) need not indicate a poor product, just an “immature” product Jim Nindel-Edwards

  14. Conclusion • Not having a test plan is not a good idea! • Having a test plan, even late in the project, is better than not having one at all • At least you can document what was tested, and not tested, in the development process • Early test planning leads to more comprehensive tests earlier in the development process • Test plans at the very start of a project can uncover missing and misunderstood requirements before they add delays to the project Jim Nindel-Edwards

  15. Q & A, Comments, Suggestions • Question: What is a “good” bug? • And what might you change in your project to catch this one early? Jim Nindel-Edwards

  16. Thanks! • Jim Nindel-Edwards, SQA Lead, Costco Wholesale, Costco.com • Email: JimNE@ieee.org • My thanks to SASQAG • And my Graduate Advisor, Dr. Gerhard Steinke, Seattle Pacific University Jim Nindel-Edwards

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