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Introduction To Software Testing

Software testing is a field which many have heard of but have never had the chance to explore.

When you search on the internet you will find a lot of tutorials that will explain you about software testing, but there are a few which target the readers who are new in the world of software testing.

In this tutorial I will explain the basic keywords used in software testing and some real life examples which help you in understanding the basics of testing.

Before I define software testing I am taking a real life example

I am looking for a pen with following properties

Easy to hold
Smooth to write
Ink should not dry up
Pen should not leak in ideal state
Should be able to write 1500 pages

The above points are my requirements.

Now when the pen is made, manufacturer will verify the pen to make sure the pen will meet the above requirements. This is called testing.

Now according to the tradition here is the definition.

"Software Testing is the process of executing a program or system with the intent of finding errors. Or, it involves any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute or capability of a program or system and determining that it meets its required results."

Now there are some obvious questions that come to your mind

When does testing begin
When does Testing end

Let me try to answer the above questions

When Does Testing Begin?

Testing can begin as soon as requirements of the application/product are fixed. The first step would be to check if the requirements are correct. If there is a requirement that is not feasible, it would need to be changed.

Let us go back and take the example of the pen which we have mentioned earlier example if I want a pen that should write infinite pages i.e. it should last forever then this is not a feasible requirement and must be changed.

When Does Testing End?

We cannot define a definite point where no further testing is required. The reason is you can never know when something fails. If you have used a pen for 10 years, you may still want to test if it is still easy to hold, if its ink does not dry up and so on.

In order to define a point where testing is considered complete, we consider a few parameters. For example

We can stop testing after 3 weeks of starting it, or
When we have less than 2 defects in the product, or
When we have spent 100 rupees on testing processes.

One or more than one such parameters are used to decide when we can stop testing and roll out the product.

Test Cases

In order to formulize the process of testing, we need to prepare a set of steps that we shall perform while testing. Along with the steps we also mention what outcome we expect when we execute those steps.

Finally when the actual testing is carried out, we get actual results which we compare with the expected outcome. This helps us determine whether the specific test case passed or not.

A typical test case has the following components

Test case name	Test case description	Step no	Step descr	Expected Result	Actual Result	Pass/Fail	Tester	Date carried out	Created by

The columns can be added/removed according to the needs of the project. Here is a brief Example of some test cases written for a pen

Test case name	Test case description	Step no	Step descr	Expected Result	Actual Result	Pass/Fail	Tester	Date carried out	Created by
Pen testing	Testing the shape	1	Pick up the pen and hold it in writing position	1)The pen should be easy to grip2)The pen should not slip, fall from the hand	1)The pen is soft to grip2) The pen remains in hand.	Pass	Aman	Jan 1, 2010	Aman
Pen testing	Testing the ink	1	Try writing a few lines on a page with the pen	1)The writing should not be clotted2)The ink should not dry up during the test	1) The ink forms thick clot while writing2)The ink does not dry up while writing on the page.	Fail	Aman	Jan 2, 2010	Aman

Test Results/Test Reports

When the testing is carried out according to the test cases prepared, a number of test cases are passed (or failed). The information is also received whether the overall testing is passed or failed. These reports are necessary for the management to take decisions.

Posted By -	Amandeep Dhanjal

Posted On -	Saturday, July 10, 2010

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