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Software Testing And Verification

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Running software testing projects is far more difficult than people outside of the software testing arena seem to realize. It is not uncommon for senior management, project management and development teams to adversely pressurize the test team to cut corners in order to meet delivery deadlines. Yes, everyone wants to release a quality product, on time and on budget. Believe it or not even the software testing team want to hit the delivery date, with a product that is on budget. Pushing the software testing team to cut corners is not the answer though.

It is easy to see that everyone involved with a development project wants to achieve the same goal and the same successful release, it is just that the test team are more cautious than most. And for good reason; Software testing is difficult! There is no set process that ensures a successful testing project and there are no software testing tools which guarantee a successful release. Yet despite these clearly obvious facts senior managers, project managers and

development teams always seem to think it is the software test team that can perform some magical act to bring a project back on schedule when project deliver schedules start to slip. Well they can't!

At least they can't if they continue to act professionally, accurately and effectively. The test team are, without question, the last check point prior to a company potentially releasing a product that destroys the companies reputation. That is no small responsibility to take on.

So why is it that it always falls on the software test team to bring in the schedule when projects start slipping? We'll, that isn't a difficult one to answer although there are a couple of reasons, one of which might surprise you. Firstly as testing commonly falls at the end of the development cycle the software testing component is the only area left where it is even possible to make up time. Secondly, and possibly more interestingly, those who have little knowledge of complexities of software testing (for example project mangers) think that a little less testing will only have a little impact on the quality of the product. How wrong that assumption can be!Releases of products with serious defects usually happen because the software test team are forced to cut corners.

The imprecise nature of software testing, and the pressure to cut corners, means it is very difficult to confidently target the test areas such that you minimize the risk of releasing with serious defects left uncovered. The very fact that we leave some areas of our testing incomplete means we have no idea about what we are leaving uncovered. Software testing tools can help but as in many walks of life it all comes down to a trade offs between quality and time, but with software testing the consequences of getting the trades offs wrong can be disastrous.

Software Testing And Verification

Let's take a look at some of the common mistakes or misconceptions that actually reflect on a Testers quality, his efficiency and effectiveness. A couple assumptions that are the key culprits are the assumption that all defects in the software product have been detected and that he or she are capable of testing the program completely.

Other misconceptions like "quality assurance is the responsibility of the testing team" and "the goal of testing is only to find bugs" can lead to a very unhealthy form of testing. Another mistake (usually associated with Junior Testers) is a rather careless approach to with regard to the detection of major bugs and the negligence in reporting usability issues.

In certain organizations more emphasis is given to the unit testing front carried out by the developers leading to the starting of the testing phase too late, This will usher a false sense of security or complacence that they at times even go to the extend of delaying or putting off the stress and load testing to the last minute. This results in the whole testing process being rendered ineffective.

From a testers point of view "incomplete evaluation of the related projects documentation", "ignoring the testing of installation procedures" and the "failure to identify risk areas accurately" can also lead to the degeneration of the effectiveness of the Test. Another common complaint that is encountered is the excessive attention that is paid to running the Test rather than designing and planning the same.

What are the characteristics of a Good Tester?

He or she should possess at least a minimum knowledge of software engineering. Often a Tester should be an expert in a number of areas. He or she should possess a substantial knowledge of the application that is tested. The tester should have a natural hyper-sensitivity to trivial things,

He should possess software engineering skills (understanding the rules of software engineering, knowing computer programming and having operating system level knowledge). Often a tester needs to be an expert in a number of areas, be steady to chaos and pressure of development, management, as well as pressure of different circumstances. While its ok for the tester skeptical of the developers claims, He should not take a Hostile Attitude!

Typically he should be capable of breaking the software with out feeling bad, possess detective skills and strong communication skills which include people skills, Tenacity and the capability to criticize and interpret the criticism is a mature manner.

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About Author

Both Grojan Fabiola & Prakash Chakkunny are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Grojan Fabiola has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Improvement, Information Technology and Estate Planning. Software testing is hard enough already, so why make it even harder and don't use a good and reliable like the free, open source one offered by. Grojan Fabiola's top article generates over 1830000 views. to your Favourites.

Prakash Chakkunny has sinced written about articles on various topics from Software, Computers and The Internet and computers and the internet. The Author Prakash.T.C is a support manager at. Prakash Chakkunny's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.

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