The increasing size, complexity, and strategic importance of software systems in the business environment, coupled with increasing customer expectations for receiving fault-free, requirements-exact software solutions have resulted in an increased visibility of the importance of testing as a critical software quality activity.

This course will provide participants with practical solutions to real-world testing issues and problems, and will present a life cycle approach for systematically performing the testing process in an effective and timely manner.

What You Will Learn

• How to view testing as a formal process
• How to establish a systematic testing process
• Step-by-step guidelines for performing effective testing
• Testing roles & responsiblities
• Techniques for designing effective tests
• Practical testing standards and documentation
• Testing deliverables and work products

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for technical managers, testers, developers and quality assurance analysts who are involved in planning or performing the testing of software applications.

Course Outline

Introduction to Software Testing

• What we know about software quality & testing
• Quality & testing economics
• Factors that influence defect correction costs

The Life Cycle Approach to Software Testing

• Traditional vs. life cycle testing approaches
• Benefits of a life cycle approach
• Typical defects introduced at each development phase & how to avoid them
• Tester tasks & deliverables at each phase of the project life cycle

Software Testing Principles

• Testing definitions
• Common testing misconceptions
• Understanding the limitations of testing
• Testing levels, objectives & responsibilities
• 10 principles for more effective software testing
• How to organize an independent test team

Test Design Techniques --- Part 1

• Principles of systematic test design
• Estimating how many tests are required
• Deriving tests from requirements
• Black-box testing techniques
  • Equivalence class testing
  • Extreme point testing
  • Decision tables & trees
  • Scenario-based testing
• Test allocation techniques

Test Design Techniques --- Part 2

• Things developers can do to make testing easier
• Understanding design & code testability metrics
• Goals for program-level testing
• Establishing coverage criteria
• Structural testing techniques

Test Planning & Documentation

• Types of test documentation
• Sample documentation formats
• Step-by-step planning & documentation tasks
• Developing test schedules

Seminar Length: 2 Days