Software QA

Testing where information about programming style, error-prone language constructs, and other programming knowledge is applied to select test data capable of detecting faults, either a specified class of faults or all possible faults.

A testing technique using input values at, just below, and just above, the defined limits of an input domain; and with input values causing outputs to be at, just below, and just above, the defined limits of an output domain.

The act or process of measuring. A figure, extent, or amount obtained by measuring.

The end user that pays for the product received, and receives the benefit from the use of the product.

The act of attempting to determine the cause of the symptoms of malfunctions detected by testing or by frenzied user complaints.

Ratio of the number of defects to program length (a relative number).

The process of examining a system or system component to determine the extent to which specified properties are present.

The inability of a system or system component to perform a required function within specified limits. A failure may be produced when a fault is encountered.

A graphical description of individual measured values in a data set that is organized according to the frequency or relative frequency of occurrence. A histogram illustrates the shape of the distribution of individual values in a data set along with information regarding the average and variation.

Incremental analysis occurs when (partial) analysis may be performed on an incomplete product to allow early feedback on the development of that product.

Grey box testing is a software testing technique that uses a combination of black box testing and white box testing. Gray box testing is not black box testing, because the tester does know some of the internal workings of the software under test. In grey box testing, the tester applies a limited number of test cases to the internal workings of the software under test. In the remaining part of the grey box testing, one takes a black box approach in applying inputs to the software under test and observing the outputs.

1. Tests designed to evaluate the machine/user interface. Are the communication device(s) designed in a manner such that the information is displayed in a understandable fashion enabling the operator to correctly interact with the system?

2. Usability testing is testing for 'user-friendliness'. Clearly this is subjective and depends on the targeted end-user or customer. User interviews, surveys, video recording of user sessions and other techniques can be used. Programmers and developers are usually not appropriate as usability testers.

Ad hoc testing is a testing approach; it is the least formal testing approach.

Sanity testing is performed whenever cursory testing is sufficient to prove the application is functioning according to specifications. This level of testing is a subset of regression testing.

It normally includes a set of core tests of basic GUI functionality to demonstrate connectivity to the database, application servers, printers, etc.

"Disaster recovery testing" is testing how well a system recovers from disasters, crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

An integration testing technique that tests the high-level components first using stubs for lower-level called components that have not yet been integrated and that stimulate the required actions of those components.

This method categorizes the inputs and outputs of a class in order to test them separately. This minimizes the number of test cases that have to be designed.

To determine the different categories to test, partitioning can be broken down as follows:

- State-based partitioning - categorizes class operations based on how they change the state of a class

- Attribute-based partitioning - categorizes class operations based on attributes they use

- Category-based partitioning - categorizes class operations based on the generic function the operations perform

Stochastic testing is the same as "monkey testing", but stochastic testing is a lot more technical sounding name for the same testing process.

Stochastic testing is black box testing, random testing, performed by automated testing tools. Stochastic testing is a series of random tests over time. The software under test typically passes the individual tests, but our goal is to see if it can pass a large number of individual tests.

Automated testing is a formally specified and controlled method of formal testing approach.

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That part of software testing that is assisted with software tool(s) that does not require operator input, analysis, or evaluation.