How to develop a checklist for unit, integration and system testing

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Software Testing and Quality Assurance Why do performance testers write new scripts so often? How to create performance testing workload models Fixing Web application performance troubleshooting problems Expert advises on implementation of Selenium IDE for effective software testing When should regression testing occur in an automated test plan? Achieving peak performance in integration testing Getting answers about OpenSTA script problems Defining core software regression tests Breaking in functionality on UI application pages Where to find good methodology guides for software testing Software unit testing Software testing deliverables: Developing a software testing strategy Evaluating the benefits of automated software testing Adopting continuous integration brings agility, other benefits Tools, standards address persistent quality assurance (QA) issues Increasing productivity with unit testing Don't write simplistic test cases Making unit testing a priority The Art of Debugging with GDB, DDD, and Eclipse -- Ch. 1 An approach to integration testing Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, Chapter 1 -- What Is Clean Code? Software integration testing Free Web proxy security tools software testers should get to know Ajax testing: Using available tools is key Building, using tests on Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Configuration testing: QA pros discuss 10 things you may not know What is system integration testing? What type of designs are needed to write integration test cases? Who is responsible for integration testing, developer or tester? Integration testing: Is it black box or white box testing? How to use tools for system integration testing An approach to integration testing

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary mock object  (SearchSoftwareQuality.com) unit testing  (SearchSoftwareQuality.com) V-Model  (SearchSoftwareQuality.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

Wow, this is a big question. As I sit here thinking about answering, I'm a little overwhelmed. My instincts tell me to ask a lot of questions, but I can't do that since Expert Q&A isn't that kind of forum. Instead, let me provide you with some resources that might help you ask a lot of questions. I suspect the best thing you can do is work to understand what's truly expected of you, and then based on your context, you'll be able to figure out what you need in place to get everyone on the same page.

When I'm faced with a new project and I'm not sure where to start, I normally pull out the Satisfice Heuristic Test Strategy Model. You can either think of this as a checklist of sorts (all the things you need to think about), or you can think of this like I do, the tool I use to help me build my strategies, plans and checklists. Each section of this document contains things you'll need to think about:

• Test techniques: What types of testing techniques will you be doing at each of the three stages (unit, integration and system)? What would you need to support those types of testing in terms of people, processes, tools, environments or data?
• Product elements: What product elements will you be covering in each of those stages? To what extent will different types of elements be covered in each stage? How will you measure that coverage, track it, manage it from a documentation and configuration management perspective?
• Quality criteria: What types of risks will your testing be looking for with each stage of testing? Will you look at performance at each level? What about security? How will you need to build environments, integrate with service providers, or find tools to do all the different types of testing you'll need to do?
• Project environment: What factors will be critical to your success and the success of the in-house team as you take over this work? How will you take in new work, structure your release schedules, or move code between teams, phases or environments?

Recognize that as you think of those questions, it's a matrix of concerns. A decision (or lack of decision) in each of those categories affects the scope of the decisions in the other three. So you'll most likely find yourself approaching the problem from different perspectives at different times. Then, each day as you learn a little bit more, you can continue to narrow the scope of the work, more clearly define what you think you'll need, and communicate that to the rest of the team.