Software Engineering Resources
	Software Testing Methods Once source code has been generated, software must be tested to uncover (and correct) as many errors as possible before delivery to your customer. Your goal is to design a series of test cases that have a high likelihood of finding errors - but how? That's where software testing techniques enter the picture. These techniques provide systematic guidance for designing tests that: (1) exercise the internal logic of software components, and (2) exercise the input and output domains of the program to uncover errors in program function, behavior, and performance. Resource presented in this section address the following topic categories: Testing Basics Testing Resources (Hotlists) Testing Papers and Articles - General Testing Methods Testing Patterns Object-Oriented Testing Methods Books Testing Basics Software testing An indepth discussion at Wikipedia. What is Software Testing? A brief discussion that provides a "definition" of software testing. An Introduction to Software Testing A reasonably detailed introduction to the topic. Consider both strategy (process) and tactics (methods). Test Method Definitions Descriptions of key testing methods along with additional testing resources and information comp.software.testing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Basic questions of software testing are answered here. Testing Best Practices (pdf) An downloadable, in-depth paper on Testing Best Practices. Effective Software Testing - A Guide 50 specific ways to improve software testing. Software Testing Techniques Diagram A useful diagram that provides a visual taxonomy of testing techniques. Testing Resources Software Testing Resources - 1 Excellent collection of links and papers on software testing developed by Bret Pettichord. Many useful pointers to test automation sources. Recommended. Software Testing Resources - 2 Pointers to a variety of papers on test case design. Software Testing Resources - 3 The Google hot list for software testing. Software Testing Resources - 4 Compiled by The Computer Information Center. Software Testing Resources - 5 A comprehensive collection of links provided by Construx. Software Testing Methodolog A worthwhiole collection of links that has a techniques and methods focus. Recommended. Usability Testing Methods and Tools Contains pointers to usability testing resources. Software testing Methods Videos Pointers to a variety of online videos on software testing methods White Box Testing Resources Pointers to techniques and tools. Testing Papers and Articles - General A survey of Software testing Excellent introduction at Wikipedia. Recommended. Software Testing A survey of software testing developed at CMU. Recommended. pdf: Software Testing Best Practices A paper that lists 28 best practices for software testing pdf: Software Testing An in depth discussion of principles, concepts, strategies, methods, metrics and more. Software Testing Wiki "This Wiki is a central place where you can find useful information about software testing. This includes information about Types of Testing such as Load Testing, some information on Testing tools, links to other useful testing resources and a testing glossary." pdf: Reusable Software Component Design: Validation testing A discussion of validation testing of reusable components. Software Testing by Statistical Methods A summary of research at NIST. Includes links for downloadable papers. Evolution of software testing techniques A useful discussion with a few worthwhile pointers to other sources. An Evaluation Scheme of Software Testing Techniques A dated, but still worthwhile papers on test techniques characteristics. Software Testing Tutorial A multipart tutorial on testing along with pointers to other articles. Recommended. The Testing Techniques Newsletter An excellent source of information on testing methods. Better Software Magazine A print source whose web site presented feature articles on testing and QA issues. Software Testing Information Sources Articles on black-box and white box testing methods. Software Testing and QA Addresses criteria for effective testing, testing "screwed up" code, writing test cases, patterns and much more. Recommended. Bug Tracking and Defect Tracking Contains quality assurance/testing links with an emphasis on bug tracking and defect tracking tools, articles, sites, books, forums and related subjects. Recommended. Automated Combinatorial Testing for Software - beyond pairwise testing An advanced topics article by NIST. Object Oriented Test Strategy for Web Applications A slide show that address WebApp testing from an OO perspective. Video: Software Testing Tutorial For those with ADD, a very brief tutorial on testing. (3:08) Video: Software Testing: Bug Life Cycle A very brief discussion of the life of a bug. (2:40) Video: Becoming a Software Testing Expert A worthwhile video by expert James Bach. Recommended. (57:30) Video/WebCast: Five views of software testing "When you look at software testing, you'll see that testing methods and approaches fall into five views or schools -- Analytical, Standard, Quality, Context-Driven and Agile." Testing Methods Sorting out black box, white box and gray box software testing methods A very brief overview of each testing type. Typical black-box and white-box test methods A simple table listing methods, objective, test type and applicable level. Five Ways to Think about Black Box Testing A brief commentary by Brad Petticord What is a White Box Testing Strategy? A brief but useful discussion. White Box Testing An indepth article of the subject. White-Box Testing A worthwhile article in Dr. Dobbs'. White-box vs. black-box testing The merits of white-box vs. black-box testing in an agile context. Explore the World of Gray Box Testing? "Gray box testing will increase our testing coverage by allowing you to focus on all of the layers of any complex system through the combination of all existing white and black box techniques." Video: A Course in Black Box Software Testing A video-based course by prominent testing experts James Bach and Kem Caner, available for download. Recommended. Comparison of Black-Box and White-Box Testing A brief comparison along with a discussion of flow graphs. Survey of Black-Box and White-Box Methods Part of a testing tutorial. White-Box Testing An article with pointers to additional testing resources. Black-Box Testing An article with pointers to additional testing resources. All About Code Coverage - a White Box Testing Technique Discusses testing techniques to achieve code coverage. Coverage Testing in the 90's A useful tutorial on software testing methods includes discussion of both black-box and white-box methods. Risk-Based Testing An article by James Bach. Usability Testing - 1 A detailed article on usability testing and the role of the user in the testing process. Also pointers to other resources. Usability Testing - 2 A useful paper that describes how to approach usability testing. Testing Patterns So what is a software testing pattern? A very brief introduction with a number of useful points. Patterns for object-oriented testing Patterns for object-oriented testing. The Test Design Pattern Template A pattern template organized to accommodate a testing pattern. Testing Patterns Catalog A comprehensive collection of links to testing patterns Test Design Patterns Catalog A test design patterns catalog. Unfortunately, limited links available. Test Design Patterns Resources A collection of links to useful testing pattern resources. Testing Patterns Resources A short list of links. pdf: A Pattern Language for Software Debugging "The patterns in this language are grouped into three major sections and connect the three concepts of test, error, and debug." A Category Partition Test Design Pattern A detailed description of this test pattern can be used as a case study in the proper explication of a pattern. pdf: Rapid Embedded System Testing Using Verification Patterns "The Verification Pattern approach classifies system scenarios into patterns. For each scenario pattern (SP), the test engineer can develop a script template to test all the scenarios that belong to the same pattern." Testing Anti-Patterns: Incidental Coverage What not to do when testing. pdf: Using Test Case Patterns To Estimate Software Development And Quality Management Costs An interesting take on effort estimation. Article on testing patterns for OO Software An article by Scott Ambler that discusses process and techniques as well as patterns. Testing Smalltalk with Patterns An article by Kent Beck (developer of XP) Video: Automated Testing Patterns (59.34) A lengthy discussion of patterns for automated testing. Object-Oriented Testing (OOT) Methods OO Testing Resources Excellent collection of OO testing resources. Recommended. Object Oriented Testing Issues A few comments on OO testing. Object-Oriented Testing: Myth and Reality In depth commentary by Robert Binder. OOT Issues A useful paper by Ed Berard. OOT Framework Guidance on the testing of object-oriented class hierarchies. A Collection of Papers on OOT Research-oriented papers on OOT related subjects by John McGregor OOT Bibliography A detailed text-only bibliography has been prepared by Robert Binder. The Full Life Cycle Object-Oriented Testing (FLOOT) Method A complete testing method (process) proposed by Scott Ambler. Better Object Oriented Testing A brief commentary with a few useful pointers that expand the discussion. pdf: Investigating the Effectiveness of Object-Oriented Testing Strategies with the Mutation Method This paper describes an empirical study performed to evaluate the effectiveness of object-oriented (OO) test strategies using the mutation method. ppt: Object-Oriented Testing Metrics A few slides that outline important OO testing metrics. An Object-Oriented Testing Framework A worthwhile survey of the OO testing process. pdf: Object Oriented Testing and Test-Driven Development A slide presentation. OOT Bibliography A extensive OOT print bibliography with few links. May have merit for researchers. A few Papers on OOT Downloadable papers on OOT by John McGregor Books Among dozens of books that present test case design methods are: Software Testing: Across the Entire Software Development Life Cycle Pragmatic Software Testing Critical Testing Processes: Plan, Prepare, Perform, Perfect Software Testing and Continuous Quality Improvement, third edition Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter Practical Software Testing Effective Software Testing: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your Testing Introducing Software Testing (ACM Press) Systematic Software Testing Introducing Software Testing How to Break Software Software Testing: A Craftman’s Approach, second edition The Web Testing Handbook Software Testing Testing Computer Software, second edition Software Testing Methods and Metrics The Craft of Software Testing Software Testing and Analysis: Process, Principles and Techniques provides useful presentations of test case design methods and techniques. The Art of Software Testing remains a classic text, covering black-box techniques in considerable detail. Software Testing Techniques, second edition, provides comprehensive coverage of white-box techniques, introducing a level of mathematical rigor that has often been missing in other treatments of testing. Black-Box Testing presents a concise treatment of important black-box methods. Effective Methods for Software Testing, and Software Assessment: Reliability, Safety, Testability present good introductions to testing strategies and tactics. The Handbook of MIS Application Software Testing discusses testing issues for large information systems Testing Very Big Systems discusses the special issues that must be considered when testing major programming systems. The following books present strategies and methods for testing OO systems: Testing Object-Oriented Systems: Models, Patterns, and Tools Practical Guide to Testing Object-Oriented Software Testing Object-Oriented Software Testing Object-Oriented Systems Testing Object-Oriented Software The Craft of Software Testing Object Oriented Software Testing: A Hierarchical Approach Software testing is a resource-intensive activity. It is for this reason that many organizations automate parts of the testing process. The following books emphasize test automation: Automated Software Testing Software Test Automation Automating Specification-Based Software Testing A number of books consider testing methods and strategies in specialized application areas: Testing Safety-Related Software: A Practical Handbook is an anthology that addresses testing of safety-critical systems. Client/Server Software Testing on the Desk Top and the Web discusses the test process for clients, servers, and network components. Handbook of Usability Testing is a useful guide for those who must exercise human interfaces. Testing Object-Oriented Systems: Models, Patterns, and Tools describes almost 70 testing patterns that cover testing of methods, classes/clusters, subsystems, reusable components, frameworks, and systems as well as test automation and specialized database testing. A list of these patterns can be found at: http://www.rbsc.com/pages/TestPatternList.htm. Other books that address testing patterns in specific language and development environments are: xUnit Test Patterns: Refactoring Test Code Java Testing Patterns