Q: What testing approaches can you tell me about?

A: Each of the followings represents a different testing approach: black box testing, white box
testing, unit testing, incremental testing, integration testing, functional testing, system testing,
end-to-end testing, sanity testing, regression testing, acceptance testing, load testing,
performance testing, usability testing, install/uninstall testing, recovery testing, security testing,
compatibility testing, exploratory testing, ad-hoc testing, user acceptance testing, comparison
testing, alpha testing, beta testing, and mutation testing.

Q: What is stress testing?

A: Stress testing is testing that investigates the behavior of software (and hardware) under
extraordinary operating conditions.

For example, when a web server is stress tested, testing aims to find out how many users can be
on-line, at the same time, without crashing the server. Stress testing tests the stability of a given
system or entity.

Stress testing tests something beyond its normal operational capacity, in order to observe any
negative results. For example, a web server is stress tested, using scripts, bots, and various
denial of service tools.
Q: What is load testing?
A: Load testing simulates the expected usage of a software program, by simulating multiple users
that access the program's services concurrently. Load testing is most useful and most relevant for
multi-user systems, client/server models, including web servers.

For example, the load placed on the system is increased above normal usage patterns, in order
to test the system's response at peak loads.

Q: What is the difference between stress testing and load testing?

A: Load testing generally stops short of stress testing.

During stress testing, the load is so great that the expected results are errors, though there is
gray area in between stress testing and load testing.

Load testing is a blanket term that is used in many different ways across the professional
software testing community.

The term, load testing, is often used synonymously with stress testing, performance testing,
reliability testing, and volume testing.

Q: What is the difference between performance testing and load

testing?
A: Load testing is a blanket term that is used in many different ways across the professional
software testing community. The term, load testing, is often used synonymously with stress
testing, performance testing, reliability testing, and volume testing. Load testing generally stops
short of stress testing. During stress testing, the load is so great that errors are the expected
results, though there is gray area in between stress testing and load testing.

Q: What is the difference between reliability testing and load

testing?
A: Load testing is a blanket term that is used in many different ways across the professional
software testing community. The term, load testing, is often used synonymously with stress
testing, performance testing, reliability testing, and volume testing. Load testing generally stops
short of stress testing. During stress testing, the load is so great that errors are the expected
results, though there is gray area in between stress testing and load testing.

Q: What is automated testing?

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

Q: What is the difference between volume testing and load

testing?
A: Load testing is a blanket term that is used in many different ways across the professional
software testing community. The term, load testing, is often used synonymously with stress
testing, performance testing, reliability testing, and volume testing. Load testing generally stops
short of stress testing. During stress testing, the load is so great that errors are the expected
results, though there is gray area in between stress testing and load testing.

Q: What is incremental testing?

A: Incremental testing is partial testing of an incomplete product. The goal of incremental testing
is to provide an early feedback to software developers.

Q: What is software testing?

A: Software testing is a process that identifies the correctness, completeness, and quality of
software. Actually, testing cannot establish the correctness of software. It can find defects, but
cannot prove there are no defects.

Q: What is alpha testing?

A: Alpha testing is final testing before the software is released to the general public. First, (and
this is called the first phase of alpha testing), the software is tested by in-house developers. They
use either debugger software, or hardware-assisted debuggers. The goal is to catch bugs quickly.

Then, (and this is called second stage of alpha testing), the software is handed over to software
QA staff for additional testing in an environment that is similar to the intended use.
Q: What is beta testing?
A: Following alpha testing, "beta versions" of the software are released to a group of people, and
limited public tests are performed, so that further testing can ensure the product has few bugs.

Other times, beta versions are made available to the general public, in order to receive as much
feedback as possible. The goal is to benefit the maximum number of future users.

Q: What is the difference between alpha and beta testing?

A: Alpha testing is performed by in-house developers and software QA personnel. Beta testing is
performed by the public, a few select prospective customers, or the general public.

Q: What is gamma testing?

A: Gamma testing is testing of software that has all the required

features, but it did not go through all the in-house quality
checks. Cynics tend to refer to software releases as "gamma
testing".

Q: What is boundary value analysis?

A: Boundary value analysis is a technique for test data selection.

A test engineer chooses values that lie along data extremes.
Boundary values include maximum, minimum, just inside boundaries,
just outside boundaries, typical values, and error values. The
expectation is that, if a systems works correctly for these
extreme or special values, then it will work correctly for all
values in between. An effective way to test code, is to exercise
it at its natural boundaries.

Q: What is ad hoc testing?

A: Ad hoc testing is a testing approach; it is the least formal

testing approach.

Q: What is clear box testing?

A: Clear box testing is the same as white box testing. It is a

testing approach that examines the application's program
structure, and derives test cases from the application's program
logic.
Q: What is glass box testing?
A: Glass box testing is the same as white box testing. It is a testing approach that examines the
application's program structure, and derives test cases from the application's program logic.
Q: What is open box testing?
A: Open box testing is the same as white box testing. It is a testing approach that examines the
application's program structure, and derives test cases from the application's program logic.

Q: What is black box testing?

A: Black box testing a type of testing that considers only externally visible behavior. Black box
testing considers neither the code itself, nor the "inner workings" of the software.

Q: What is functional testing?

A: Functional testing is the same as black box testing. Black box testing a type of testing that
considers only externally visible behavior. Black box testing considers neither the code itself, nor
the "inner workings" of the software.

Q: What is closed box testing?

A: Closed box testing is the same as black box testing. Black box
testing a type of testing that considers only externally visible
behavior. Black box testing considers neither the code itself, nor
the "inner workings" of the software.

Q: What is bottom-up testing?

A: Bottom-up testing is a technique for integration testing. A

test engineer creates and uses test drivers for components that
have not yet been developed, because, with bottom-up testing,
low-level components are tested first. The objective of bottom-up
testing is to call low-level components, for testing purposes.

Q: What is software quality?

A: The quality of the software does vary widely from system to

system. Some common quality attributes are stability, usability,
reliability, portability, and maintainability. See quality
standard ISO 9126 for more information on this subject.

Q: What is software fault?

A: A software fault is a hidden programming error. A software

fault fault is an error in the correctness of the semantics of a
computer program.

Q: What is software failure?

 A: Software failure occurs when the software does not do what the
user expects to see.

Q: What is the difference between a software fault and software

failure?

A: A software failure occurs when the software does not do what

the user expects to see. Software faults, on the other hand, are
hidden programming errors. Software faults become software
failures only when the exact computation conditions are met, and
the faulty portion of the code is executed on the CPU. This can
occur during normal usage. Other times it occurs when the software
is ported to a different hardware platform, or, when the software
is ported to a different complier, or, when the software gets
extended.

Q: What is a test engineer?

A: We, test engineers, are engineers who specialize in testing. We

create test cases, procedures, scripts and generate data. We
execute test procedures and scripts, analyze standards of
measurements, evaluate results of system/integration/regression
testing.

Q: What is a QA engineer?
A: QA engineers are test engineer, but they do more than just testing. Good QA engineers
understand the entire software development process and how it fits into the business approach
and the goals of the organization.

Communication skills and the ability to understand various sides of issues are important. A QA
engineer is successful if people listen to him, if people use his tests, if people think that he's
useful, and if he's happy doing his work.

I would love to see QA departments staffed with experienced software developers who coach
development teams to write better code. But I've never seen it. Instead of coaching, QA engineers
tend to be process people.

Q: How do test case templates look like?

A: Software test cases are documents that describe inputs, actions, or events and their expected
results, in order to determine if all features of an application are working correctly.

A software test case template is, for example, a 6-column table, where column 1 is the "Test case
ID number", column 2 is the "Test case name", column 3 is the "Test objective", column 4 is the
"Test conditions/setup", column 5 is the "Input data requirements/steps", and column 6 is the
"Expected results".

All documents should be written to a certain standard and template. Standards and templates
maintain document uniformity. It also helps in learning where information is located, making it
easier for a user to find what they want. Lastly, with standards and templates, information will not
be accidentally omitted from a document.

Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards and templates, he will use them. He
will also recommend improvements and/or additions.

Q: What is the role of the test engineer?

A: We, test engineers, speed up the work of the development staff,

and reduce the risk of your company's legal liability.

We also give your company the evidence that the software is

correct and operates properly.

We, test engineers, improve problem tracking and reporting,

maximize the value of the software, and the value of the devices
that use it.

We, test engineers, assure the successful launch of the product by

discovering bugs and design flaws, before users get discouraged,
before shareholders loose their cool and before employees get
bogged down.

We, test engineers, help the work of the software development

staff, so the development team can devote its time to build up the
product.

We, test engineers, promote continual improvement.

We provide documentation required by FDA, FAA, other regulatory

agencies, and your customers.

We, test engineers, save your company money by discovering defects

EARLY in the design process, before failures occur in production,
or in the field. We save the reputation of your company by
discovering bugs and design flaws, before bugs and design flaws
damage the reputation of your company.

Q: What are the QA engineer's responsibilities?

A: Let's say, an engineer is hired for a small software company's

QA role, and there is no QA team. Should he take responsibility to
set up a QA infrastructure/process, testing and quality of the
entire product? No, because taking this responsibility is a
classic trap that QA people get caught in. Why? Because we QA
engineers cannot assure quality. And because QA departments cannot
create quality.

What we CAN do is to detect lack of quality, and prevent

low-quality products from going out the door. What is the
solution? We need to drop the QA label, and tell the developers
that they are responsible for the quality of their own work. The
problem is, sometimes, as soon as the developers learn that there
is a test department, they will slack off on their testing. We
need to offer to help with quality assessment, only.
 Q: What metrics can be used in for software development?

A: Metrics refer to statistical process control. The idea of

statistical process control is a great one, but it has only a
limited use in software development.

On the negative side, statistical process control works only with

processes that are sufficiently well defined AND unvaried, so that
they can be analyzed in terms of statistics. The problem is, most
software development projects are NOT sufficiently well defined
and NOT sufficiently unvaried.

On the positive side, one CAN use statistics. Statistics are

excellent tools that project managers can use. Statistics can be
used, for example, to determine when to stop testing, i.e. test
cases completed with certain percentage passed, or when bug rate
falls below a certain level. But, if these are project management
tools, why should we label them quality assurance tools?

Q: What is role of the QA engineer?

A: The QA Engineer's function is to use the system much like real

users would, find all the bugs, find ways to replicate the bugs,
submit bug reports to the developers, and to provide feedback to
the developers, i.e. tell them if they've achieved the desired
level of quality.

Q: What metrics can be used for bug tracking?

A: Metrics that can be used for bug tracking include the total
number of bugs, total number of bugs that have been fixed, number
of new bugs per week, and number of fixes per week.

Other metrics in quality assurance include...

McCabe metrics: cyclomatic complexity metric (v(G)), actual

complexity metric (AC), module design complexity metric (iv(G)),
essential complexity metric (ev(G)), pathological complexity
metric (pv(G)), design complexity metric (S0), integration
complexity metric (S1), object integration complexity metric
(OS1), global data complexity metric (gdv(G)), data complexity
metric (DV), tested data complexity metric (TDV), data reference
metric (DR), tested data reference metric (TDR), maintenance
severity metric (maint_severity), data reference severity metric
(DR_severity), data complexity severity metric (DV_severity),
global data severity metric (gdv_severity).

Q: What metrics can be used for bug tracking? (Cont'd...)

McCabe object-oriented software metrics: encapsulation percent

public data (PCTPUB), access to public data (PUBDATA),
polymorphism percent of unoverloaded calls (PCTCALL), number of
roots (ROOTCNT), fan-in (FANIN), quality maximum v(G) (MAXV),
 maximum ev(G) (MAXEV), and hierarchy quality (QUAL).

Other object-oriented software metrics: depth (DEPTH), lack of

cohesion of methods (LOCM), number of children (NOC), response for
a class (RFC), weighted methods per class (WMC), Halstead software
metrics program length, program volume, program level and program
difficulty, intelligent content, programming effort, error
estimate, and programming time.

Line count software metrics: lines of code, lines of comment,

lines of mixed code and comments, and lines left blank.

Q: How do you perform integration testing?

A: First, unit testing has to be completed. Upon completion of

unit testing, integration testing begins. Integration testing is
black box testing. The purpose of integration testing is to ensure
distinct components of the application still work in accordance to
customer requirements.

Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising

the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried
out by the test team.

Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results

and expected results are either in line or differences are
explainable/acceptable based on client input.

Q: What metrics are used for test report generation?

A: Metrics that can be used for test report generation include...

McCabe metrics: Cyclomatic complexity metric (v(G)), Actual

complexity metric (AC), Module design complexity metric (iv(G)),
Essential complexity metric (ev(G)), Pathological complexity
metric (pv(G)), design complexity metric (S0), Integration
complexity metric (S1), Object integration complexity metric
(OS1), Global data complexity metric (gdv(G)), Data complexity
metric (DV), Tested data complexity metric (TDV), Data reference
metric (DR), Tested data reference metric (TDR), Maintenance
severity metric (maint_severity), Data reference severity metric
(DR_severity), Data complexity severity metric (DV_severity),
Global data severity metric (gdv_severity).

McCabe object oriented software metrics: Encapsulation percent

public data (PCTPUB), and Access to public data (PUBDATA),
Polymorphism percent of unoverloaded calls (PCTCALL), Number of
roots (ROOTCNT), Fan-in (FANIN), quality maximum v(G) (MAXV),
Maximum ev(G) (MAXEV), and Hierarchy quality(QUAL).

Other object oriented software metrics: Depth (DEPTH), Lack of

cohesion of methods (LOCM), Number of children (NOC), Response for
a class (RFC), Weighted methods per class (WMC), Halstead software
metrics program length, Program volume, Program level and program
difficulty, Intelligent content, Programming effort, Error
 estimate, and Programming time.

Line count software metrics: Lines of code, Lines of comment,

Lines of mixed code and comments, and Lines left blank.

Q: What is the "bug life cycle"?

A: Bug life cycles are similar to software development life

cycles. At any time during the software development life cycle
errors can be made during the gathering of requirements,
requirements analysis, functional design, internal design,
documentation planning, document preparation, coding, unit
testing, test planning, integration, testing, maintenance,
updates, re-testing and phase-out.

Bug life cycle begins when a programmer, software developer, or

architect makes a mistake, creates an unintentional software
defect, i.e. a bug, and ends when the bug is fixed, and the bug is
no longer in existence.

What should be done after a bug is found? When a bug is found, it

needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix
it. After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested.

Additionally, determinations should be made regarding

requirements, software, hardware, safety impact, etc., for
regression testing to check the fixes didn't create other problems
elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in place, it should
encapsulate these determinations.

A variety of commercial, problem-tracking/management software

tools are available. These tools, with the detailed input of
software test engineers, will give the team complete information
so developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity,
reproduce it and fix it.

Q: What is integration testing?

A: Integration testing is black box testing. The purpose of

integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the
application still work in accordance to customer requirements.
Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising
the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried
out by the test team.

Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results

and expected results are either in line or differences are
explainable / acceptable, based on client input.

Q: How do test plan templates look like?

A: The test plan document template describes the objectives,

scope, approach and focus of a software testing effort.
 Test document templates are often in the form of documents that
are divided into sections and subsections. One example of this
template is a 4-section document, where section 1 is the "Test
Objective", section 2 is the "Scope of Testing", section 3 is the
"Test Approach", and section 4 is the "Focus of the Testing
Effort".

All documents should be written to a certain standard and

template. Standards and templates maintain document uniformity. It
also helps in learning where information is located, making it
easier for a user to find what they want. With standards and
templates, information will not be accidentally omitted from a
document.

Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards and
templates, he will use them. He will also recommend improvements
and/or additions.

Q: What is a software project test plan?

A: A software project test plan is a document that describes the

objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing
effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to
think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of
a software product.

The completed document will help people outside the test group
understand the why and how of product validation. It should be
thorough enough to be useful, but not so thorough that no one
outside the test group will be able to read it.

Q: When do you choose automated testing?

A: For larger projects, or ongoing long-term projects, automated

testing can be valuable. But for small projects, the time needed
to learn and implement the automated testing tools is usually not
worthwhile.

Automated testing tools sometimes do not make testing easier. One

problem with automated testing tools is that if there are
continual changes to the product being tested, the recordings have
to be changed so often, that it becomes a very time-consuming task
to continuously update the scripts.

Another problem with such tools is the interpretation of the

results (screens, data, logs, etc.) that can be a time-consuming
task.

Q: What's the ratio between developers and testers?

A: This ratio is not a fixed one, but depends on what phase of the
software development life cycle the project is in. When a product
is first conceived, organized, and developed, this ratio tends to
be 10:1, 5:1, or 3:1, i.e. heavily in favor of developers. In
 sharp contrast, when the software is near the end of alpha
testing, this ratio tends to be 1:1 or 1:2, in favor of testers.

Q: What is your role in your current organization?

A: I'm a QA Engineer. The QA Engineer's function is to use the

system much like real users would, find all the bugs, find ways to
replicate the bugs, submit bug reports to the developers, and to
provide feedback to the developers, i.e. tell them if they've
achieved the desired level of quality.

Q: How can I learn to use WinRunner, without any outside help?

A: I suggest you read all you can, and that includes reading
product description pamphlets, manuals, books, information on the
Internet, and whatever information you can lay your hands on. Then
the next step is actual practice, the gathering of hands-on
experience on how to use WinRunner.

If there is a will, there is a way. You CAN do it, if you put your
mind to it. You CAN learn to use WinRunner, with little or no
outside help.

Q: Should I take a course in manual testing?

A: Yes, you want to consider taking a course in manual testing.

Why? Because learning how to perform manual testing is an
important part of one's education. Unless you have a significant
personal reason for not taking a course, you do not want to skip
an important part of an academic program.

Q: To learn to use WinRunner, should I sign up for a course at a

nearby educational institution?

A: Free, or inexpensive, education is often provided on the job,

by an employer, while one is getting paid to do a job that
requires the use of WinRunner and many other software testing
tools.

In lieu of a job, it is often a good idea to sign up for courses

at nearby educational institutes. Classes, especially non-degree
courses in community colleges, tend to be inexpensive.

Q: How can I become a good tester? I have little or no money.

A: The cheapest i.e. "free education" is often provided on the

job, by an employer, while one is getting paid to do a testing
job, where one is able to use many different software testing
tools.

Q: What software tools are in demand these days?

 A: There is no good answer to this question. The answer to this
question can and will change from day to day. What is in demand
today, is not necessarily in demand tomorrow.

To give you some recent examples, some of the software tools on

end clients' lists of requirements include LabView, LoadRunner,
Rational Tools and Winrunner.

But, as a general rule of thumb, there are many-many other items

on their lists, depending on the end client, their needs and
preferences.

It is worth repeating... the answer to this question can and will

change from one day to the next. What is in demand today will not
likely be in demand tomorrow.

Q: Which of these tools should I learn?

A: I suggest you learn some of the most popular software tools

(e.g. WinRunner, LoadRunner, LabView, and Rational Rose, etc.)
with special attention paid to the Rational Toolset and
LoadRunner.

Q: What is software configuration management?

A: Software Configuration management (SCM) relates to

Configuration Management (CM).

SCM is the control, and the recording of, changes that are made to
the software and documentation throughout the software development
life cycle (SDLC).

SCM covers the tools and processes used to control, coordinate and
track code, requirements, documentation, problems, change
requests, designs, tools, compilers, libraries, patches, and
changes made to them, and to keep track of who makes the changes.

We, test engineers have experience with a full range of CM tools

and concepts, and can easily adapt to an organization's software
tool and process needs.

Q: What are some of the software configuration management tools?

A: Software configuration management tools include Rational

ClearCase, DOORS, PVCS, CVS; and there are many others. Rational
ClearCase is a popular software tool, made by Rational Software,
for revision control of source code.

DOORS, or "Dynamic Object Oriented Requirements System", is a

requirements version control software tool.

CVS, or "Concurrent Version System", is a popular, open source

version control system to keep track of changes in documents
 associated with software projects. CVS enables several, often
distant, developers to work together on the same source code.

PVCS is a document version control tool, a competitor of SCCS.

SCCS is an original UNIX program, based on "diff". Diff is a UNIX
utility that compares the difference between two text files.

Q: Which of these roles are the best and most popular?

A: In testing, Tester roles tend to be the most popular. The less

popular roles include the roles of System Administrator, Test/QA
Team Lead, and Test/QA Managers.

Q: What other roles are in testing?

A: Depending on the organization, the following roles are more or

less standard on most testing projects: Testers, Test Engineers,
Test/QA Team Leads, Test/QA Managers, System Administrators,
Database Administrators, Technical Analysts, Test Build Managers,
and Test Configuration Managers.

Depending on the project, one person can and often wear more than
one hat. For instance, we Test Engineers often wear the hat of
Technical Analyst, Test Build Manager and Test Configuration
Manager as well.

Q: What's the difference between priority and severity?

A: The simple answer is, "Priority is about scheduling, and

severity is about standards."

The complex answer is, "Priority means something is afforded or

deserves prior attention; a precedence established by order of
importance (or urgency). Severity is the state or quality of being
severe; severe implies adherence to rigorous standards or high
principles and often suggests harshness; severe is marked by or
requires strict adherence to rigorous standards or high
principles, e.g. a severe code of behavior."

Q: What's the difference between efficient and effective?

A: "Efficient" means having a high ratio of output to input;

working or producing with a minimum of waste. For example, "An
efficient test engineer wastes no time", or "An efficient engine
saves gas".

"Effective", on the other hand, means producing, or capable of

producing, an intended result, or having a striking effect. For
example, "For automated testing, WinRunner is more effective than
an oscilloscope", or "For rapid long-distance transportation, the
jet engine is more effective than a witch's broomstick".
 Q: What is the difference between verification and validation?

A: Verification takes place before validation, and not vice versa.

Verification evaluates documents, plans, code, requirements, and
specifications. Validation, on the other hand, evaluates the
product itself.

The inputs of verification are checklists, issues lists,

walk-throughs and inspection meetings, reviews and meetings. The
input of validation, on the other hand, is the actual testing of
an actual product.

The output of verification is a nearly perfect set of documents,

plans, specifications, and requirements document. The output of
validation, on the other hand, is a nearly perfect, actual
product.

Q: What is documentation change management?

A: Documentation change management is part of configuration

management (CM). CM covers the tools and processes used to
control, coordinate and track code, requirements, documentation,
problems, change requests, designs, tools, compilers, libraries,
patches, changes made to them and who makes the changes.

Rob Davis has had experience with a full range of CM tools and
concepts. Rob Davis can easily adapt to your software tool and
process needs.

Q: What is up time?

A: "Up time" is the time period when a system is operational and

in service. Up time is the sum of busy time and idle time.

For example, if, out of 168 hours, a system has been busy for 50
hours, idle for 110 hours, and down for 8 hours, then the busy
time is 50 hours, idle time is 110 hours, and up time is (110 + 50
=) 160 hours.

Q: What is upwardly compatible software?

A: Upwardly compatible software is compatible with a later or more

complex version of itself. For example, an upwardly compatible
software is able to handle files created by a later version of
itself.

Q: What is upward compression?

A: In software design, upward compression means a form of

demodularization, in which a subordinate module is copied into the
body of a superior module.
 Q: What is usability?

A: Usability means ease of use; the ease with which a user can
learn to operate, prepare inputs for, and interpret outputs of a
software product.

Q: What is user documentation?

A: User documentation is a document that describes the way a

software product or system should be used to obtain the desired
results.

Q: What is a user manual?

A: User manual is a document that presents information necessary

to employ software or a system to obtain the desired results.

Typically, what is described are system and component

capabilities, limitations, options, permitted inputs, expected
outputs, error messages, and special instructions.

Q: What is the difference between user documentation and user

manual?

A: When a distinction is made between those who operate and use a

computer system for its intended purpose, a separate user
documentation and user manual is created. Operators get user
documentation, and users get user manuals.

Q: What is user friendly software?

A: A computer program is user friendly, when it is designed with

ease of use, as one of the primary objectives of its design.

Q: What is a user friendly document?

A: A document is user friendly, when it is designed with ease of

use, as one of the primary objectives of its design.

Q: What is a user guide?

A: User guide is the same as the user manual. It is a document

that presents information necessary to employ a system or
component to obtain the desired results.

Typically, what is described are system and component

capabilities, limitations, options, permitted inputs, expected
outputs, error messages, and special instructions.

Q: What is user interface?

 A: User interface is the interface between a human user and a
computer system. It enables the passage of information between a
human user and hardware or software components of a computer
system.

Q: What is a utility?

A: Utility is a software tool designed to perform some frequently

used support function. For example, a program to print files.

Q: What is utilization?

A: Utilization is the ratio of time a system is busy, divided by

the time it is available. Uilization is a useful measure in
evaluating computer performance.

Q: What is V&V?

A: V&V is an acronym for verification and validation.

Q: What is variable trace?

A: Variable trace is a record of the names and values of variables

accessed and changed during the execution of a computer program.

Q: What is value trace?

A: Value trace is same as variable trace. It is a record of the

names and values of variables accessed and changed during the
execution of a computer program.

Q: What is a variable?

A: Variables are data items whose values can change. One example
is a variable we've named "capacitor_voltage_10000", where
"capacitor_value_10000" can be any whole number between -10000 and
+10000.

Keep in mind, there are local and global variables.

Q: What is a variant?

A: Variants are versions of a program. Variants result from the

application of software diversity.

Q: What is verification and validation (V&V)?

 A: Verification and validation (V&V) is a process that helps to
determine if the software requirements are complete, correct; and
if the software of each development phase fulfills the
requirements and conditions imposed by the previos phase; and if
the final software complies with the applicable software
requirements.

Q: What is a software version?

A: A software version is an initial release (or re-release) of a

software associated with a complete compilation (or recompilation)
of the software.

Q: What is a document version?

A: A document version is an initial release (or a complete

re-release) of a document, as opposed to a revision resulting from
issuing change pages to a previous release.

Q: What is VDD?

A: VDD is an acronym. It stands for "version description

document".

Q: What is a version description document (VDD)?

A: Version description document (VDD) is a document that

accompanies and identifies a given version of a software product.

Typically the VDD includes a description, and identification of

the software, identification of changes incorporated into this
version, and installation and operating information unique to this
version of the software.

Q: What is a vertical microinstruction?

A: A vertical microinstruction is a microinstruction that

specifies one of a sequence of operations needed to carry out a
machine language instruction. Vertical microinstructions are
short, 12 to 24 bit instructions. They're called vertical because
they are normally listed vertically on a page. These 12 to 24 bit
microinstructions instructions are required to carry out a single
machine language instruction.

Besides vertical microinstructions, there are horizontal as well

as diagonal microinstructions as well.

Q: What is a virtual address?

 A: In virtual storage systems, virtual addresses are assigned to
auxiliary storage locations. They allow those location to be
accessed as though they were part of the main storage.

Q: What is virtual memory?

A: Virtual memory relates to virtual storage. In virtual storage,

portions of a user's program and data are placed in auxiliary
storage, and the operating system automatically swaps them in and
out of main storage as needed.

Q: What is virtual storage?

A: Virtual storage is a storage allocation technique, in which

auxiliary storage can be addressed as though it was part of main
storage. Portions of a user's program and data are placed in
auxiliary storage, and the operating system automatically swaps
them in and out of main storage as needed.

Q: What is a waiver?

A: Waivers are authorizations to accept software that has been

submitted for inspection, found to depart from specified
requirements, but is nevertheless considered suitable for use "as
is", or after rework by an approved method.

Q: What is the waterfall model?

A: Waterfall is a model of the software development process in

which the concept phase, requirements phase, design phase,
implementation phase, test phase, installation phase, and checkout
phase are performed in that order, probably with overlap, but with
little or no iteration.

Q: What are the phases of the software development process?

A: Software development process consists of the concept phase,

requirements phase, design phase, implementation phase, test
phase, installation phase, and checkout phase.

Q: What models are used in software development?

A: In software development process the following models are used:

waterfall model, incremental development model, rapid prototyping
model, and spiral model.

Q: What is SDLC?

A: SDLC is an acronym. It stands for "software development life

 cycle".

Q: What is the difference between system testing and integration

testing?

A: System testing is high level testing, and integration testing

is a lower level testing. Integration testing is completed first,
not the system testing. In other words, upon completion of
integration testing, system testing is started, and not vice
versa.

For integration testing, test cases are developed with the express
purpose of exercising the interfaces between the components.

For system testing, on the other hand, the complete system is

configured in a controlled environment, and test cases are
developed to simulate real life scenarios that occur in a
simulated real life test environment.

The purpose of integration testing is to ensure distinct

components of the application still work in accordance to customer
requirements.

The purpose of system testing, on the other hand, is to validate

an application's accuracy and completeness in performing the
functions as designed, and to test all functions of the system
that are required in real life.

Q: Can you give me more information on software QA/testing, from a

tester's point of view?

A: Yes, I can. You can visit my web site, and on pages

robdavispe.com/free and robdavispe.com/free2 you can find answers
to many questions on software QA, documentation, and software
testing, from a tester's point of view. As to questions and
answers that are not on my web site now, please be patient, as I
am going to add more answers, as soon as time permits.

Q: What are the parameters of performance testing?

A: Performance testing verifies loads, volumes, and response

times, as defined by requirements. Performance testing is a part
of system testing, but it is also a distinct level of testing.

The term 'performance testing' is often used synonymously with

stress testing, load testing, reliability testing, and volume
testing.

Q: What types of testing can you tell me about?

A: Each of the followings represents a different type of testing

approach: black box testing, white box testing, unit testing,
 incremental testing, integration testing, functional testing,
system testing, end-to-end testing, sanity testing, regression
testing, acceptance testing, load testing, performance testing,
usability testing, install/uninstall testing, recovery testing,
security testing, compatibility testing, exploratory testing,
ad-hoc testing, user acceptance testing, comparison testing, alpha
testing, beta testing, and mutation testing.

Q: What is disaster recovery testing?

A: Disaster recovery testing is testing how well the system

recovers from disasters, crashes, hardware failures, or other
catastrophic problems.

Q: How do you conduct peer reviews?

A: Peer reviews, sometimes called PDR, are formal meeting, more

formalized than a walk-through, and typically consists of 3-10
people including the test lead, task lead (the author of whatever
is being reviewed) and a facilitator (to make notes).

The subject of the PDR is typically a code block, release, or

feature, or document. The purpose of the PDR is to find problems
and see what is missing, not to fix anything.

The result of the meeting is documented in a written report.

Attendees should prepare for PDRs by reading through documents,
before the meeting starts; most problems are found during this
preparation.

Why are PDRs so useful? Because PDRs are cost-effective methods of

ensuring quality, because bug prevention is more cost effective
than bug detection.

Q: How do you test the password field?

A: To test the password field, we do boundary value testing.

Q: How do you check the security of your application?

A: To check the security of an application, we can use

security/penetration testing. Security/penetration testing is
testing how well the system is protected against unauthorized
internal or external access, or willful damage.

This type of testing usually requires sophisticated testing

techniques.

Q: When testing the password field, what is your focus?

A: When testing the password field, one needs to verify that

 passwords are encrypted.

Q: What is the objective of regression testing?

A: The objective of regression testing is to test that the fixes

have not created any other problems elsewhere. In other words, the
objective is to ensure the software has remained intact.

A baseline set of data and scripts are maintained and executed, to

verify that changes introduced during the release have not
"undone" any previous code.

Expected results from the baseline are compared to results of the

software under test. All discrepancies are highlighted and
accounted for, before testing proceeds to the next level.

Q: What stage of bug fixing is the most cost effective?

A: Bug prevention, i.e. inspections, PDRs, and walk-throughs, is

more cost effective than bug detection.

Q: What types of white box testing can you tell me about?

A: White box testing is a testing approach that examines the

application's program structure, and derives test cases from the
application's program logic.

Clear box testing is a white box type of testing. Glass box

testing is also a white box type of testing. Open box testing is
also a white box type of testing.

Q: What black box testing types can you tell me about?

A: Black box testing is functional testing, not based on any

knowledge of internal software design or code.

Black box testing is based on requirements and functionality.

Functional testing is also a black-box type of testing geared to
functional requirements of an application.

System testing is also a black box type of testing. Acceptance

testing is also a black box type of testing. Functional testing is
also a black box type of testing. Closed box testing is also a
black box type of testing. Integration testing is also a black box
type of testing.

Q: Is regression testing performed manually?

A: It depends on the initial testing approach. If the initial

testing approach was manual testing, then the regression testing
is normally performed manually.
 Conversely, if the initial testing approach was automated testing,
then the regression testing is normally performed by automated
testing.

Q: Give me others' FAQs on testing.

A: Here is what you can do. You can visit my web site, and on
robdavispe.com/free and robdavispe.com/free2 you will find answers
to the vast majority of others' questions on testing, from a
tester's point of view.

As to questions and answers that are not on my web site now,

please be patient, as I am going to add more FAQs and answers, as
soon as time permits.

Q: Can you share with me your knowledge of software testing?

A: Surely I can. Visit my web site, and on robdavispe.com/free and

robdavispe.com/free2 you will find my knowledge on software
testing, from a tester's point of view.

As to knowledge that is not on my web site now, please be patient,

as I am going to add more answers, as soon as time permits.

Q: How can I learn software testing?

A: I suggest you visit my web site, especially robdavispe.com/free

and robdavispe.com/free2, and you will find answers to most
questions on software testing. As to questions and answers that
are not on my web site at the moment, please be patient. I will
add more questions and answers, as soon as time permits.

I also suggest you get a job in software testing. Why? Because you
can get additional, free education, on the job, by an employer,
while you are being paid to do software testing. On the job, you
will be able to use some of the more popular software tools,
including WinRunner, LoadRunner, LabView, and the Rational
Toolset. The tools you use will depend on the end client, their
needs and preferences.

I also suggest you sign up for courses at nearby educational

institutions. Classroom education, especially non-degree courses
in local community colleges, tends to be inexpensive.

Q: What is your view of software QA/testing?

A: Software QA/testing is easy, if requirements are solid, clear,

complete, detailed, cohesive, attainable and testable, and if
schedules are realistic, and if there is good communication.

Software QA/testing is a piece of cake, if project schedules are

realistic, if adequate time is allowed for planning, design,
testing, bug fixing, re-testing, changes, and documentation.
Q: What is your view of software QA/testing? (Cont'd...)

Software QA/testing is relatively easy, if testing is started

early on, and if fixes or changes are re-tested, and if sufficient
time is planned for both testing and bug fixing.

Software QA/testing is easy, if new features are avoided, and if

one sticks to initial requirements as much as possible.

Q: How can I be a good tester?

A: We, good testers, take the customers' point of view. We are

tactful and diplomatic. We have a "test to break" attitude, a
strong desire for quality, an attention to detail, and good
communication skills, both oral and written.

Previous software development experience is also helpful as it

provides a deeper understanding of the software development
process.

Q: What is the difference between software bug and software

defect?

A: A 'software bug' is a nonspecific term that means an

inexplicable defect, error, flaw, mistake, failure, fault, or
unwanted behavior of a computer program.

Other terms, e.g. software defect and software failure, are more
specific.

There are many who believe the word 'bug' is a reference to

insects that caused malfunctions in early electromechanical
computers (in the 1950s and 1960s), the truth is the word 'bug'
has been part of engineering jargon for 100+ years. Thomas Edison,
the great inventor, wrote the followings in 1878: "It has been
just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition,
and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise—this thing gives
out and [it is] then that "Bugs" — as such little faults and
difficulties are called — show themselves and months of intense
watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success
or failure is certainly reached."

Q: How can I improve my career in software QA/testing?

A: Invest in your skills! Learn all you can! Visit my web site,
and on http://robdavispe.com/free and http://robdavispe.com/free2,
you will find answers to the vast majority of questions on
testing, from software QA/testers' point of view.

Get additional education, on the job. Free education is often

provided by employers, while you are paid to do the job of a
 tester. On the job, often you can use many software tools,
including WinRunner, LoadRunner, LabView, and Rational Toolset.
Find an employer whose needs and preferences are similar to yours.

Get an education! Sign up for courses at nearby educational

institutes. Take classes! Classroom education, especially
non-degree courses in local community colleges, tends to be
inexpensive. Improve your attitude! Become the best software
QA/tester! Always strive to exceed the expectations of your
customers!

Q: How do you compare two files?

A: Use PVCS, SCCS, or "diff". PVCS is a document version control

tool, a competitor of SCCS. SCCS is an original UNIX program,
based on "diff". Diff is a UNIX utility that compares the
difference between two text files.

Q: What do we use for comparison?

A: Generally speaking, when we write a software program to compare

files, we compare two files, bit by bit. For example, when we use
"diff", a UNIX utility, we compare two text files.

Q: What is the reason we compare files?

A: We compare files because of configuration management, revision

control, requirement version control, or document version control.
Examples are Rational ClearCase, DOORS, PVCS, and CVS. CVS, for
example, enables several, often distant, developers to work
together on the same source code.

Q: When is a process repeatable?

A: If we use detailed and well-written processes and procedures,

we ensure the correct steps are being executed. This facilitates a
successful completion of a task. This is a way we also ensure a
process is repeatable.

Q: What is test methodology?

A: One test methodology is a three-step process. Creating a test

strategy, creating a test plan/design, and executing tests. This
methodology can be used and molded to your organization's needs.

Rob Davis believes that using this methodology is important in the

development and ongoing maintenance of his customers'
applications.

Q: What does a Test Strategy Document contain?

A: The test strategy document is a formal description of how a
software product will be tested. A test strategy is developed for
all levels of testing, as required.

The test team analyzes the requirements, writes the test strategy
and reviews the plan with the project team.

The test plan may include test cases, conditions, the test
environment, and a list of related tasks, pass/fail criteria and
risk assessment.

Additional sections in the test strategy document include:

A description of the required hardware and software components,

including test tools. This information comes from the test
environment, including test tool data.

A description of roles and responsibilities of the resources

required for the test and schedule constraints. This information
comes from man-hours and schedules.

Testing methodology. This is based on known standards.

Functional and technical requirements of the application. This

information comes from requirements, change request, technical,
and functional design documents.

Requirements that the system cannot provide, e.g. system

limitations.

Q: How can I start my career in automated testing?

A: Number one: I suggest you read all you can, and that includes
reading product description pamphlets, manuals, books, information
on the Internet, and whatever information you can lay your hands
on.

Two, get hands-on experience on how to use automated testing

tools.

If there is a will, there is a way! You CAN do it, if you put your
mind to it! You CAN learn to use WinRunner, and many other
automated testing tools, with little or no outside help. Click on
a link!

Q: What is monkey testing?

A: "Monkey testing" is random testing performed by automated

testing tools. These automated testing tools are considered
"monkeys", if they work at random.

We call them "monkeys" because it is widely believed, if we allow

six monkeys to pound on six typewriters at random, for a million
years, they will recreate all the works of Isaac Asimov.
There are "smart monkeys" and "dumb monkeys".

"Smart monkeys" are valuable for load and stress testing, and will
find a significant number of bugs, but they're also very expensive
to develop.

"Dumb monkeys", on the other hand, are inexpensive to develop, are

able to do some basic testing, but they will find few bugs.
However, the bugs "dumb monkeys" do find will be hangs and
crashes, i.e. the bugs you least want to have in your software
product.

"Monkey testing" can be valuable, but they should not be your only
testing.

Q: What is stochastic testing?

A: Stochastic testing is the same as "monkey testing", but

stochastic testing is a 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 series of the individual
tests.

Q: What is mutation testing?

A: In mutation testing, we create mutant software, we make mutant

software to fail, and thus demonstrate the adequacy of our test
case.

When we create a set of mutant software, each mutant software

differs from the original software by one mutation, i.e. one
single syntax change made to one of its program statements, i.e.
each mutant software contains only one single fault.

When we apply test cases to the original software and to the

mutant software, we evaluate if our test case is adequate.

Our test case is inadequate, if both the original software and all
mutant software generate the same output.

Our test case is adequate, if our test case detects faults, or,
if, at least one mutant software generates a different output than
does the original software for our test case.

Q: What is PDR?
 A: PDR is an acronym. In the world of software QA/testing, it
stands for "peer design review", or "peer review".

Q: What is is good about PDRs?

A: PDRs are informal meetings, and I do like all informal

meetings. PDRs make perfect sense, because they're for the mutual
benefit of you and your end client.

Your end client requires a PDR, because they work on a product,

and want to come up with the very best possible design and
documentation.

Your end client requires you to have a PDR, because when you
organize a PDR, you invite and assemble the end client's best
experts and encourage them to voice their concerns as to what
should or should not go into the design and documentation, and
why.

When you're a developer, designer, author, or writer, it's also to

your advantage to come up with the best possible design and
documentation.

Therefore you want to embrace the idea of the PDR, because holding
a PDR gives you a significant opportunity to invite and assemble
the end client's best experts and make them work for you for one
hour, for your own benefit.

To come up with the best possible design and documentation, you

want to encourage your end client's experts to speak up and voice
their concerns as to what should or should not go into your design
and documentation, and why.

Q: Why is that my company requires a PDR?

A: Your company requires a PDR, because your company wants to be

the owner of the very best possible design and documentation. Your
company requires a PDR, because when you organize a PDR, you
invite, assemble and encourage the company's best experts to voice
their concerns as to what should or should not go into your design
and documentation, and why.

Remember, PDRs are not about you, but about design and
documentation. Please don't be negative; please do not assume your
company is finding fault with your work, or distrusting you in any
way. There is a 90+ per cent probability your company wants you,
likes you and trust you, because you're a specialist, and because
your company hired you after a long and careful selection process.

Your company requires a PDR, because PDRs are useful and

constructive. Just about everyone - even corporate chief executive
 officers (CEOs) - attend PDRs from time to time. When a corporate
CEO attends a PDR, he has to listen for "feedback" from
shareholders. When a CEO attends a PDR, the meeting is called the
"annual shareholders' meeting".

Q: Give me a list of ten good things about PDRs!

A: Number 1: PDRs are easy, because all your meeting attendees are
your co-workers and friends.

Number 2: PDRs do produce results. With the help of your meeting

attendees, PDRs help you produce better designs and better
documents than the ones you could come up with, without the help
of your meeting attendees.

Q: Give me a list of ten good things about PDRs! (Cont'd...)

Number 3: Preparation for PDRs helps a lot, but, in the worst

case, if you had no time to read every page of every document,
it's still OK for you to show up at the PDR.

Number 4: It's technical expertise that counts the most, but many
times you can influence your group just as much, or even more so,
if you're dominant or have good acting skills.

Number 5: PDRs are easy, because, even at the best and biggest
companies, you can dominate the meeting by being either very
negative, or very bright and wise.

Number 6: It is easy to deliver gentle suggestions and

constructive criticism. The brightest and wisest meeting attendees
are usually gentle on you; they deliver gentle suggestions that
are constructive, not destructive.

Number 7: You get many-many chances to express your ideas, every

time a meeting attendee asks you to justify why you wrote what you
wrote.

Number 8: PDRs are effective, because there is no need to wait for

anything or anyone; because the attendees make decisions quickly
(as to what errors are in your document). There is no confusion
either, because all the group's recommendations are clearly
written down for you by the PDR's facilitator.

Number 9: Your work goes faster, because the group itself is an

independent decision making authority. Your work gets done faster,
because the group's decisions are subject to neither oversight nor
supervision.

Number 10: At PDRs, your meeting attendees are the very best
experts anyone can find, and they work for you, for FREE!
 Q: What is the Exit criteria?

A: "Exit criteria" is a checklist, sometimes known as the "PDR

sign-off sheet", i.e. a list of peer design review related tasks
that have to be done by the facilitator or other attendees of the
PDR, during or near the conclusion of the PDR.

By having a checklist, and by going through a checklist, the

facilitator can...

1. Verify that the attendees have inspected all the relevant

documents and reports, and

2. Verify that all suggestions and recommendations for each issue

have been recorded, and

3. Verify that all relevant facts of the meeting have been

recorded.

The facilitator's checklist includes the following questions:

1. "Have we inspected all the relevant documents, code blocks, or

products?"

2. "Have we completed all the required checklists?"

3. "Have I recorded all the facts relevant to this peer review?"

4. "Does anyone have any additional suggestions, recommendations,

or comments?"

5. "What is the outcome of this peer review?" At the end of the

peer review, the facilitator asks the attendees of the peer review
to make a decision as to the outcome of the peer review. I.e.,
"What is our consensus?" "Are we accepting the design (or document
or code)?"

Q: What is the Exit criteria? (Cont'd...)

Or, "Are we accepting it with minor modifications?"Or, "Are we

accepting it, after it is modified, and approved through e-mails
to the participants?" Or, "Do we want another peer review?" This
is a phase, during which the attendees of the PDR work as a
committee, and the committee's decision is final.

Q: What is the Entry criteria?

A: The entry criteria is a checklist, or a combination of

checklists that includes the "developer's checklist", "testing
checklist", and the "PDR checklist". Checklists are list of tasks
that have to be done by developers, testers, or the facilitator,
at or before the start of the peer review.

Using these checklists, before the start of the peer review, the
developer, tester and facilitator can determine if all the
 documents, reports, code blocks or software products are ready to
be reviewed, and if the peer review's attendees are prepared to
inspect them. The facilitator can ask the peer review's attendees
if they have been able to prepare for the peer review, and if
they're not well prepared, the facilitator can send them back to
their desks, and even ask the task lead to reschedule the peer
review.

The facilitator's script for the entry criteria includes the

following questions:

1. Are all the required attendees present at the peer review?

2. Have all the attendees received all the relevant documents and
reports?
3. Are all the attendees well prepared for this peer review?
4. Have all the preceding life cycle activities been concluded?
5. Are there any changes to the baseline?

Q: What are the parameters of peer reviews?

A: By definition, parameters are values on which something else

depends. Peer reviews depend on the attendance and active
participation of several key people; usually the facilitator, task
lead, test lead, and at least one additional reviewer.

The attendance of these four people are usually required for the
approval of the PDR. According to company policy, depending on
your company, other participants are often invited, but generally
not required for approval.

Peer reviews depend on the facilitator, sometimes known as the

moderator, who controls the meeting, keeps the meeting on
schedule, and records all suggestions from all attendees.

Peer reviews greatly depend on the developer, also known as the

designer, author, or task lead -- usually a software engineer --
who is most familiar with the project, and most likely able to
answer any questions or address any concerns that may come up
during the peer review.

Peer reviews greatly depend on the tester, also known as test

lead, or bench test person -- usually another software engineer --
who is also familiar with the project, and most likely able to
answer any questions or address any concers that may come up
during the peer review.

Peer reviews greatly depend on the participation of additional

reviewers and additional attendees who often make specific
suggestions and recommendations, and ask the largest number of
questions.

Q: Have you attended any review meetings?

A: Yes, in the last 10+ years I have attended many review

meetings; mostly peer reviews. In today's corporate world, the
vast majority of review meetings are peer review meetings.

In my experience, the most useful peer reviews are the ones where
you're the author of something. Why? Because when you're the
author, then it's you who decides what to do and how, and it's you
who receives all the free help.

In my experience, on the long run, the inputs of your additional

reviewers and additional attendees can be the most valuable to you
and your company. But, in your own best interest, in order to
expedite things, before every peer review it is a good idea to get
together with the additional reviewer and additional attendee, and
talk with them about issues, because if you don't, they will be
the ones with the largest number of questions and usually negative
feedback.

When a PDR is done right, it is useful, beneficial, pleasant, and

friendly. Generally speaking, the fewer people show up at the PDR,
the easier it tends to be, and the earlier it can be adjourned.

When you're an author, developer, or task lead, many times you can
relax, because during your peer review your facilitator and test
lead are unlikely to ask any tough questions from you. Why?
Because, the facilitator is too busy taking notes, and the test
lead is kind of bored (because he had already asked his toughest
questions before the PDR).

When you're a facilitator, every PDR tends to be a pleasant

experience. In my experience, one of the easiest review meetings
are PDRs where you're the facilitator (whose only job is to call
the shots and make notes).

Q: What types of review meetings can you tell me about?

A: Of review meetings, peer design reviews are the most common.

Peer design reviews are so common that they tend to replace both
inspections and walk-throughs.

Peer design reviews can be classified according to the 'subject'

of the review. I.e., "Is this a document review, design review, or
code review?"

Peer design reviews can be classified according to the 'role' you

play at the meeting. I.e., "Are you the task lead, test lead,
facilitator, moderator, or additional reviewer?"

Peer design reviews can be classified according to the 'job title

of attendees. I.e., "Is this a meeting of peers, managers, systems
engineers, or system integration testers?"

Peer design reviews can be classified according to what is being

reviewed at the meeting. I.e., "Are we reviewing the work of a
developer, tester, engineer, or technical document writer?"
 Peer design reviews can be classified according to the 'objective'
of the review. I.e., "Is this document for the file cabinets of
our company, or that of the government (e.g. the FAA or FDA)?"

PDRs of government documents tend to attract the attention of

managers, and the meeting quickly becomes a meeting of managers.

Q: How can I shift my focus and area of work from QC to QA?

A: Number one, focus on your strengths, skills, and abilities!

Realize that there are MANY similarities between Quality Control
and Quality Assurance! Realize that you have MANY transferable
skills!

Number two, make a plan! Develop a belief that getting a job in QA

is easy! HR professionals cannot tell the difference between
quality control and quality assurance! HR professionals tend to
respond to keywords (i.e. QC and QA), without knowing the exact
meaning of those keywords!

Number three, make it a reality! Invest your time! Get some

hands-on experience! Do some QA work! Do any QA work, even if, for
a few months, you get paid a little less than usual! Your goals,
beliefs, enthusiasm, and action will make a huge difference in
your life!

Number four, I suggest you read all you can, and that includes
reading product pamphlets, manuals, books, information on the
Internet, and whatever information you can lay your hands on! If
there is a will, there is a way! You CAN do it, if you put your
mind to it! You CAN learn to do QA work, with little or no outside
help! Click on a link!

Q: What techniques and tools can enable me to migrate from QC to

QA?

A: Technique number one is mental preparation. Understand and

believe what you want is not unusual at all! Develop a belief in
yourself! Start believing what you want is attainable! You can
change your career! Every year, millions of men and women change
their careers successfully!

Number two, make a plan! Develop a belief that getting a job in QA

is easy! HR professionals cannot tell the difference between
quality control and quality assurance! HR professionals tend to
respond to keywords (i.e. QC and QA), without knowing the exact
meaning of those keywords!

Q: What techniques and tools can enable me to migrate from QC to

QA? (Cont'd...)
A: Number three, make it a reality! Invest your time! Get some
hands-on experience! Do some QA work! Do any QA work, even if, for
a few months, you get paid a little less than usual! Your goals,
beliefs, enthusiasm, and action will make a huge difference in
your life!

Number four, I suggest you read all you can, and that includes
reading product pamphlets, manuals, books, information on the
Internet, and whatever information you can lay your hands on!

If there is a will, there is a way! You CAN do it, if you put your
mind to it! You CAN learn to do QA work, with little or no outside
help! Click on a link!

Q: What is the difference between build and release?

A: Builds and releases are similar, because both builds and

releases are end products of software development processes.
Builds and releases are similar, because both builds and releases
help developers and QA teams to deliver reliable software.

Build means a version of a software, typically one that is still

in testing. Usually a version number is given to a released
product, but, sometimes, a build number is used instead.

Difference number one: Builds refer to software that is still in

testing, release refers to software that is usually no longer in
testing.

Q: What is the difference between build and release? (Cont'd...)

Difference number two: Builds occur more frequently; releases

occur less frequently.

Difference number three: Versions are based on builds, and not

vice versa. Builds, or usually a series of builds, are generated
first, as often as one build per every morning, depending on the
company, and then every release is based on a build, or several
builds, i.e. the accumulated code of several builds.

Q: What is CMM?

A: CMM is an acronym that stands for Capability Maturity Model.

The idea of CMM is, as to future efforts in developing and testing
software, concepts and experiences do not always point us in the
right direction, therefore we should develop processes, and then
refine those processes.

There are five CMM levels, of which Level 5 is the highest...

CMM Level 1 is called "Initial".

CMM Level 2 is called "Repeatable".
 CMM Level 3 is called "Defined".
CMM Level 4 is called "Managed".
CMM Level 5 is called "Optimized".

There are not many Level 5 companies; most hardly need to be.
Within the United States, fewer than 8% of software companies are
rated CMM Level 4, or higher. The U.S. government requires that
all companies with federal government contracts to maintain a
minimum of a CMM Level 3 assessment.

CMM assessments take two weeks. They're conducted by a nine-member

team led by a SEI-certified lead assessor.

Q: What are CMM levels and their definitions?

A: There are five CMM levels of which level 5 is the highest.

CMM level 1 is called "initial". The software process is at CMM

level 1, if it is an ad hoc process. At CMM level 1, few processes
are defined, and success, in general, depends on individual effort
and heroism.

CMM level 2 is called "repeatable". The software process is at CMM

level 2, if the subject company has some basic project management
processes, in order to track cost, schedule, and functionality.
Software processes are at CMM level 2, if necessary processes are
in place, in order to repeat earlier successes on projects with
similar applications. Software processes are at CMM level 2, if
there are requirements management, project planning, project
tracking, subcontract management, QA, and configuration
management.

CMM level 3 is called "defined". The software process is at CMM

level 3, if the software process is documented, standardized, and
integrated into a standard software process for the subject
company. The software process is at CMM level 3, if all projects
use approved, tailored versions of the company's standard software
process for developing and maintaining software. Software
processes are at CMM level 3, if there are process definition,
training programs, process focus, integrated software management,
software product engineering, intergroup coordination, and peer
reviews.

CMM level 4 is called "managed". The software process is at CMM

level 4, if the subject company collects detailed data on the
software process and product quality, and if both the software
process and the software products are quantitatively understood
and controlled. Software processes are at CMM level 4, if there
are software quality management (SQM) and quantitative process
management.

Q: What are CMM levels and their definitions? (Cont'd...)

CMM level 5 is called "optimized". The software process is at CMM

level 5, if there is continuous process improvement, if there is
quantitative feedback from the process and from piloting
innovative ideas and technologies. Software processes are at CMM
level 5, if there are process change management, and defect
prevention technology change management.

Q: What is the difference between bug and defect in software

testing?

A: In software testing, the difference between bug and defect is

small, and depends on your company. For some companies, bug and
defect are synonymous, while others believe bug is a subset of
defect.

Generally speaking, we, software test engineers, discover BOTH

bugs and defects, before bugs and defects damage the reputation of
our company. We, QA engineers, use the software much like real
users would, to find BOTH bugs and defects, to find ways to
replicate BOTH bugs and defects, to submit bug reports to the
developers, and to provide feedback to the developers, i.e. tell
them if they've achieved the desired level of quality. Therefore,
we, software QA engineers, do not differentiate between bugs and
defects. In our bug reports, we include BOTH bugs and defects, and
any differences between them are minor.

Difference number one: In bug reports, the defects are usually

easier to describe.

Difference number two: In bug reports, it is usually easier to

write the descriptions on how to replicate the defects. Defects
tend to require brief explanations only.

Q: What is grey box testing?

A: 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.

Gray box testing is a powerful idea. The concept is simple; if one

knows something about how the product works on the inside, one can
test it better, even from the outside.

Grey box testing is not to be confused with white box testing;

i.e. a testing approach that attempts to cover the internals of
the product in detail. Grey box testing is a test strategy based
partly on internals.
 The testing approach is known as gray box testing, when one does
have some knowledge, but not the full knowledge of the internals
of the product one is testing.

In gray box testing, just as in black box testing, you test from
the outside of a product, just as you do with black box, but you
make better-informed testing choices because you're better
informed; because you know how the underlying software components
operate and interact.

Q: What is the difference between version and release?

A: Both version and release indicate a particular point in the

software development life cycle, or in the life cycle of a
document.

The two terms, version and release, are similar (i.e. mean pretty
much the same thing), but there are minor differences between
them.

Version means a VARIATION of an earlier, or original, type; for

example, "I've downloaded the latest version of the software from
the Internet. The latest version number is
3.3."

Release, on the other hand, is the ACT OR INSTANCE of issuing

something for publication, use, or distribution. Release is
something thus released. For example, "A new release of a software
program."

Q: What is data integrity?

A: Data integrity is one of the six fundamental components of

information security.

Data integrity is the completeness, soundness, and wholeness of

the data that also complies with the intention of the creators of
the data.

In databases, important data -- including customer information,

order database, and pricing tables -- may be stored.

In databases, data integrity is achieved by preventing accidental,

or deliberate, or unauthorized insertion, or modification, or
destruction of data.

Q: How do you test data integrity?

A: Data integrity testing should verify the completeness,

soundness, and wholeness of the stored data.

Testing should be performed on a regular basis, because important

data can and will change over time.
 Data integrity tests include the followings:

1. Verify that you can create, modify, and delete any data in
tables.

2. Verify that sets of radio buttons represent fixed sets of

values.

3. Verify that a blank value can be retrieved from the database.

4. Verify that, when a particular set of data is saved to the

database, each value gets saved fully, and the truncation of
strings and rounding of numeric values do not occur.

5. Verify that the default values are saved in the database, if

the user input is not specified.

6. Verify compatibility with old data, old hardware, versions of

operating systems, and interfaces with other software.

Q: What is data validity?

A: Data validity is the correctness and reasonablenesss of data.

Reasonableness of data means, for example, account numbers falling
within a range, numeric data being all digits, dates having a
valid month, day and year, spelling of proper names.

Data validity errors are probably the most common, and the most
difficult to detect, data-related errors.

What causes data validity errors?

Data validity errors are usually caused by incorrect data entries,

when a large volume of data is entered in a short period of time.

For example, 12/25/2005 is entered as 13/25/2005 by mistake. This

date is therefore invalid.

How can you reduce data validity errors? Use simple field
validation rules.

Technique 1: If the date field in a database uses the MM/DD/YYYY

format, then use a program with the following two data validation
rules: "MM should not exceed 12, and DD should not exceed 31".

Technique 2: If the original figures do not seem to match the ones

in the database, then use a program to validate data fields.
Compare the sum of the numbers in the database data field to the
original sum of numbers from the source. If there is a difference
between the figures, it is an indication of an error in at least
one data element.

Q: What is the difference between data validity and data

integrity?
 A: Difference number one: Data validity is about the correctness
and reasonableness of data, while data integrity is about the
completeness, soundness, and wholeness of the data that also
complies with the intention of the creators of the data.

Q: What is the difference between data validity and data

integrity? (Cont'd...)

Difference number two: Data validity errors are more common, while
data integrity errors are less common.

Difference number three: Errors in data validity are caused by

HUMANS -- usually data entry personnel -- who enter, for example,
13/25/2005, by mistake, while errors in data integrity are caused
by BUGS in computer programs that, for example, cause the
overwriting of some of the data in the database, when one attempts
to retrieve a blank value from the database.

Q: What is TestDirector?

A: TestDirector, also known as Mercury TestDirector, is a software

tool made for software QA professionals. Mercury TestDirector, as
the name implies, is the product of Mercury Interactive
Corporation, located at 379 North Whisman Road, Mountain View,
California 94043 USA.

Mercury's products include the Mercury TestDirector®, Mercury

QuickTest Professional™, Mercury WinRunner™, and Mercury Business
Process Testing™.

Q: How I can improve my career in Software Testing, in Banking?

A: Number one: Improve your attitude! Become the best Software

Test Engineer! Always strive to exceed the expectations of your
customers!

Q: How I can improve my career in software testing, in banking?

(Cont'd...)

Number two: Get an education! Sign up for courses at nearby

educational institutes. Take classes! Classroom education,
especially non-degree courses in local community colleges, tends
to be inexpensive.

Number three: Get additional education, on the job, at the bank or

financial institution where you work. Free education is often
provided by employers, while you are paid to do the job of a
Software Test Engineer.

On the job, oftentimes you can use some of the world's best
software tools, including the Rational Toolset, and there are many
 others. If your immediate manager is reluctant to train you on the
job, in order to do your job, then quietly find another banker,
i.e. another employer, whose needs and preferences are similar to
yours.

Number four: Invest in your skills! Learn all you can! Visit my
web site! On robdavispe.com/free and robdavispe.com/free2 you will
find answers to most questions on testing, from a Software Test
Engineer's point of view. Read the free information! Click on a
link!

Q: Tell me about 'TestDirector'.

A: Made by Mercury Interactive, 'TestDirector' is a single

browser-based application that streamlines the software QA
process. It is a software tool that helps software QA
professionals to gather requirements, to plan, schedule and run
tests, and to manage and track defects/issues/bugs.

TestDirector's Requirements Manager links test cases to

requirements, ensures traceability, and calculates what percentage
of the requirements are covered by tests, how many of these tests
have been run, and how many have passed or failed.

As to planning, test plans can be created, or imported, for both

manual and automated tests. The test plans can then be reused,
shared, and preserved. As to running tests, the TestDirector’s
Test Lab Manager allows you to schedule tests to run unattended,
or run even overnight.

The TestDirector's Defect Manager supports the entire bug life

cycle, from initial problem detection through fixing the defect,
and verifying the fix. Additionally, the TestDirector can create
customizable graphs and reports, including test execution reports
and release status assessments.

Q: What is structural testing?

A: Structural testing is also known as clear box testing, glass

box testing. Structural testing is a way to test software with
knowledge of the internal workings of the code being tested.

Structural testing is white box testing, not black box testing,

since black boxes are considered opaque and do not permit
visibility into the code.

Q: What is the difference between static and dynamic testing?

A: The differences between static and dynamic testing are as

follows:

Difference number 1: Static testing is about prevention, dynamic

testing is about cure.
Difference number 2: She static tools offer greater marginal
benefits.

Difference number 3: Static testing is many times more

cost-effective than dynamic testing.

Difference number 4: Static testing beats dynamic testing by a

wide margin.

Difference number 5: Static testing is more effective!

Difference number 6: Static testing gives you comprehensive

diagnostics for your code.

Difference number 7: Static testing achieves 100% statement

coverage in a relatively short time, while dynamic testing often
often achieves less than 50% statement coverage, because dynamic
testing finds bugs only in parts of the code that are actually
executed.

Difference number 8: Dynamic testing usually takes longer than

static testing. Dynamic testing may involve running several test
cases, each of which may take longer than compilation.

Difference number 9: Dynamic testing finds fewer bugs than static

testing.

Difference number 10: Static testing can be done before

compilation, while dynamic testing can take place only after
compilation and linking.

Difference number 11: Static testing can find all of the following
that dynamic testing cannot find: syntax errors, code that is hard
to maintain, code that is hard to test, code that does not conform
to coding standards, and ANSI violations.

Q: What testing tools should I use?

A: Ideally, you should use both static and dynamic testing tools.
To maximize software reliability, you should use both static and
dynamic techniques, supported by appropriate static and dynamic
testing tools.

Static and dynamic testing are complementary. Static and dynamic

testing find different classes of bugs. Some bugs are detectable
only by static testing, some only by dynamic.

Dynamic testing does detect some errors that static testing

misses. To eliminate as many errors as possible, both static and
dynamic testing should be used.

All this static testing (i.e. testing for syntax errors, testing
for code that is hard to maintain, testing for code that is hard
to test, testing for code that does not conform to coding
standards, and testing for ANSI violations) takes place before
compilation. Static testing takes roughly as long as compilation
and checks every statement you have written.

Q: Why should I use static testing techniques?

A: You should use static testing techniques because static testing

is a bargain, compared to dynamic testing. Static testing is up to
100 times more effective. Even in selective testing, static
testing may be up to 10 times more effective. The most pessimistic
estimates suggest a factor of 4.

Since static testing is faster and achieves 100% coverage, the

unit cost of detecting these bugs by static testing is many times
lower than that of by dynamic testing.

Q: Why should I use static testing techniques? (Cont'd...)

About half of the bugs, detectable by dynamic testing, can be

detected earlier by static testing.

If you use neither static nor dynamic test tools, the static tools
offer greater marginal benefits.

If urgent deadlines loom on the horizon, the use of dynamic

testing tools can be omitted, but tool-supported static testing
should never be omitted.

Q: How can I get registered and licensed as a professional

engineer?

A: To get registered and licensed as a professional engineer,

generally you have to be a legal resident of the jurisdiction
where you submit your application.

You also have to be at least 18 years of age, trustworthy, with no

criminal record. You also have to have a minimum of a bachelor's
degree in engineering, from an established, recognized, and
approved university.

Usually you have to provide two references, from licensed and

professional engineers, and work for a few years as an engineer,
as an "engineer in training", under the supervision of a
registered and licensed professional engineer. You have to pass a
test of competence in your engineering discipline as well as in
professional ethics.

For many candidates, the biggest two hurdles of getting a license

seem to be the lack of a university degree in engineering, or the
lack of an acceptable, verifiable work experience, under the
supervision of a licensed, professional engineer.
Q: I don't have any experience. How can I get my first experience?

A: I see MANY possibilities.

Possibility number 1: Work for a company as a technician,

preferably at a small company, or a company that promotes from
within. Once hired, work your way up to the test bench, and you
WILL get your first experience!

Possibility number 2: Know someone, and you WILL get your first
job!

Possibility number 3: Sell yourself well! If you are confident,

you WILL get your first job! Make yourself shine, and the job will
fall in your lap!

Possibility number 4: Speak to a manager, make a good impression,

and you WILL get your first job!

Possibility number 5: Attend a school of good reputation. If your

prospective boss is familiar with the school, you WILL get your
first job!

Possibility number 6: Attend a school that offers job placement,

with a real record of job placement assistance. Then do what they
say, and then you WILL get your first
job!

Possibility number 7: Believe in yourself, be confident, and you

WILL get your first job!

Possibility number 8: Ask employment agencies. They usually keep

in touch with various companies. Sometimes they're friends with
managers. Other times they're unusually well-informed. They will
help you to get your first job!

Q: I don't have any experience. How can I get my first experience?

(Cont'd...)

Possibility number 9: Work for a company as a volunteer, i.e. an

employee without pay. Once hired, you WILL get your first
experience!

Possibility number 10: Get your first job by training yourself.

Training yourself on a PC (or Mac), with the proper software, can
be useful, if you spend your time to use it to its maximum
potential! You can get more information! You can get the
information now, right now! Click on a link!

Q: What is the definition of top down design?

A: Top down design progresses from simple design to detailed

design. Top down design solves problems by breaking them down into
smaller, easier to solve subproblems. Top down design creates
 solutions to these smaller problems, and then tests them using
test drivers.

In other words, top down design starts the design process with the
main module or system, then progresses down to lower level modules
and subsystems.

To put it differently, top down design looks at the whole system,

and then explodes it into subsystems, or smaller parts. A systems
engineer or systems analyst determines what the top level
objectives are, and how they can be met. He then divides the
system into subsystems, i.e. breaks the whole system into logical,
manageable-size modules, and deals with them individually.

Q: What are the future prospects of software QA/testing?

A: In many IT-related occupations, employers want to see an

increasingly broader range of skills; often non-technical skills.
In software QA/testing, for example, employers want us to have a
combination of technical, business, and personal skills.

Technical skills mean skills in IT, quantitative analysis, data

modeling, and technical writing. Business skills mean skills in
strategy and business writing. Personal skills mean personal
communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

We, employees, on the other hand, want increasingly more autonomy,

better lifestyle, increasingly more employee oriented company
culture, and better geographic location. We will continue to enjoy
relatively good job security and, depending on the business cycle,
many job opportunities as well.

We realize our skills are important, and have strong incentives to

upgrade our skills, although sometimes lack the information on how
to do so. Educational institutions are increasingly more likely to
ensure that we are exposed to real-life situations and problems,
but high turnover rates and a rapid pace of change in the IT
industry will often act as strong disincentives for employers to
invest in our skills, especially non-company specific skills.
Employers will continue to establish closer links with educational
institutions, both through in-house education programs and human
resources.

The share of IT workers with IT degrees will keep increasing.

Certification will continue to keep helping employers to quickly
identify us with the latest skills. During boom times, smaller and
younger companies will continue to be the most attractive to us,
especially those companies that offer stock options and
performance bonuses in order to retain and attract those of us who
are most skilled.

Q: What are the future prospects of software QA/testing?

(Cont'd...)

High turnover rates will continue to be the norm, especially

 during boom. Software QA/Testing will continue to be outsourced to
offshore locations. Software QA/testing will continue to be
performed by a disproportionate share of men, but the share of
women will increase.

Q: How can I be effective and efficient, when I do black box

testing of e-commerce web sites?

A: When you're doing black box testing of e-commerce web sites,

you're most efficient and effective when you're testing the sites'
Visual Appeal, Contents, and Home Pages. When you want to be
effective and efficient, you need to verify that the site is well
planned.

Verify that the site is customer-friendly. Verify that the choices

of colors are attractive. Verify that the choices of fonts are
attractive. Verify that the site's audio is customer friendly.
Verify that the site's video is attractive. Verify that the choice
of graphics is attractive. Verify that every page of the site is
displayed properly on all the popular browsers. Verify the
authenticity of facts.

Ensure the site provides reliable and consistent information. Test

the site for appearance. Test the site for grammatical and
spelling errors. Test the site for visual appeal, choice of
browsers, consistency of font size, download time, broken links,
missing links, incorrect links, and browser compatibility. Test
each toolbar, each menu item, every window, every field prompt,
every pop-up text, and every error message.

Test every page of the site for left and right justifications,
every shortcut key, each control, each push button, every radio
button, and each item on every drop-down menu. Test each list box,
and each help menu item. Also check, if the command buttons are
grayed out when they're not in use.

Q: What is a backward compatible design?

A: The design is backward compatible, if the design continues to

work with earlier versions of a language, program, code, or
software.

When the design is backward compatible, the signals or data that

had to be changed, did not break the existing code.

For instance, our mythical web designer decides that the fun of
using Javascript and Flash is more important than backward
compatible design, or, he decides that he doesn't have the
resources to maintain multiple styles of backward compatible web
design.

This decision of his will inconvenience some users, because some

of the earlier versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape will not
display his web pages properly, as there are some serious
improvements in the newer versions of Internet Explorer and
 Netscape that make the older versions of these browsers
incompatible with, for example, DHTML.

This is when we say, "This design doesn't continue to work with

earlier versions of browser software. Therefore our mythical
designer's web design is not backward compatible".

On the other hand, if the same mythical web designer decides that
backward compatibility is more important than fun, or, if he
decides that he has the resources to maintain multiple styles of
backward compatible code, then no user will be inconvenienced.

No one will be inconvenienced, even when Microsoft and Netscape

make some serious improvements in their web browsers.

This is when we can say, "Our mythical web designer's design is

backward compatible".

Q: What is the difference between top down and bottom up design?

A: Top down design proceeds from the abstract (entity) to get to

the concrete (design). Bottom up design proceeds from the concrete
(design) to get to the abstract (entity).

Top down design is most often used in designing brand new systems,
while bottom up design is sometimes used when one is reverse
engineering a design; i.e. when one is trying to figure out what
somebody else designed in an existing system.

Bottom up design begins the design with the lowest level modules
or subsystems, and progresses upward to the main program, module,
or subsystem.

With bottom up design, a structure chart is necessary to determine

the order of execution, and the development of drivers is
necessary to complete the bottom up approach.

Top down design, on the other hand, begins the design with the
main or top-level module, and progresses downward to the lowest
level modules or subsystems.

Real life sometimes is a combination of top down design and bottom

up design.

For instance, data modeling sessions tend to be iterative,

bouncing back and forth between top down and bottom up modes, as
the need arises.

Q: What is the defintion of bottom up design?

A: Bottom up design begins the design at the lowest level modules

or subsystems, and progresses upward to the design of the main
program, main module, or main subsystem.

To determine the order of execution, a structure chart is needed,

 and, to complete the bottom up design, the development of drivers
is needed.

In software design - assuming that the data you start with is a

pretty good model of what you're trying to do - bottom up design
generally starts with the known data (e.g. customer lists, order
forms), then the data is broken into into chunks (i.e. entities)
appropriate for planning a relational database.

This process reveals what relationships the entities have, and

what the entities' attributes are.

In software design, bottom up design doesn't only mean writing the

program in a different order, but there is more to it. When you
design bottom up, you often end up with a different program.
Instead of a single, monolithic program, you get a larger
language, with more abstract operators, and a smaller program
written in it.

Once you abstract out the parts which are merely utilities, what
is left is much shorter program. The higher you build up the
language, the less distance you will have to travel down to it,
from the top. Bottom up design makes it easy to reuse code blocks.

For example, many of the utilities you write for one program are
also useful for programs you have to write later. Bottom up design
also makes programs easier to read.

Q: What is smoke testing?

A: Smoke testing is a relatively simple check to see whether the

product "smokes" when it runs. Smoke testing is also known as ad
hoc testing, i.e. testing without a formal test plan.

With many projects, smoke testing is carried out in addition to

formal testing. If smoke testing is carried out by a skilled
tester, it can often find problems that are not caught during
regular testing.

Sometimes, if testing occurs very early or very late in the

software development cycle, this can be the only kind of testing
that can be performed.

Smoke tests are, by definition, not exhaustive, but, over time,

you can increase your coverage of smoke testing.

A common practice at Microsoft, and some other software companies,

is the daily build and smoke test process. This means, every file
is compiled, linked, and combined into an executable file every
single day, and then the software is smoke tested.

Smoke testing minimizes integration risk, reduces the risk of low

quality, supports easier defect diagnosis, and improves morale.

Smoke testing does not have to be exhaustive, but should expose

 any major problems. Smoke testing should be thorough enough that,
if it passes, the tester can assume the product is stable enough
to be tested more thoroughly.

Without smoke testing, the daily build is just a time wasting

exercise. Smoke testing is the sentry that guards against any
errors in development and future problems during integration.

At first, smoke testing might be the testing of something that is

easy to test. Then, as the system grows, smoke testing should
expand and grow, from a few seconds to 30 minutes or more.

Q: What is the difference between monkey testing and smoke

testing?

A: Difference number 1: Monkey testing is random testing, and

smoke testing is a nonrandom check to see whether the product
"smokes" when it runs. Smoke testing is nonrandom testing that
deliberately exercises the entire system from end to end, with the
the goal of exposing any major problems.

Difference number 2: Monkey testing is performed by automated

testing tools. On the other hand, smoke testing, more often than
not, is a manual check to see whether the product "smokes" when it
runs.

Difference number 3: Monkey testing is performed by "monkeys",

while smoke testing is performed by skilled testers (to see
whether the product "smokes" when it runs).

Difference number 4: "Smart monkeys" are valuable for load and

stress testing, but not very valuable for smoke testing, because
they are too expensive for smoke testing.

Difference number 5: "Dumb monkeys" are inexpensive to develop,

are able to do some basic testing, but, if we use them for smoke
testing, they find few bugs during smoke testing.

Difference number 6: Monkey testing is not a thorough testing, but

smoke testing is thorough enough that, if the build passes, one
can assume that the program is stable enough to be tested more
thoroughly.

Difference number 7: Monkey testing does not evolve. Smoke

testing, on the other hand, evolves as the system evolves from
something simple to something more thorough.

Difference number 8: Monkey testing takes "six monkeys" and a

"million years" to run. Smoke testing, on the other hand, takes
much less time to run, i.e. anywhere from a few seconds to a
couple of hours.

Q: Tell me about the process of daily builds and smoke tests.

A: The idea behind the process of daily builds and smoke tests is
to build the product every day, and test it every day.

The software development process at Microsoft and many other

software companies requires daily builds and smoke tests.
According to their process, every day, every single file has to be
compiled, linked, and combined into an executable program. And,
then, the program has to be "smoke tested".

Smoke testing is a relatively simple check to see whether the

product "smokes" when it runs.

You should add revisions to the build only when it makes sense to
do so. You should to establish a Build Group, and build *daily*;
set your *own standard* for what constitutes "breaking the build",
and create a penalty for breaking the build, and check for broken
builds *every day*.

In addition to the daily builds, you should smoke test the builds,
and smoke test them Daily. You should make the smoke test Evolve,
as the system evolves. You should build and smoke test Daily, even
when the project is under pressure.

Think about the many benefits of this process! The process of

daily builds and smoke tests minimizes the integration risk,
reduces the risk of low quality, supports easier defect diagnosis,
improves morale, enforces discipline, and keeps pressure-cooker
projects on track.

If you build and smoke test *daily*, success will come, even when
you're working on large projects!

Q: I have no experience. How can I get a job?

A: There are many who might say, "I need experience to get a job.
But, how can I get the experience, if I cannot get a job?"

The good thing is, when you want a QA Tester job, there are MANY
possibilities!

Possibility number 1: Get a job with a company at a lower level,

perhaps as a technician, preferably at a small company, or a
company that promotes from within. Once you're hired, work your
way up to the test bench, and you WILL get your first QA Tester
experience!

Possibility number 2: Attend a school of good reputation. If your

prospective boss is familiar with your school, you will get your
first job!

Possibility number 3: Attend a school that offers job placement,

with a real record of job placement assistance, and do what they
say, and you WILL get your first job!
 Possibility number 4: Work for a company as a volunteer, i.e.
employee without pay. Once you're hired, you WILL get your first
experience!

Possibility number 5: Get your first job by training yourself.

Training yourself on a PC with the proper manual and automated
testing tools, can be useful, if you spend your time to use it to
its maximum potential! Get some hands-on experience on how to use
manual and automated testing tools.

If there is a will, there is a way! You CAN do it, if you put your
mind to it! You CAN learn to use WinRunner and many other
automated testing tools, with little or no outside help. Click on
a link!

Q: What is the purpose of test strategy?

A: Reason number 1: The number one reason of writing a test

strategy document is to "have" a signed, sealed, and delivered,
FDA (or FAA) approved document, where the document includes a
written testing methodology, test plan, and test cases.

Reason number 2: Having a test strategy does satisfy one important

step in the software testing process.

Reason number 3: The test strategy document tells us how the

software product will be tested.

Reason number 4: The creation of a test strategy document presents

an opportunity to review the test plan with the project team.

Reason number 5: The test strategy document describes the roles,

responsibilities, and the resources required for the test and
schedule constraints.

Reason number 6: When we create a test strategy document, we have

to put into writing any testing issues requiring resolution (and
usually this means additional negotiation at the project
management level).

Reason number 7: The test strategy is decided first, before lower

level decisions are made on the test plan, test design, and other
testing issues.

Q: What do you mean by 'the process is repeatable'?

A: A process is repeatable, whenever we have the necessary

processes in place, in order to repeat earlier successes on
projects with similar applications.

A process is repeatable, if we use detailed and well-written

processes and procedures. A process is repeatable, if we ensure
that the correct steps are executed.
When the correct steps are executed, we facilitate a successful
completion of the task.

Documentation is critical.

A software process is repeatable, if there are requirements

management, project planning, project tracking, subcontract
management, QA, and configuration management.

Both QA processes and practices should be documented, so that they

are repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules,
inspection reports, configurations, code changes, test plans, test
cases, bug reports, user manuals should all be documented, so that
they are repeatable.

Document files should be well organized. There should be a system

for easily finding and obtaining documents, and determining what
document has a particular piece of information.

We should use documentation change management, if possible.

Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed a customer's business

processes and procedures, he will follow them. He will also
recommend improvements and/or additions.

Q: What is the purpose of a test plan?

A: Reason number 1: We create a test plan because preparing it

helps us to think through the efforts needed to validate the
acceptability of a software product.

Reason number 2: We create a test plan because it can and will

help people outside the test group to understand the why and how
of product validation.

Reason number 3: We create a test plan because, in regulated

environments, we have to have a written test plan.

Reason number 4: We create a test plan because the general testing

process includes the creation of a test plan.

Reason number 5: We create a test plan because we want a document

that describes the objectives, scope, approach and focus of the
software testing effort.

Reason number 6: We create a test plan because it includes test

cases, conditions, the test environment, a list of related tasks,
pass/fail criteria, and risk assessment.

Reason number 7: We create test plan because one of the outputs

for creating a test strategy is an approved and signed off test
plan document.

Reason number 8: We create a test plan because the software

 testing methodology a three step process, and one of the steps is
the creation of a test plan.

Reason number 9: We create a test plan because we want an

opportunity to review the test plan with the project team.

Reason number 10: We create a test plan document because test

plans should be documented, so that they are repeatable.

Q: Can I put fake experience in my resume?

A: What you put in your resume is your business, therefore I will

tell you about my own policy and belief system.

As a matter of policy, I do not put anyone else's experience or or

anyone else's company names in my resume.

Why? Because I believe it's NOT wise to put any fake experience in
one's resume. Putting fake experience would not be professional,
would not be ethical, could hurt my career, and I would be found
out.

They would find out because in this business we get interviewed by

highly skilled software managers, engineers, testers, specialists,
and bona fide experts who can tell, if we lack the expertise or
experience in any of their area of expertise.

And also because we work in the company of highly skilled software

engineers and testers who are able to tell right away, if we lack
the needed expertise or experience.

Q: Give me one test case that catches all the bugs!

A: If there is a "magic bullet", i.e. the one test case that has a
good possibility to catch ALL the bugs, or at least the most
important bugs, it is a challenge to find it, because test cases
depend on requirements; requirements depend on what customers
need; and customers can have great many different needs.

As software systems are getting increasingly complex, it is

increasingly more challenging to write test cases.

Q: Give me one test case that catches all the bugs! (Cont'd...)

It is true that there are ways to create "minimal test cases"

which can greatly simplify the test steps to be executed.

But, writing such test cases is time consuming, and project

deadlines often prevent us from going that route.

Often the lack of enough time for testing is the reason for bugs
to occur in the field.
However, even with ample time to catch the "most important bugs",
bugs still surface with amazing spontaneity.

The challenge is, developers do not seem to know how to avoid

providing the many opportunities for bugs to hide, and testers do
not seem to know where the bugs are hiding.

Q: What is the difference between a test plan and a test scenario?

A: Difference number 1: A test plan is a document that describes

the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of intended testing
activities, while a test scenario is a document that describes
both typical and atypical situations that may occur in the use of
an application.

Difference number 2: Test plans define the scope, approach,

resources, and schedule of the intended testing activities, while
test procedures define test conditions, data to be used for
testing, and expected results, including database updates, file
outputs, and report results.

Difference number 3: A test plan is a description of the scope,

approach, resources, and schedule of intended testing activities,
while a test scenario is a description of test cases that ensure
that a business process flow, applicable to the customer, is
tested from end to end.

Q: What is a test scenario?

A: The terms "test scenario" and "test case" are often used
synonymously.

Test scenarios are test cases, or test scripts, and the sequence
in which they are to be executed.

Test scenarios are test cases that ensure that business process
flows are tested from end to end.

Test scenarios are independent tests, or a series of tests, that

follow each other, where each of them dependent upon the output of
the previous one.

Test scenarios are prepared by reviewing functional requirements,

and preparing logical groups of functions that can be further
broken into test procedures.

Test scenarios are designed to represent both typical and unusual

situations that may occur in the application.

Test engineers define unit test requirements and unit test

scenarios. Test engineers also execute unit test scenarios.
 It is the test team that, with assistance of developers and
clients, develops test scenarios for integration and system
testing.

Test scenarios are executed through the use of test procedures or

scripts.

Test procedures or scripts define a series of steps necessary to

perform one or more test scenarios.

Test procedures or scripts may cover multiple test scenarios.

Q: Give me some sample test cases you would write!

A: For instance, if one of the requirements is, "Brake lights

shall be on, when the brake pedal is depressed", then, based on
this one simple requirement, for starters, I would write all of
the following test cases:

Test case number 101: "Inputs: The headlights are on. The brake
pedal is depressed. Expected result: The brake lights are on.
Verify that the brake lights are on, when the brake pedal is
depressed."

Test case number 102: "Inputs: The left turn lights are on. The
brake pedal is depressed. Expected result: The brake lights are
on. Verify that the brake lights are on, when the brake pedal is
depressed."

Test case number 103: "Inputs: The right turn lights are on. The
brake pedal is depressed. Expected result: The brake lights are
on. Verify that the brake lights are on, when the brake pedal is
depressed."

As you might have guessed, in the work place, in real life,

requirements are more complex than this one; and, just to verify
this one, simple requirement, there is a need for many more test
cases.

Q: Can I put one of your projects in my resume?

A: You've asked me for details of one of my projects so you could

put those details in your resume. I would like to help you, but if
I helped you, I would not be doing the right thing.

Q: Can I put one of your projects in my resume? (Cont'd...)

It would neither be wise nor professional or ethical, to put my

experience in your resume. If you did, you would be found out. If
you did, you could hurt your career and damage your confidence.
 Please keep in mind that you will be interviewed by some of the
world's best managers, engineers, testers, software engineers,
specialists. They're bona fide experts who can tell right away, if
you lack expertise or experience in software QA/testing.
Additionally, you will work in the company of some of the world's
best software QA engineers, testers, software engineers, and they
will be able to tell right away, if you lack the needed expertise
or experience.

Q: How do you write test cases?

A: When I write test cases, I concentrate on one requirement at a

time. Then, based on that one requirement, I come up with several
real life scenarios that are likely to occur in the use of the
application by end users. When I write test cases, I describe the
inputs, action, or event, and their expected results, in order to
determine if a feature of an application is working correctly.

To make the test case complete, I also add particulars e.g. test
case identifiers, test case names, objectives, test conditions (or
setups), input data requirements (or steps), and expected results.

Q: How do you write test cases? (Cont'd...)

If I have a choice, I prefer writing test cases as early as

possible in the development life cycle. Why? Because, as a side
benefit of writing test cases, many times I am able to find
problems in the requirements or design of an application. And,
because the process of developing test cases makes me completely
think through the operation of the application.

You can learn to write test cases! If there is a will, there is a

way! You CAN do it, if you put your mind to it! You CAN learn to
write test cases, with little or no outside help. Click on a link!

Q: What is a parameter?

A: A parameter is an item of information - such as a name, a

number, or a selected option - that is passed to a program by a
user or another program. By definition, a parameter is a value on
which something else depends. Any desired numerical value may be
given as a parameter.

We use parameters when we want to allow a specified range of

variables. We use parameters when we want to differentiate
behavior or pass input data to computer programs or their
subprograms.

Thus, when we are testing, the parameters of the test can be

varied to produce different results, because parameters do affect
the operation of the program receiving them. Example 1: We use a
parameter, such as temperature, that defines a system. In this
 definition, it is temperature that defines the system and
determines its behavior. Example 2: In the definition of function
f(x) = x + 10, x is a parameter. In this definition, x defines the
f(x) function and determines its behavior. Thus, when we are
testing, x can be varied to make f(x) produce different values,
because the value of x does affect the value of f(x).

When parameters are passed to a function subroutine, they are

called arguments.

Q: What is a constant?

A: In software or software testing, a constant is a meaningful

name that represents a number, or string, that does not change.

Constants are variables whose value remain the same, i.e.

constant, throughout the execution of a program.

Why do developers use constants? Because if we have code that

contains constant values that keep reappearing, or, if we have
code that depends on certain numbers that are difficult to
remember, we can improve both the readability and maintainability
of our code, by using constants.

To give you an example, let's suppose we declare a constant and we

call it Pi. We set it to 3.14159265 and use it throughout our
code.

Constants, such as Pi, as the name implies, store values that

remain constant throughout the execution of our program.

Keep in mind that, unlike variables which can be read from and
written to, constants are read-only variables.

Although constants resemble variables, we cannot modify or assign

new values to them, as we can to variables.

But we can make constants public, or private.

We can also specify what data type they are.

Q: What is a requirements test matrix?

A: The requirements test matrix is a project management tool for

tracking and managing testing efforts, based on requirements,
throughout the project's life cycle.

The requirements test matrix is a table, where requirement

descriptions are put in the rows of the table, and the
descriptions of testing efforts are put in the column headers of
the same table.

The requirements test matrix is similar to the requirements

traceability matrix, which is a representation of user
 requirements aligned against system functionality.

The requirements traceability matrix ensures that all user

requirements are addressed by the system integration team and
implemented in the system integration effort.

The requirements test matrix is a representation of user

requirements aligned against system testing.

Similarly to the requirements traceability matrix, the

requirements test matrix ensures that all user requirements are
addressed by the system test team and implemented in the system
testing effort.

Q: Give me a requirements test matrix template!

A: For a simple requirements test matrix template, you want a

basic table that you would like to use for cross-referencing
purposes.

How do you create one? You can create a requirements test matrix
template in the following six steps:

Step 1: Find out how many requirements you have.

Step 2: Find out how many test cases you have.

Q: Give me a requirements test matrix template! (Cont'd...)

Step 3: Based on these numbers, create a basic table. Let's

suppose you have a list of 90 requirements and 360 test cases.
Based on these numbers, you want to create a table of 91 rows and
361 columns.

Step 4: Focus on the the first column of your table. One by one,
copy all your 90 requirement numbers, and paste them into rows 2
through 91 of your table.

Step 5: Focus on the the first row of your table. One by one, copy
all your 360 test case numbers, and paste them into columns 2
through 361 of your table.

Step 6: Examine each of your 360 test cases, and, one by one,
determine which of the 90 requirements they satisfy. If, for the
sake of this example, test case 64 satisfies requirement 12, then
put a large "X" into cell 13-65 of your table... and then you have
it; you have just created a requirements test matrix template that
you can use for cross-referencing purposes.

Q: What is reliability testing?

A: Reliability testing is designing reliability test cases, using

accelerated reliability techniques (e.g. step-stress,
test/analyze/fix, and continuously increasing stress testing
 techniques), AND testing units or systems to failure, in order to
obtain raw failure time data for product life analysis.

The purpose of reliability testing is to determine product

reliability, and to determine whether the software meets the
customer's reliability requirements.

In the system test phase, or after the software is fully

developed, one reliability testing technique we use is a
test/analyze/fix technique, where we couple reliability testing
with the removal of faults.

Q: What is reliability testing? (Cont'd...)

When we identify a failure, we send the software back to the

developers, for repair. The developers build a new version of the
software, and then we do another test iteration. We track failure
intensity (e.g. failures per transaction, or failures per hour) in
order to guide our test process, and to determine the feasibility
of the software release, and to determine whether the software
meets the customer's reliability requirements.

Q: Give me an example on reliability testing.

A: For example, our products are defibrillators. From direct

contact with customers during the requirements gathering phase,
our sales team learns that a large hospital wants to purchase
defibrillators with the assurance that 99 out of every 100 shocks
will be delivered properly.

In this example, the fact that our defibrillator is able to run

for 250 hours without any failure, in order to demonstrate the
reliability, is irrelevant to these customers. In order to test
for reliability we need to translate terminology that is
meaningful to the customers into equivalent delivery units, such
as the number of shocks. We describe the customer needs in a
quantifiable manner, using the customer’s terminology. For
example, our of quantified reliability testing goal becomes as
follows: Our defibrillator will be considered sufficiently
reliable if 10 (or fewer) failures occur from 1,000 shocks.

Then, for example, we use a test/analyze/fix technique, and couple

reliability testing with the removal of errors. When we identify a
failed delivery of a shock, we send the software back to the
developers, for repair. The developers build a new version of the
software, and then we deliver another 1,000 shocks into dummy
resistor loads.

We track failure intensity (i.e. number of failures per 1,000

shocks) in order to guide our reliability testing, and to
determine the feasibility of the software release, and to
determine whether the software meets our customers' reliability
requirements.
 Q: What is verification?

A: Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all

functionality to the customer; it typically involves reviews and
meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and
specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists,
walk-throughs and inspection meetings. You CAN learn to do
verification, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free
information. Click on a link!

Q: What is validation?

A: Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in

requirements, is the intended behavior of the product; validation
typically involves actual testing and takes place after
verifications are completed.

Q: What is a walk-through?

A: A walk-through is an informal meeting for evaluation or

informational purposes. A walk-through is also a process at an
abstract level. It's the process of inspecting software code by
following paths through the code (as determined by input
conditions and choices made along the way). The purpose of code
walk-throughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose.

Walk-throughs also offer opportunities to assess an individual's

or team's competency.

Q: What is an inspection?

A: An inspection is a formal meeting, more formalized than a

walk-through and typically consists of 3-10 people including a
moderator, reader (the author of whatever is being reviewed) and a
recorder (to make notes in the document). The subject of the
inspection is typically a document, such as a requirements
document or a test plan. The purpose of an inspection is to find
problems and see what is missing, not to fix anything. The result
of the meeting should be documented in a written report. Attendees
should prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the
document, before the meeting starts; most problems are found
during this preparation. Preparation for inspections is difficult,
but is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality,
since bug prevention is more cost effective than bug detection.

Q: What is quality?

A: Quality software is software that is reasonably bug-free,

delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and
expectations and is maintainable. However, quality is a subjective
term. Quality depends on who the customer is and their overall
influence in the scheme of things. Customers of a software
development project include end-users, customer acceptance test
engineers, testers, customer contract officers, customer
management, the development organization's management, test
engineers, testers, salespeople, software engineers, stockholders
and accountants. Each type of customer will have his or her own
slant on quality. The accounting department might define quality
in terms of profits, while an end-user might define quality as
user friendly and bug free.

Q: What is good code?

A: A good code is code that works, is free of bugs and is readable

and maintainable. Organizations usually have coding standards all
developers should adhere to, but every programmer and software
engineer has different ideas about what is best and what are too
many or too few rules. We need to keep in mind that excessive use
of rules can stifle both productivity and creativity. Peer reviews
and code analysis tools can be used to check for problems and
enforce standards.

Q: What is good design?

A: Design could mean to many things, but often refers to

functional design or internal design. Good functional design is
indicated by software functionality can be traced back to customer
and end-user requirements. Good internal design is indicated by
software code whose overall structure is clear, understandable,
easily modifiable and maintainable; is robust with sufficient
error handling and status logging capability; and works correctly
when implemented.

Q: What is software life cycle?

A: Software life cycle begins when a software product is first

conceived and ends when it is no longer in use. It includes phases
like initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design,
internal design, documentation planning, test planning, coding,
document preparation, integration, testing, maintenance, updates,
re-testing and phase-out.

Q: How do you introduce a new software QA process?

A: It depends on the size of the organization and the risks

involved. For large organizations with high-risk projects, a
serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process
is necessary. For medium size organizations with lower risk
projects, management and organizational buy-in and a slower,
step-by-step process is required. Generally speaking, QA processes
should be balanced with productivity, in order to keep any
bureaucracy from getting out of hand. For smaller groups or
projects, an ad-hoc process is more appropriate. A lot depends on
team leads and managers, feedback to developers and good
communication is essential among customers, managers, developers,
test engineers and testers. Regardless the size of the company,
the greatest value for effort is in managing requirement
processes, where the goal is requirements that are clear, complete
and
testable.

Q: What is the role of documentation in QA?

A: Documentation plays a critical role in QA. QA practices should

be documented, so that they are repeatable. Specifications,
designs, business rules, inspection reports, configurations, code
changes, test plans, test cases, bug reports, user manuals should
all be documented. Ideally, there should be a system for easily
finding and obtaining of documents and determining what document
will have a particular piece of information. Use documentation
change management, if possible.

Q: Why are there so many software bugs?

A: Generally speaking, there are bugs in software because of

unclear requirements, software complexity, programming errors,
changes in requirements, errors made in bug tracking, time
pressure, poorly documented code and/or bugs in tools used in
software development.
There are unclear software requirements because there is
miscommunication as to what the software should or shouldn't do.

Software complexity. All of the followings contribute to the

exponential growth in software and system complexity: Windows
interfaces, client-server and distributed applications, data
communications, enormous relational databases and the sheer size
of applications.

Programming errors occur because programmers and software

engineers, like everyone else, can make mistakes.

As to changing requirements, in some fast-changing business

environments, continuously modified requirements are a fact of
life. Sometimes customers do not understand the effects of
changes, or understand them but request them anyway. And the
changes require redesign of the software, rescheduling of
resources and some of the work already completed have to be
redone or discarded and hardware requirements can be effected,
too.
Q: Why are there so many software bugs? (Cont'd...)

Bug tracking can result in errors because the complexity of

keeping track of changes can result in errors, too.

Time pressures can cause problems, because scheduling of

software projects is not easy and it often requires a lot of
guesswork and when deadlines loom and the crunch comes, mistakes
will be made.

Code documentation is tough to maintain and it is also tough to

modify code that is poorly documented. The result is bugs.
Sometimes there is no incentive for programmers and software
engineers to document their code and write clearly documented,
understandable code. Sometimes developers get kudos for quickly
turning out code, or programmers and software engineers feel
they cannot have job security if everyone can understand the
code they write, or they believe if the code was hard to write,
it should be hard to read.

Software development tools , including visual tools, class

libraries, compilers, scripting tools, can introduce their own
bugs. Other times the tools are poorly documented, which can
create additional bugs.

Q: Give me five common problems that occur during software

development.

A: Poorly written requirements, unrealistic schedules, inadequate

testing, adding new features after development is underway and
poor communication.
Requirements are poorly written when requirements are unclear,
incomplete, too general, or not testable; therefore there will
be problems.

The schedule is unrealistic if too much work is crammed in too

little time.

Software testing is inadequate if none knows whether or not the

software is any good until customers complain or the system
crashes.

It's extremely common that new features are added after

development is underway.
 Miscommunication either means the developers don't know what is
needed, or customers have unrealistic expectations and therefore
problems are guaranteed.

Q: Do automated testing tools make testing easier?

A: Yes and no.

For larger projects, or ongoing long-term projects, they can be

valuable. But for small projects, the time needed to learn and
implement them is usually not worthwhile.

A common type of automated tool is the record/playback type. For

example, a test engineer clicks through all combinations of menu
choices, dialog box choices, buttons, etc. in a GUI and has an
automated testing tool record and log the results. The recording
is typically in the form of text, based on a scripting language
that the testing tool can interpret.

If a change is made (e.g. new buttons are added, or some

underlying code in the application is changed), the application is
then re-tested by just playing back the recorded actions and
compared to the logged results in order to check effects of the
change.

One problem with such tools is that if there are continual changes
to the product being tested, the recordings have to be changed so
often that it becomes a very time-consuming task to continuously
update the scripts.

Another problem with such tools is the interpretation of the

results (screens, data, logs, etc.) that can be a time-consuming
task.

You CAN learn to use automated testing tools, with little or no

outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q: Give me five solutions to problems that occur during software

development.

A: Solid requirements, realistic schedules, adequate testing, firm

requirements and good communication.

1. Ensure the requirements are solid, clear, complete, detailed,

cohesive, attainable and testable. All players should agree to
requirements. Use prototypes to help nail down requirements.

2. Have schedules that are realistic. Allow adequate time for

planning, design, testing, bug fixing, re-testing, changes and
documentation. Personnel should be able to complete the project
without burning out.

3. Do testing that is adequate. Start testing early on, re-test

after fixes or changes, and plan for sufficient time for both
testing and bug fixing.
4. Avoid new features. Stick to initial requirements as much as
possible. Be prepared to defend design against changes and
additions, once development has begun and be prepared to explain
consequences. If changes are necessary, ensure they're adequately
reflected in related schedule changes. Use prototypes early on so
customers' expectations are clarified and customers can see what
to expect; this will minimize changes later on.

Q: Give me five solutions to problems that occur during software

development. (Cont'd...)

5. Communicate. Require walkthroughs and inspections when

appropriate; make extensive use of e-mail, networked bug-tracking
tools, tools of change management. Ensure documentation is
available and up-to-date. Do use documentation that is electronic,
not paper. Promote teamwork and cooperation.

Q: What makes a good test engineer?

A: Good test engineers have a "test to break" attitude. We, good

test engineers, take the point of view of the customer, have a
strong desire for quality and an attention to detail. Tact and
diplomacy are useful in maintaining a cooperative relationship
with developers and an ability to communicate with both technical
and non-technical people. Previous software development experience
is also helpful as it provides a deeper understanding of the
software development process, gives the test engineer an
appreciation for the developers' point of view and reduces the
learning curve in automated test tool programming.

Rob Davis is a good test engineer because he has a "test to break"

attitude, takes the point of view of the customer, has a strong
desire for quality, has an attention to detail, He's also tactful
and diplomatic and has good a communication skill, both oral and
written. And he has previous software development experience, too.

Q: What makes a good resume?

A: On the subject of resumes, there seems to be an unending

discussion of whether you should or shouldn't have a one-page
resume. The followings are some of the comments I have personally
heard:

"Well, Joe Blow (car salesman) said I should have a one-page

resume."

"Well, I read a book and it said you should have a one page
resume."

"I can't really go into what I really did because if I did, it'd
take more than one page on my resume."
 "Gosh, I wish I could put my job at IBM on my resume but if I did
it'd make my resume more than one page, and I was told to never
make the resume more than one page long."

"I'm confused, should my resume be more than one page? I feel like
it should, but I don't want to break the rules."

Or, here's another comment, "People just don't read resumes that
are longer than one page." I have heard some more, but we can
start with these.

So what's the answer? There is no scientific answer about whether

a one-page resume is right or wrong. It all depends on who you are
and how much experience you have.

The first thing to look at here is the purpose of a resume. The

purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. If the resume is
getting you interviews, then it is considered to be a good resume.
If the resume isn't getting you interviews, then you should change
it.

Q: What makes a good resume? (Cont'd...)

The biggest mistake you can make on your resume is to make it hard
to read. Why? Because, for...

One, scanners don't like odd resumes. Small fonts can make your
resume harder to read. Some candidates use a 7-point font so they
can get the resume onto one page. Big mistake.

Two, resume readers do not like eye strain either. If the resume
is mechanically challenging, they just throw it aside for one that
is easier on the eyes.

Three, there are lots of resumes out there these days, and that is
also part of the problem.

Four, in light of the current scanning scenario, more than one

page is not a deterrent because many will scan your resume into
their database. Once the resume is in there and searchable, you
have accomplished one of the goals of resume distribution.

Five, resume readers don't like to guess and most won't call you
to clarify what is on your resume.

Generally speaking, your resume should tell your story. If you're

a college graduate looking for your first job, a one-page resume
is just fine. If you have a longer story, the resume needs to be
longer. Please put your experience on the resume so resume readers
can tell when and for whom you did what.

Short resumes -- for people long on experience -- are not

appropriate. The real audience for these short resumes is people
with short attention spans and low IQs. I assure you that when
your resume gets into the right hands, it will be read thoroughly.
 Q: What makes a good QA engineer?

A: The same qualities a good test engineer has are useful for a QA
engineer. Additionally, Rob Davis understands the entire software
development process and how it fits into the business approach and
the goals of the organization. Rob Davis' communication skills and
the ability to understand various sides of issues are important.
Good QA engineers understand the entire software development
process and how it fits into the business approach and the goals
of the organization. Communication skills and the ability to
understand various sides of issues are important.

Q: What makes a good QA/Test Manager?

A: QA/Test Managers are familiar with the software development

process; able to maintain enthusiasm of their team and promote a
positive atmosphere; able to promote teamwork to increase
productivity; able to promote cooperation between Software and
Test/QA Engineers, have the people skills needed to promote
improvements in QA processes, have the ability to withstand
pressures and say *no* to other managers when quality is
insufficient or QA processes are not being adhered to; able to
communicate with technical and non-technical people; as well as
able to run meetings and keep them focused.

Q: What about requirements?

A: Requirement specifications are important and one of the most

reliable methods of insuring problems in a complex software
project is to have poorly documented requirement specifications.
Requirements are the details describing an application's
externally perceived functionality and properties. Requirements
should be clear, complete, reasonably detailed, cohesive,
attainable and testable. A non-testable requirement would be, for
example, "user-friendly", which is too subjective. A testable
requirement would be something such as, "the product shall allow
the user to enter their previously-assigned password to access the
application". Care should be taken to involve all of a project's
significant customers in the requirements process. Customers could
be in-house or external and could include end-users, customer
acceptance test engineers, testers, customer contract officers,
customer management, future software maintenance engineers,
salespeople and anyone who could later derail the project. If
his/her expectations aren't met, they should be included as a
customer, if possible. In some organizations, requirements may end
up in high-level project plans, functional specification
documents, design documents, or other documents at various levels
of detail. No matter what they are called, some type of
documentation with detailed requirements will be needed by test
engineers in order to properly plan and execute tests. Without
such documentation there will be no clear-cut way to determine if
a software application is performing correctly. You CAN learn to
capture requirements, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get
 free information. Click on a link!

Q: What is a test plan?

A: A software project test plan is a document that describes the

objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing
effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to
think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of
a software product. The completed document will help people
outside the test group understand the why and how of product
validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful, but not so
thorough that none outside the test group will be able to read it.

Q: What is a test case?

A: A test case is a document that describes an input, action, or

event and its expected result, in order to determine if a feature
of an application is working correctly. A test case should contain
particulars such as a...
Test case identifier;
Test case name;
Objective;
Test conditions/setup;
Input data requirements/steps, and
Expected results.
Please note, the process of developing test cases can help find
problems in the requirements or design of an application, since it
requires you to completely think through the operation of the
application. For this reason, it is useful to prepare test cases
early in the development cycle, if possible.

Q: What should be done after a bug is found?

A: When a bug is found, it needs to be communicated and assigned

to developers that can fix it. After the problem is resolved,
fixes should be re-tested. Additionally, determinations should be
made regarding requirements, software, hardware, safety impact,
etc., for regression testing to check the fixes didn't create
other problems elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in
place, it should encapsulate these determinations. A variety of
commercial, problem-tracking/management software tools are
available. These tools, with the detailed input of software test
engineers, will give the team complete information so developers
can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity, reproduce it
and fix it.

Q: What is configuration management?

A: Configuration management (CM) covers the tools and processes

used to control, coordinate and track code, requirements,
documentation, problems, change requests, designs, tools,
compilers, libraries, patches, changes made to them and who makes
 the changes. Rob Davis has had experience with a full range of CM
tools and concepts, and can easily adapt to your software tool and
process needs.

Q: What if the software is so buggy it can't be tested at all?

A: In this situation the best bet is to have test engineers go

through the process of reporting whatever bugs or problems
initially show up, with the focus being on critical bugs.

Since this type of problem can severely affect schedules and

indicates deeper problems in the software development process,
such as insufficient unit testing, insufficient integration
testing, poor design, improper build or release procedures,
managers should be notified and provided with some documentation
as evidence of the problem.

Q: What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?

A: Since it's rarely possible to test every possible aspect of an

application, every possible combination of events, every
dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is
appropriate to most software development projects.

Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused.

This requires judgment skills, common sense and experience. The
checklist should include answers to the following questions:
Which functionality is most important to the project's intended
purpose?
Which functionality is most visible to the user?

Q: What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?

Which functionality has the largest safety impact?

Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?
Which aspects of the application are most important to the
customer?
Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the
development cycle?
Which parts of the code are most complex and thus most subject
to errors?
Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic
mode?
Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused
problems?
Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large
maintenance expenses?
Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly
thought out?
What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the
application?
What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?
What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service
 complaints?
What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?

Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to

time-required ratio?

Q: What if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive

testing?

A: Consider the impact of project errors, not the size of the

project. However, if extensive testing is still not justified,
risk analysis is again needed and the considerations listed under
"What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?" do apply.
The test engineer then should do "ad hoc" testing, or write up a
limited test plan based on the risk analysis.

Q: What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?

A: Work with management early on to understand how requirements

might change, so that alternate test plans and strategies can be
worked out in advance. It is helpful if the application's initial
design allows for some adaptability, so that later changes do not
require redoing the application from scratch. Additionally, try
to...
Ensure the code is well commented and well documented; this
makes changes easier for the developers.
Use rapid prototyping whenever possible; this will help
customers feel sure of their requirements and minimize changes.
In the project's initial schedule, allow for some extra time to
commensurate with probable changes.

Q: What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?

(Cont'd...)

Move new requirements to a 'Phase 2' version of an application

and use the original requirements for the 'Phase 1' version.
Negotiate to allow only easily implemented new requirements into
the project; move more difficult, new requirements into future
versions of the application.
Ensure customers and management understand scheduling impacts,
inherent risks and costs of significant requirements changes.
Then let management or the customers decide if the changes are
warranted; after all, that's their job.
Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with
the expected effort required to redo them to deal with changes.
Design some flexibility into automated test scripts;
Focus initial automated testing on application aspects that are
most likely to remain unchanged;
Devote appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes, in order
to minimize regression-testing needs;
Design some flexibility into test cases; this is not easily
done; the best bet is to minimize the detail in the test cases,
or set up only higher-level generic-type test plans;
 Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more on
ad-hoc testing with an understanding of the added risk this
entails.

Q: How do you know when to stop testing?

A: This can be difficult to determine. Many modern software

applications are so complex and run in such an interdependent
environment, that complete testing can never be done. Common
factors in deciding when to stop are...
Deadlines, e.g. release deadlines, testing deadlines;
Test cases completed with certain percentage passed;
Test budget has been depleted;
Coverage of code, functionality, or requirements reaches a
specified point;
Bug rate falls below a certain level; or
Beta or alpha testing period ends.

Q: What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the

requirements?

A: It may take serious effort to determine if an application has

significant unexpected or hidden functionality, which it would
indicate deeper problems in the software development process. If
the functionality isn't necessary to the purpose of the
application, it should be removed, as it may have unknown impacts
or dependencies that were not taken into account by the designer
or the customer.

Q: What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the

requirements? (Cont'd...)

If not removed, design information will be needed to determine

added testing needs or regression testing needs. Management should
be made aware of any significant added risks as a result of the
unexpected functionality. If the functionality only affects areas,
such as minor improvements in the user interface, it may not be a
significant risk.

Q: How can software QA processes be implemented without stifling

productivity?

A: Implement QA processes slowly over time. Use consensus to reach

agreement on processes and adjust and experiment as an
organization grows and matures. Productivity will be improved
instead of stifled. Problem prevention will lessen the need for
problem detection. Panics and burnout will decrease and there will
be improved focus and less wasted effort.

At the same time, attempts should be made to keep processes simple

and efficient, minimize paperwork, promote computer-based
processes and automated tracking and reporting, minimize time
required in meetings and promote training as part of the QA
process.

However, no one, especially talented technical types, like

bureaucracy and in the short run things may slow down a bit. A
typical scenario would be that more days of planning and
development will be needed, but less time will be required for
late-night bug fixing and calming of irate customers.

Q: What if the organization is growing so fast that fixed QA

processes are impossible?

A: This is a common problem in the software industry, especially

in new technology areas. There is no easy solution in this
situation, other than...
Hire good people (i.e. hire Rob Davis)

Ruthlessly prioritize quality issues and maintain focus on the

customer;

Everyone in the organization should be clear on what quality

means to the customer.

Q: Why do you recommend that we test during the design phase?

A: Because testing during the design phase can prevent defects

later on. We recommend verifying three things...
Verify the design is good, efficient, compact, testable and
maintainable.

Verify the design meets the requirements and is complete

(specifies all relationships between modules, how to pass data,
what happens in exceptional circumstances, starting state of
each module and how to guarantee the state of each module).

Verify the design incorporates enough memory, I/O devices and

quick enough runtime for the final product.

Q: What is software quality assurance?

A: Software Quality Assurance, when Rob Davis does it, is oriented

to *prevention*. It involves the entire software development
process. Prevention is monitoring and improving the process,
making sure any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed
and ensuring problems are found and dealt with.

Software Testing, when performed by Rob Davis, is also oriented to

*detection*. Testing involves the operation of a system or
application under controlled conditions and evaluating the
results.

Rob Davis can provide QA/testing service. This document details

some aspects of how he can provide software testing/QA service.
For more information, e-mail rob@robdavispe.com.

Organizations vary considerably in how they assign responsibility

for QA and testing. Sometimes they're the combined responsibility
of one group or individual.

Also common are project teams, which include a mix of test

engineers, testers and developers, who work closely together, with
overall QA processes monitored by project managers.

Software quality assurance depends on what best fits your

organization's size and business structure.

Q: How is testing affected by object-oriented designs?

A: A well-engineered object-oriented design can make it easier to

trace from code to internal design to functional design to
requirements. While there will be little affect on black box
testing (where an understanding of the internal design of the
application is unnecessary), white-box testing can be oriented to
the application's objects. If the application was well designed
this can simplify test design.

Q: What is quality assurance?

A: Quality Assurance ensures all parties concerned with the

project adhere to the process and procedures, standards and
templates and test readiness reviews.

Rob Davis' QA service depends on the customers and projects. A lot

will depend on team leads or managers, feedback to developers and
communications among customers, managers, developers' test
engineers and testers.

Q: Process and procedures - why follow them?

A: Detailed and well-written processes and procedures ensure the

correct steps are being executed to facilitate a successful
completion of a task. They also ensure a process is repeatable.

Q: Process and procedures - why follow them? (Cont'd...)

Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed customer's business

processes and procedures, he will follow them. He will also
recommend improvements and/or additions.

Q: Standards and templates - what is supposed to be in a document?

 A: All documents should be written to a certain standard and
template. Standards and templates maintain document uniformity. It
also helps in learning where information is located, making it
easier for a user to find what they want. Lastly, with standards
and templates, information will not be accidentally omitted from a
document.

Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards and
templates, he will use them. He will also recommend improvements
and/or additions.

Q: What are the different levels of testing?

A: Rob Davis has expertise in testing at all testing levels listed

below. At each test level, he documents the results.

Each level of testing is either considered black or white box

testing.

Q: What is black box testing?

A: Black box testing is functional testing, not based on any

knowledge of internal software design or code. Black box testing
are based on requirements and functionality.

Q: What is white box testing?

A: White box testing is based on knowledge of the internal logic

of an application's code. Tests are based on coverage of code
statements, branches, paths and conditions.

Q: What is unit testing?

A: Unit testing is the first level of dynamic testing and is first

the responsibility of developers and then that of the test
engineers.

Unit testing is performed after the expected test results are met
or differences are explainable/acceptable.

Q: What is parallel/audit testing?

A: Parallel/audit testing is testing where the user reconciles the

output of the new system to the output of the current system to
verify the new system performs the operations correctly.
[Continued on next page...]

Q: What is functional testing?

A: Functional testing is black-box type of testing geared to
functional requirements of an application. Test engineers *should*
perform functional testing.

Q: What is usability testing?

A: 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.

Q: What is incremental integration testing?

A: Incremental integration testing is continuous testing of an

application as new functionality is recommended. This may require
that various aspects of an application's functionality are
independent enough to work separately, before all parts of the
program are completed, or that test drivers are developed as
needed.

Incremental testing may be performed by programmers, software

engineers, or test engineers.

Q: What is integration testing?

A: Upon completion of unit testing, integration testing begins.

Integration testing is black box testing. The purpose of
integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the
application still work in accordance to customer requirements.

Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising

the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried
out by the test team.

Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results

and expected results are either in line or differences are
explainable/acceptable based on client input.

Q: What is system testing?

A: System testing is black box testing, performed by the Test

Team, and at the start of the system testing the complete system
is configured in a controlled environment.

The purpose of system testing is to validate an application's

accuracy and completeness in performing the functions as designed.

System testing simulates real life scenarios that occur in a

"simulated real life" test environment and test all functions of
the system that are required in real life.
 System testing is deemed complete when actual results and expected
results are either in line or differences are explainable or
acceptable, based on client input.

Q: What is system testing? (Cont'd...)

Upon completion of integration testing, system testing is started.

Before system testing, all unit and integration test results are
reviewed by Software QA to ensure all problems have been resolved.
For a higher level of testing it is important to understand
unresolved problems that originate at unit and integration test
levels.

You CAN learn system testing, with little or no outside help. Get
CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q: What is end-to-end testing?

A: Similar to system testing, the *macro* end of the test scale is

testing a complete application in a situation that mimics real
world use, such as interacting with a database, using network
communication, or interacting with other hardware, application, or
system.

Q: What is regression testing?

A: The objective of regression testing is to ensure the software

remains intact. A baseline set of data and scripts is maintained
and executed to verify changes introduced during the release have
not "undone" any previous code. Expected results from the baseline
are compared to results of the software under test. All
discrepancies are highlighted and accounted for, before testing
proceeds to the next level.

Q: What is sanity testing?

A: 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.

Q: What is performance testing?

A: Although performance testing is described as a part of system

testing, it can be regarded as a distinct level of testing.
Performance testing verifies loads, volumes and response times, as
defined by requirements.
Q: What is load testing?

A: Load testing is testing an application under heavy loads, such

as the testing of a web site under a range of loads to determine
at what point the system response time will degrade or fail.

Q: What is installation testing?

A: Installation testing is testing full, partial, upgrade, or

install/uninstall processes. The installation test for a release
is conducted with the objective of demonstrating production
readiness.

Q: What is installation testing? (Cont'd...)

This test includes the inventory of configuration items, performed

by the application's System Administration, the evaluation of data
readiness, and dynamic tests focused on basic system
functionality. When necessary, a sanity test is performed,
following installation testing.

Q: What is security/penetration testing?

A: Security/penetration testing is testing how well the system is

protected against unauthorized internal or external access, or
willful damage.

This type of testing usually requires sophisticated testing

techniques.

Q: What is recovery/error testing?

A: Recovery/error testing is testing how well a system recovers

from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

Q: What is compatibility testing?

A: Compatibility testing is testing how well software performs in

a particular hardware, software, operating system, or network
environment.

Q: What is comparison testing?

A: Comparison testing is testing that compares software weaknesses

and strengths to those of competitors' products.

Q: What is acceptance testing?

A: Acceptance testing is black box testing that gives the
client/customer/project manager the opportunity to verify the
system functionality and usability prior to the system being
released to production.

The acceptance test is the responsibility of the client/customer

or project manager, however, it is conducted with the full support
of the project team. The test team also works with the
client/customer/project manager to develop the acceptance
criteria.

Q: What is alpha testing?

A: Alpha testing is testing of an application when development is

nearing completion. Minor design changes can still be made as a
result of alpha testing. Alpha testing is typically performed by a
group that is independent of the design team, but still within the
company, e.g. in-house software test engineers, or software QA
engineers.

Q: What is beta testing?

A: Beta testing is testing an application when development and

testing are essentially completed and final bugs and problems need
to be found before the final release. Beta testing is typically
performed by end-users or others, not programmers, software
engineers, or test engineers.

Q: What is a Test/QA Team Lead?

A: The Test/QA Team Lead coordinates the testing activity,

communicates testing status to management and manages the test
team.

Q: What testing roles are standard on most testing projects?

A: Depending on the organization, the following roles are more or

less standard on most testing projects: Testers, Test Engineers,
Test/QA Team Lead, Test/QA Manager, System Administrator, Database
Administrator, Technical Analyst, Test Build Manager and Test
Configuration Manager.

Depending on the project, one person may wear more than one hat.
For instance, Test Engineers may also wear the hat of Technical
Analyst, Test Build Manager and Test Configuration Manager.

Q: What is a Test Engineer?

A: We, test engineers, are engineers who specialize in testing.

We, test engineers, create test cases, procedures, scripts and
generate data. We execute test procedures and scripts, analyze
standards of measurements, evaluate results of
system/integration/regression testing. We also...
Speed up the work of the development staff;
Reduce your organization's risk of legal liability;
Give you the evidence that your software is correct and operates
properly;
Improve problem tracking and reporting;
Maximize the value of your software;
Maximize the value of the devices that use it;
Assure the successful launch of your product by discovering bugs
and design flaws, before users get discouraged, before
shareholders loose their cool and before employees get bogged
down;
Help the work of your development staff, so the development team
can devote its time to build up your product;
Promote continual improvement;
Provide documentation required by FDA, FAA, other regulatory
agencies and your customers;
Save money by discovering defects 'early' in the design process,
before failures occur in production, or in the field;
Save the reputation of your company by discovering bugs and
design flaws; before bugs and design flaws damage the reputation
of your company.

Q: What is a Test Build Manager?

A: Test Build Managers deliver current software versions to the

test environment, install the application's software and apply
software patches, to both the application and the operating
system, set-up, maintain and back up test environment hardware.

Depending on the project, one person may wear more than one hat.
For instance, a Test Engineer may also wear the hat of a Test
Build Manager.

Q: What is a System Administrator?

A: Test Build Managers, System Administrators, Database

Administrators deliver current software versions to the test
environment, install the application's software and apply software
patches, to both the application and the operating system, set-up,
maintain and back up test environment hardware.

Depending on the project, one person may wear more than one hat.
For instance, a Test Engineer may also wear the hat of a System
Administrator.

Q: What is a Database Administrator?

A: Test Build Managers, System Administrators and Database

Administrators deliver current software versions to the test
environment, install the application's software and apply software
 patches, to both the application and the operating system, set-up,
maintain and back up test environment hardware. Depending on the
project, one person may wear more than one hat. For instance, a
Test Engineer may also wear the hat of a Database Administrator.

Q: What is a Technical Analyst?

A: Technical Analysts perform test assessments and validate

system/functional test requirements. Depending on the project, one
person may wear more than one hat. For instance, Test Engineers
may also wear the hat of a Technical Analyst.

Q: What is a Test Configuration Manager?

A: Test Configuration Managers maintain test environments,

scripts, software and test data. Depending on the project, one
person may wear more than one hat. For instance, Test Engineers
may also wear the hat of a Test Configuration Manager.

Q: What is a test schedule?

A: The test schedule is a schedule that identifies all tasks

required for a successful testing effort, a schedule of all test
activities and resource requirements.

Q: What is software testing methodology?

A: One software testing methodology is the use a three step

process of...
Creating a test strategy;
Creating a test plan/design; and
Executing tests.
This methodology can be used and molded to your organization's
needs. Rob Davis believes that using this methodology is important
in the development and ongoing maintenance of his clients'
applications.

Q: What is the general testing process?

A: The general testing process is the creation of a test strategy

(which sometimes includes the creation of test cases), creation of
a test plan/design (which usually includes test cases and test
procedures) and the execution of tests.

Q: How do you create a test plan/design?

A: Test scenarios and/or cases are prepared by reviewing

functional requirements of the release and preparing logical
groups of functions that can be further broken into test
procedures. Test procedures define test conditions, data to be
 used for testing and expected results, including database updates,
file outputs, report results. Generally speaking...
Test cases and scenarios are designed to represent both typical
and unusual situations that may occur in the application.
Test engineers define unit test requirements and unit test
cases. Test engineers also execute unit test cases.
It is the test team that, with assistance of developers and
clients, develops test cases and scenarios for integration and
system testing.
Test scenarios are executed through the use of test procedures
or scripts.
Test procedures or scripts define a series of steps necessary to
perform one or more test scenarios.
Test procedures or scripts include the specific data that will
be used for testing the process or transaction.
Test procedures or scripts may cover multiple test scenarios.
Test scripts are mapped back to the requirements and
traceability matrices are used to ensure each test is within
scope.

Q: How do you execute tests? (Cont'd...)

After a particular level of testing has been certified, it is

the responsibility of the Configuration Manager to coordinate
the migration of the release software components to the next
test level, as documented in the Configuration Management Plan.
The software is only migrated to the production environment
after the Project Manager's formal acceptance.
The test team reviews test document problems identified during
testing, and update documents where appropriate.
Inputs for this process:
Approved test documents, e.g. Test Plan, Test Cases, Test
Procedures.
Test tools, including automated test tools, if applicable.
Developed scripts.
Changes to the design, i.e. Change Request Documents.
Test data.
Availability of the test team and project team.
General and Detailed Design Documents, i.e. Requirements
Document, Software Design Document.
A software that has been migrated to the test environment, i.e.
unit tested code, via the Configuration/Build Manager.
Test Readiness Document.
Document Updates.

Q: How do you create a test strategy? (Cont'd...)

Inputs for this process:

A description of the required hardware and software components,
including test tools. This information comes from the test
environment, including test tool data.
A description of roles and responsibilities of the resources
required for the test and schedule constraints. This information
comes from man-hours and schedules.
 Testing methodology. This is based on known standards.
Functional and technical requirements of the application. This
information comes from requirements, change request, technical
and functional design documents.
Requirements that the system can not provide, e.g. system
limitations.
Outputs for this process:
An approved and signed off test strategy document, test plan,
including test cases.
Testing issues requiring resolution. Usually this requires
additional negotiation at the project management level.

Q: What is security clearance?

A: Security clearance is a process of determining your

trustworthiness and reliability before granting you access to
national security information.

Q: What are the levels of classified access?

A: The levels of classified access are confidential, secret, top

secret, and sensitive compartmented information, of which top
secret is the highest.

Q: Why do I need clearance?

A: Your need clearance whenever you work in a job where you have a
potential to cause damage to national security, or in a job where
you can gain access to classified information. You need clearance
because of executive order 10450, signed by President Dwight
Eisenhower on April 17, 1953. Executive order 10450 gives the
government the authority to require clearances of employees who
request access to national security or sensitive information.

Q: How do I apply for clearance?

A: Many people think they can go to a company or agency and apply

for their own clearances. This is far from the truth. The truth
is, first you have to get a cleared job, and then, and only then,
if you're successful in getting that cleared job, can you apply
for clearance.

For example, XYZ Corporation, a mythical U.S. defense contractor,

is awarded a DoD contract to work on a "mission critical" project,
and thus XYZ has a specific need for a software QA/test engineer
with clearance. If XYZ starts to look for a software QA/test
engineer, and if you apply for the job, and if XYZ decides to
employ you, then XYZ will sponsor you for clearance.

Q: What is a security clearance investigation?

A: The Defense Security Service (the agency that conducts all
security investigations for the DoD) says, "A security clearance
investigation is an inquiry into an individual's loyalty,
character, trustworthiness and reliability to ensure that he or
she is eligible for access to national security information. The
investigation focuses on an individual's character and conduct,
emphasizing such factors as honesty, trustworthiness, reliability,
financial responsibility, criminal activity, emotional stability,
and other similar and pertinent areas. All investigations consist
of checks of national records and credit checks; some
investigations also include interviews with individuals who know
the candidate for the clearance as well as the candidate
himself/herself."

Q: How long does it take to get my clearance?

A: An interim clearance can be had in as little as two weeks, but

your full approval can take months, or even a full year. A typical
investigation about you and your lifestyle takes approximately 120
days, sometimes longer, depending on backlog, need for more
information, depth of the investigation, and other factors.

Q: How do I apply for clearance?

A: First you have to find the right job, apply for the job, and
get a conditional offer of employment. Then you can apply for
clearance, by filling out multi-page forms (e.g. federal form
SF-86, National Security Questionnaire), giving the government
lots of background and identification information on yourself,
your relatives, and others. Then you're fingerprinted,
interviewed, and then, in due time, investigators working for the
government (i.e. DSS) will put you and your lifestyle under a
microscope.

Q: How does the government decide who gets the clearance?

A: We don't know for sure, but my educated guess is, if you're a

stereotype all-American good guy, a long-time registered
Republican and native born U.S. citizen who is well liked by
everyone - including girlfriends of your ex-girlfriends - and if
all your life you have lived in the same house in Smalltown, USA,
and if you have had a clearance before, then, chances are, your
clearance will be granted.

Q: Can the government reject my application?

A: Surely they can! We don't know how the government decides, but
my educated guess is, if you're not the stereotype all-American
good guy the government investigators have in mind, then, chances
are, your application for clearance will be rejected.
They can reject you for hundreds of reasons, including sabotage,
espionage, treason, terrorism, sedition; for wanting to overthrow
the government; for friendship or sympathy with anyone who
attempts to commit these crimes; act of force or violence; lack of
American citizenship, non-citizen spouses, family members,
relatives, cohabitants, or friends; failing to report associations
with foreigners; association with suspected foreign spies;
financial or business interests in a foreign country; dual
citizenship, foreign passport, accepting educational, medical,
retirement or welfare benefits from a foreign country, residence
in a foreign country, seeking or holding political office in a
foreign country, voting in a foreign election, serving the
interests of a foreign government, military service in a foreign
country; compulsive or addictive behavior, self-destructive or
high-risk behavior, personality disorder, any sexual behavior that
makes you vulnerable, lack of discretion or judgment;
uncooperative attitude, incomplete forms or releases, lack of
full, frank and truthful answers, opinions of neighbors,
associates, employers, or coworkers; omission, concealment, or
falsification of facts; providing false or misleading information,
concealment of information, any activity that makes you
susceptible to blackmail, dishonesty, violation of rules or
written agreements, association with criminals; too much money,
too little money, not paying your debts, fraud, embezzlement,
theft, income tax evasion, deceptive loan statements, breach of
trust, addiction to gambling, drugs, or alcohol; driving while
under the influence, fighting, child or spouse abuse, reporting
for work drunk, drinking on the job, diagnosis of alcohol
dependence, habitual consumption of alcohol, impaired judgment;
drug use, possession, cultivation, processing, manufacture,
purchase, sale, or distribution, diagnosis of drug abuse or drug
dependence, unsuccessful drug treatment program; defect in
judgment, reliability, or stability, failure to take prescribed
medication; high-risk, irresponsible, aggressive, anti-social or
emotionally unstable behavior; allegations of criminal conduct;
disclosure of classified information, negligence; job a foreign
country, service to a foreign national, foreign intelligence agent
or organization; computer crimes, including unauthorized entry,
modification, destruction, manipulation, denial of access to
information, removal or introduction of hardware, software or
media, and illegal downloading of files.

Q: What's the worst thing that can happen to me?

If the government rejects your application for clearance, then

you'll have problems. For...

One, you will likely loose your job as soon as your access to
classified information is terminated.

Two, you will be prosecuted and face civil and/or criminal

charges, if investigators working for the government find
evidence, any evidence, that you've done something illegal.

Three, you will have to respond, within 20 days of receiving the

government's "letter of denial". You will have to respond in
writing, admitting or denying the government's allegations.

Four, if you deny the government's allegations, and ask for a

hearing, then you'll have to go to federal court, and at court
it's YOU who will be on trial. It's YOU who will have to face a
federal judge, federal prosecutor, and their evidences and
witnesses.

Five, you might face large expenses. Why? Because your hearing
will be conducted like a federal district court bench trial.
Therefore you want an attorney on your side, to make an opening
statement, closing argument, to do a direct examination of
yourself and your other witnesses, and to cross examine government
witnesses. And, attorneys usually cost a lot of money!

Six, please keep in mind, "appeals procedures... are very limited.

In almost all cases, clearances are never restored." (Washington
Times, February 20, 2005)

Q: What if I get my clearance?

A: If you do get your clearance, then, congratulations! Now you

are able to keep your job, maintain your access to classified
information, and continue your work as a software QA/test engineer
on the mission critical project you've been working on at XYZ, in
support of the government.

Q: Is my clearance going to be a permanent one?

A: Yes and no. Yes, your clearance is going to be active, either

if you continue to work for XYZ, or if you leave XYZ but able to
find another employer that is eligible to hold your clearance,
offers you a job, and you start working there within two years of
leaving XYZ. But, no, clearances are not meant to be permanent;
the government can and will reinvestigate you perodically. With or
without investigation, they can also send you a "letter of intent
to revoke a clearance" at any time.

Q: What if I cannot find an eligible employer?

A: If you cannot find an eligible employer in two years, then you

will loose your clearance. If you ever need a clearance again,
then you will have to re-apply, and you'll be re-investigated.
Re-investigations occur every five years, anyways, if, for
example, you hold a top secret clearance.

Q: Why should I apply for clearance?

A: Most of us, software QA/test engineers, don't work for money

alone. If we apply, we apply because we respect, love, or trust
 the government; or because we want to help the government, or
because we're attracted to the vision, ideals, and engineering
challenges of the job.

Q: What words should I avoid in my resume?

As a software QA/test engineer, you work in the technology sector.

Technology is acronym-heavy. In your resume, however, avoid
acronyms, unless they're commonly recognized. Use them sparingly.
Avoid unusual acronyms. You don't want to make your resume look
like a game of Scrabble. If you use too many acronyms, your resume
will be unreadable.

Knock off personal pronouns, such as "I", "me" and "my". The
reader already knows your resume is about you. Resumes should not
contain any unnecessary words. Your resume is not a memoir, but a
concise summary of your skills and experience.

In your resume, avoid words such as "boring", "fired" and "hated".

If there are any difficult issues you want to raise, it's best to
save them for the interview.

Words such as "a", "an", "also", "because", "the" and "very" are
sometimes necessary, but, nevertheless, in one's resume, one needs
to keep them to a minimum.

In your resume, avoid any words you can't define. If you use them
incorrectly, they can kill your chances of landing the job. The
damage they bring will be permanent.

Avoid loading up your resume with important-sounding words such as

"utilize", "facilitate", and "aforementioned".

In your resume, avoid words, such as "judgment", "assess",

"skills". They can embarrass you, if spelled wrong.

Avoid any weasel words, such as "generally", "apparently",

"perhaps" and "seems". If you put them in your resume, they can
make you look insecure or insincere.

Q: What is a test engineer?

A: We, test engineers are engineers who specialize in testing. We

create test cases, test procedures, test scripts; execute test
procedures, and test scripts; generate test data and test results;
analyze standards of measurements; evaluate the results of
testing, system testing, integration testing, and regression
testing.

We, software test engineers, create software test cases, software

test procedures, software test scripts; execute software test
procedures, and software test scripts; generate software test
data, and software test results; analyze standards of
measurements; evaluate the results of software testing, system
 testing, software integration testing, system integration testing,
software regression testing, and system regression testing.

Q: What is the role of test engineers?

A: We, test engineers, speed up the work of your development

staff, and reduce the risk of your company's legal liability. We
give your company the evidence that the software is correct and
operates properly. We also improve your problem tracking and
reporting. We maximize the value of your software, and the value
of the devices that use it. We also assure the successful launch
of your product by discovering bugs and design flaws, before users
get discouraged, before shareholders loose their cool, and before
your employees get bogged down. We help the work of your software
development staff, so your development team can devote its time to
build up your product. We also promote continual improvement. We
provide documentation required by FDA, FAA, other regulatory
agencies, and your customers. We save your company money by
discovering defects EARLY in the design process, before failures
occur in production, or in the field. We save the reputation of
your company by discovering bugs and design flaws, before bugs and
design flaws damage the reputation of your company.

Q: What is a QA engineer?

A: We, QA engineers, are test engineers but we do more than just

testing. Good QA engineers understand the entire software
development process and how it fits into the business approach and
the goals of the organization. Communication skills and the
ability to understand various sides of issues are important. We,
QA engineers, are successful if people listen to us, if people use
our tests, if people think that we're useful, and if we're happy
doing our work. I would love to see QA departments staffed with
experienced software developers who coach development teams to
write better code. But I've never seen it. Instead of coaching,
we, QA engineers, tend to be process people.

Q: What is the difference between software fault and software

failure?

A: Software failure occurs when the software does not do what the
user expects to see. Software fault, on the other hand, is a
hidden programming error.

A software fault becomes a software failure only when the exact

computation conditions are met, and the faulty portion of the code
is executed on the CPU. This can occur during normal usage. Or,
when the software is ported to a different hardware platform. Or,
when the software is ported to a different complier. Or, when the
software gets extended.

Q: What metrics are used for bug tracking?

A: Metrics that can be used for bug tracking include the

 followings: the total number of bugs, total number of bugs that
have been fixed, number of new bugs per week, and the number of
fixes per week. Metrics for bug tracking can be used to determine
when to stop testing, for example, when bug rate falls below a
certain level. You CAN learn to use defect tracking software, with
little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on
a link!

Q: What is the role of a QA engineer?

A: The QA engineer's role is as follows: We, QA engineers, use the

system much like real users would, find all the bugs, find ways to
replicate the bugs, submit bug reports to the developers, and
provide feedback to the developers, i.e. tell them if they've
achieved the desired level of quality.

Q: What are the responsibilities of a QA engineer?

A: Let's say, an engineer is hired for a small software company's

QA role, and there is no QA team. Should he take responsibility to
set up a QA infrastructure/process, testing and quality of the
entire product? No, because taking this responsibility is a
classic trap that QA people get caught in. Why? Because we QA
engineers cannot assure quality. And because QA departments cannot
create quality. What we CAN do is to detect lack of quality, and
prevent low-quality products from going out the door. What is the
solution? We need to drop the QA label, and tell the developers,
they are responsible for the quality of their own work. The
problem is, sometimes, as soon as the developers learn that there
is a test department, they will slack off on their testing. We
need to offer to help with quality assessment only.

Q: What metrics can be used in software development?

A: Metrics refer to statistical process control. The idea of

statistical process control is a great one, but it has but a
limited use in software development. On the negative side,
statistical process control works only with processes that are
sufficiently well defined and unvaried, so that they can be
analyzed in terms of statistics. Still on the negative side, the
problem is, most software development projects are NOT
sufficiently well defined and NOT sufficiently unvaried. On the
positive side however, one CAN use statistics. Statistics are
excellent tools that project managers can use. Statistics can be
used, for example, to determine when to stop testing, i.e. test
cases completed with certain percentage passed, or when bug rate
falls below a certain level. But, if these are project management
tools, why should we label them quality assurance tools?

Q: How do you perform integration testing?

A: To perform integration testing, first, all unit testing has to

be completed. Upon completion of unit testing, integration testing
 begins. Integration testing is black box testing. The purpose of
integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the
application still work in accordance to customer requirements.
Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising
the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried
out by the test team.

Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results

and expected results are either in line or differences are
explainable, or acceptable, based on client input. You CAN learn
to perform integration testing, with little or no outside help.
Get CAN get free information. Click on a link!

Q: What is integration testing?

A: Integration testing is black box testing. The purpose of

integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the
application still work in accordance to customer requirements.
Test cases are developed with the express purpose of exercising
the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried
out by the test team. Integration testing is considered complete,
when actual results and expected results are either in line or
differences are explainable/acceptable based on client input.

Q: What metrics are used for test report generation?

A: Metrics refer to statistical process control. The idea of

statistical process control is a great one, but it has only a
limited use in software development.

On the negative side, statistical process control works only with

processes that are sufficiently well defined AND unvaried, so that
they can be analyzed in terms of statistics. The problem is, most
software development projects are NOT sufficiently well defined
and NOT sufficiently unvaried.

On the positive side, one CAN use statistics. Statistics are

excellent tools that project managers can use. Statistics can be
used, for example, to determine when to stop testing, i.e. test
cases completed with certain percentage passed, or when bug rate
falls below a certain level. But, if these are project management
tools, why should we label them quality assurance tools?

_________________________________

Q: How do test plan templates look like?

A: The test plan document template helps to generate test plan

documents that describe the objectives, scope, approach and focus
of a software testing effort. Test document templates are often in
the form of documents that are divided into sections and
subsections. One example of a template is a 4-section document
where section 1 is the description of the "Test Objective",
section 2 is the the description of "Scope of Testing", section 3
is the the description of the "Test Approach", and section 4 is
the "Focus of the Testing Effort".

All documents should be written to a certain standard and

template. Standards and templates maintain document uniformity.
They also help in learning where information is located, making it
easier for a user to find what they want. With standards and
templates, information will not be accidentally omitted from a
document. Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards
and templates, he will use them. He will also recommend
improvements and/or additions.

A software project test plan is a document that describes the

objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing
effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to
think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of
a software product. The completed document will help people
outside the test group understand the why and how of product
validation. You CAN learn to generate test plan templates, with
little or no outside help. Get CAN get free information. Click on
a link!

Q: What is a bug life cycle?

A: Bug life cycles are similar to software development life

cycles. At any time during the software development life cycle
errors can be made during the gathering of requirements,
requirements analysis, functional design, internal design,
documentation planning, document preparation, coding, unit
testing, test planning, integration, testing, maintenance,
updates, re-testing and phase-out.

Bug life cycle begins when a programmer, software developer, or

architect makes a mistake, creates an unintentional software
defect, i.e. bug, and ends when the bug is fixed, and the bug is
no longer in existence.

What should be done after a bug is found? When a bug is found, it

needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix
it. After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested.

Additionally, determinations should be made regarding

requirements, software, hardware, safety impact, etc., for
regression testing to check the fixes didn't create other problems
elsewhere.

If a problem-tracking system is in place, it should encapsulate

these determinations. A variety of commercial, problem-tracking,
management software tools are available. These tools, with the
detailed input of software test engineers, will give the team
complete information so developers can understand the bug, get an
idea of its severity, reproduce it and fix it.

Q: When do you choose automated testing?

 A: For larger projects, or ongoing long-term projects, automated
testing can be valuable. But for small projects, the time needed
to learn and implement the automated testing tools is usually not
worthwhile. Automated testing tools sometimes do not make testing
easier. One problem with automated testing tools is that if there
are continual changes to the product being tested, the recordings
have to be changed so often, that it becomes a very time-consuming
task to continuously update the scripts. Another problem with such
tools is that the interpretation of the results (screens, data,
logs, etc.) can be a time-consuming task. You CAN learn to use
automated tools, with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free
information. Click on a link!

Q: What other roles are in testing?

A: Depending on the organization, the following roles are more or

less standard on most testing projects: Testers, Test Engineers,
Test/QA Team Leads, Test/QA Managers, System Administrators,
Database Administrators, Technical Analysts, Test Build Managers,
and Test Configuration Managers.

Depending on the project, one person can and often will wear more
than one hat. For instance, we, Test Engineers, often wear the hat
of Technical Analyst, Test Build Manager and Test Configuration
Manager as well.

Q: Which of these roles are the best and most popular?

A: As to popularity, if we count the number of applicants and

resumes, software developer positions tend to be the most popular
among software engineers. As to testing, tester roles tend to be
the most popular. Less popular roles are the roles of System
Administrators, Test/QA Team Leads, and Test/QA Managers.

As to "best" roles, the best ones are the ones that make YOU
happy. The best job is the one that works for YOU, using the
skills, resources, and the talents YOU have.

To find the "best" role, you want to experiment and "play"

different roles. Persistence, combined with experimentation, will
lead to success!

Q: What's the difference between priority and severity?

A: The word "priority" is associated with scheduling, and the word

"severity" is associated with standards. "Priority" means
something is afforded or deserves prior attention; a precedence
established by urgency or order of or importance.

Severity is the state or quality of being severe; severe implies

adherence to rigorous standards or high principles and often
suggests harshness; severe is marked by or requires strict
adherence to rigorous standards or high principles. For example, a
 severe code of behavior.

The words priority and severity do come up in bug tracking. A

variety of commercial, problem-tracking / management software
tools are available. These tools, with the detailed input of
software test engineers, give the team complete information so
developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity,
reproduce it and fix it. The fixes are based on project priorities
and severity of bugs. The severity of a problem is defined in
accordance to the end client's risk assessment, and recorded in
their selected tracking tool. A buggy software can severely affect
schedules, which, in turn can lead to a reassessment and
renegotiation of priorities.

Q: What is the difference between efficient and effective?

A: "Efficient" means having a high ratio of output to input; which

means working or producing with a minimum of waste. For example,
"An efficient engine saves gas." Or, "An efficient test engineer
saves time".

"Effective", on the other hand, means producing or capable of

producing an intended result, or having a striking effect. For
example, "For rapid long-distance transportation, the jet engine
is more effective than a witch's broomstick". Or, "For developing
software test procedures, engineers specializing in software
testing are more effective than engineers who are generalists".

Q: What is the difference between verification and validation?

A: Verification takes place before validation, and not vice versa.

Verification evaluates documents, plans, code, requirements, and

specifications. Validation, on the other hand, evaluates the
product itself.

The inputs of verification are checklists, issues lists,

walkthroughs and inspection meetings, reviews and meetings. The
input of validation, on the other hand, is the actual testing of
an actual product.

The output of verification is a nearly perfect set of documents,

plans, specifications, and requirements document. The output of
validation, on the other hand, is a nearly perfect, actual
product.

Q: What is documentation change management?

A: Documentation change management is part of configuration

management (CM). CM covers the tools and processes used to
control, coordinate and track code, requirements, documentation,
problems, change requests, designs, tools, compilers, libraries,
patches, changes made to them and who makes the changes.

Rob Davis has had experience with a full range of CM tools and
 concepts. Rob Davis can easily adapt to your software tool and
process needs.

Q: What is up time?

A: "Up time" is the time period when a system is operational and

in service. Up time is the sum of busy time and idle time. For
example, if, out of 168 hours, a system has been busy for 50
hours, idle for 110 hours, and down for 8 hours, then the busy
time is 50 hours, idle time is 110 hours, and up time is (110 + 50
=) 160 hours.

Q: What is upwardly compatible software?

A: "Upwardly compatible software" is software that is compatible

with a later or more complex version of itself. For example, an
upwardly compatible software is able to handle files created by a
later version of itself.

Q: What is upward compression?

A: In software design, "upward compression" means a form of

demodularization in which a subordinate module is copied into the
body of a superior module.

Q: What is usability?

A: "Usability" means ease of use; the ease with which a user can
learn to operate, prepare inputs for, and interpret the outputs of
a software product.

Q: What is user documentation?

A: "User documentation" is a document that describes the way a

software product or system should be used to obtain the desired
results.

Q: What is a user manual?

A: A "user manual" is a document that presents information

necessary to employ software or a system to obtain the desired
results. Typically, what is described are system and component
capabilities, limitations, options, permitted inputs, expected
outputs, error messages, and special instructions.

Q: What is the difference between user documentation and user

manual?

A: When a distinction is made between those who operate and use a

computer system for its intended purpose, a separate user
documentation and user manual is created. Operators get user
 documentation, and users get user manuals.

Q: What is a user friendly software?

A: A computer program is "user friendly", when it is designed with

ease of use, as one of the primary objectives of its design.

Q: What is a user friendly document?

A: A document is user friendly, when it is designed and written

with ease of use, as one of the primary objectives of its design.

Q: What is a software version?

A: A software version is an initial release (or re-release) of a

software associated with a complete compilation (or recompilation)
of the software.

Q: What is a document version?

A: A document version is an initial release (or complete

re-release) of a document, as opposed to a revision resulting from
issuing change pages to a previous release.

Q: What is VDD?

A: "VDD" is an acronym that stands for "version description

document".

Q: What is a version description document (VDD)?

A: Version description document (VDD) is a document that

accompanies and identifies a given version of a software product.
Typically the VDD includes the description and identification of
the software, identification of the changes incorporated into this
version, and the installation and operating information unique to
this version of the software.

Q: What is a vertical microinstruction?

A: A vertical microinstruction is a microinstruction that

specifies one of a sequence of operations needed to carry out a
machine language instruction. Vertical microinstructions are
short, 12 to 24 bit instructions. They're called vertical because
they are normally listed vertically on a page. These 12 to 24 bit
microinstructions instructions are required to carry out a single
machine language instruction. In addition to vertical
microinstructions, there are horizontal and diagonal
microinstructions as well.

Q: What is a waiver?
 A: In software QA, a waiver is an authorization to accept software
that has been submitted for inspection, found to depart from
specified requirements, but is nevertheless considered suitable
for use "as is", or after rework by an approved method.

Q: What is a waterfall model?

A: Waterfall is a model of the software development process in

which the concept phase, requirements phase, design phase,
implementation phase, test phase, installation phase, and checkout
phase are performed in that order, probably with overlap, but with
little or no iteration.

Q: What are the phases of the software development life cycle?

A: The software development life cycle consists of the concept

phase, requirements phase, design phase, implementation phase,
test phase, installation phase, and checkout phase.

Q: What models are used in the software development life cycle?

A: In software development life cycle the following models are

used: waterfall model, incremental development model, rapid
prototyping model, and spiral model.

Q: What black box testing types can you tell me about?

A: Functional testing, system testing, acceptence testing, closed

box testing, integration testing. Functional testing is a black
box testing geared to functional requirements of an application.
System testing is also a black box testing. Acceptance testing is
also a black box testing. Closed box testing is also a black box
testing. Integration testing is also a black box testing.

Black box testing is functional testing, not based on any

knowledge of internal software design or code. Black box testing
is based on requirements and functionality.

Q: How do you create a test plan/design? (Cont'd...)

Test data is captured and base lined, prior to testing. This

data serves as the foundation for unit and system testing and
used to exercise system functionality in a controlled
environment.
Some output data is also base-lined for future comparison.
Base-lined data is used to support future application
maintenance via regression testing.
A pretest meeting is held to assess the readiness of the
application and the environment and data to be tested. A test
 readiness document is created to indicate the status of the
entrance criteria of the release.
Inputs for this process:
Approved Test Strategy Document.
Test tools, or automated test tools, if applicable.
Previously developed scripts, if applicable.
Test documentation problems uncovered as a result of testing.
A good understanding of software complexity and module path
coverage, derived from general and detailed design documents,
e.g. software design document, source code, and software
complexity data.
Outputs for this process:
Approved documents of test scenarios, test cases, test
conditions, and test data.
Reports of software design issues, given to software developers
for correction.

Q: How do you execute tests?

A: Execution of tests is completed by following the test documents

in a methodical manner. As each test procedure is performed, an
entry is recorded in a test execution log to note the execution of
the procedure and whether or not the test procedure uncovered any
defects. Checkpoint meetings are held throughout the execution
phase. Checkpoint meetings are held daily, if required, to address
and discuss testing issues, status and activities.
The output from the execution of test procedures is known as
test results. Test results are evaluated by test engineers to
determine whether the expected results have been obtained. All
discrepancies/anomalies are logged and discussed with the
software team lead, hardware test lead, programmers, software
engineers and documented for further investigation and
resolution. Every company has a different process for logging
and reporting bugs/defects uncovered during testing.
A pass/fail criteria is used to determine the severity of a
problem, and results are recorded in a test summary report. The
severity of a problem, found during system testing, is defined
in accordance to the customer's risk assessment and recorded in
their selected tracking tool.
Proposed fixes are delivered to the testing environment, based
on the severity of the problem. Fixes are regression tested and
flawless fixes are migrated to a new baseline. Following
completion of the test, members of the test team prepare a
summary report. The summary report is reviewed by the Project
Manager, Software QA Manager and/or Test Team Lead.

Q: How do you execute tests? (Cont'd...)

Outputs for this process:

Log and summary of the test results. Usually this is part of the
Test Report. This needs to be approved and signed-off with
revised testing deliverables.
Changes to the code, also known as test fixes.
Test document problems uncovered as a result of testing.
Examples are Requirements document and Design Document problems.
 Reports on software design issues, given to software developers
for correction. Examples are bug reports on code issues.
Formal record of test incidents, usually part of problem
tracking.
Base-lined package, also known as tested source and object code,
ready for migration to the next level.

Q: How do you create a test strategy?

A: The test strategy is a formal description of how a software

product will be tested. A test strategy is developed for all
levels of testing, as required. The test team analyzes the
requirements, writes the test strategy and reviews the plan with
the project team. The test plan may include test cases,
conditions, the test environment, a list of related tasks,
pass/fail criteria and risk assessment.