mr toad's wild ride

thought process to get from happy path to useful testing

08:33 PM, April 7, 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link
maybe i haven't dug deep enough but i found that the books i have read don't seem to get into the whole process of testing in the way that i want. i need case studies, i need examples, i need to see the way that expert testers approach a similar problem, and how they think about requirements, what cases and scenarios to look at and much more. so anyone with links or books to buy let me know hey... 

if i only did the tests that the devs are worried about i'd be happy path testing it all over the shop. happy days indeed! i find happy path testing is good for opening up questions and forming ideas about where problems might be lurking. plus it also helps clear the simple bugs, but i might go blog about that...

steps i use to test
  1. read the requirements and mark TC on the spots that might require a test case, use a highlighter to mark processes, changes and anything else relevant. [pseudocode style]
  2. open an excel spreadsheet and type in the various test cases i marked earlier.
  3. open the software and run through the new feature.
  4. add anything extra to the spreadsheet that springs to mind.
  5. look at the first item on the list.
  6. write a test case.
  7. run through the test case and in exploratory testing style add anything extra to the test case that crops up.
  8. if a bug exists then create a problem report/log the defect in the tracking system. problem reports get fixed straight away. defects get logged for future assessment by the client. defects are for things that might be nice to do in the future if we have time but do not affect the business process/ability of the system to do the job.
  9. go to the next item on the list  and go back to step 6.
  10. loop through until all item have been looked at. at any time if an additional test appears useful then persue that line of testing.
to simplify the process


AnalyseRequirement
WriteCaseNames

do while (Count(CaseNames)<>0)
    WriteTestCase
    RunTestCase
    AnalyseTestCase
    AmendTestCase
    if(BugExists = TRUE) then
          if(Bug=ImmediateProblem) then
                ReportProblem
          Else
                LogDefect
          end if
    end if


next CaseName

sorry. this got a little messy. my girlfriend is hungry so she is rushing me to go out for food. hope this makes some sense, and if you have anything to add regarding your own process i would be damn keen to read about it.

i go to sacrifice a maiden to the testing gods. may all your cases find bugs.



Possible book

11:20 PM, April 7, 2006 .. Posted by philk10
"Critical Testing Processes" by Rex Black is written as a fictional story going through the testing process
I found it to be a pretty good read

Critical Testing Processes

09:17 AM, April 10, 2006 .. Posted by metalbaby
hey phil,

once the credit card has dealt with the shock of buying a car, a futon, a shitload of books from amazon and sending my girl back to japan for her sister's wedding i will be right on it. if anyone knows of an ebook floating around that would be muchly appreciated...

chris

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