Software Testing Concepts
This part of our site is intended as a guide to User Acceptance Testing for those
unfamiliar with the process.
For a myriad of reasons, software bugs are a fact of life. Among the contributing
factors are: software environment, data, usage patterns, human error, complex usage,
invalid usage and configuration. The aim with Infocouncil's projects is to have a minimum number of bugs in the software when the client starts
to rely on it.
Infosphere identifies and corrects as many critical bugs as possible prior to delivering
the first cut of the software, by performing two types of testing.
The first type of testing is performed at a very low compartmentalized level. This
testing involves the programmer examining the element that he or she has just created
and checking that it performs as intended without obvious error. This is often referred
to as 'unit testing'.
The second type of testing is performed across the entire scope of the software
to be delivered. This is often deliberately performed by someone other than the
original developer to mix usage styles and because it is difficult for developers
to objectively test their own work. The focus of this testing is to reconcile the
software back to the specification. This testing is intended to catch any obvious
bugs or critical functional anomalies. This can be referred to as 'pre-delivery'
testing.
Prior to relying on the software for 'live' usage, the client must be satisfied
that what has been delivered meets the specification and is free of critical bugs.
This process is called 'User Acceptance Testing'.
Overview of the User Acceptance Testing Process
User Acceptance Testing is typically performed in one or more iterations of the
following steps:
- Infosphere issues a release of the software
- The client performs (re-performs) as many tests as possible
- The client sends the issue register (explained in the following page) back to Infosphere
- Infosphere corrects the issues in order of priority
We expect 2 or 3 iterations of this process for the average software system.
The process stops when the client is satisfied that as many bugs have been found
as can reasonably be expected. This is the point that the software moves from User
Acceptance Testing to 'live'. Live means that the software is now being used by
the intended user base and relied on.
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