Testing

• What is a test strategy? Plan that defines the testing approach and provides answers to questions such as what is to be accomplished
• Why is testing important? To ensure the solution works as intended and all errors are discovered and corrected before the system is implemented
• Why is test-driven development important? If testing is left to the end of development, testers will have a large amount of code to work through, making it difficult to find the problems
• What can refactoring code involve? Improving variable and function names, placing sections of code in locations that make it easier to read, breaking large sections of code into smaller pieces with a logical flow
• What is a test case? Individual set of variables or conditions that is used to see if features of the software work as expected
• What should a good test plan include? Various test cases (no data, normal, valid, boundary, erroneous, invalid) and test criteria
• What is normal data? The most obvious or common data that should work
• What is valid data? Data that is not obvious but should still work
• What is boundary/extreme data? Unexpected data at either end of the acceptable range
• What is erroneous data? Obvious data that should definitely fail or is the wrong data type
• What is invalid data? Data that looks like it should be fine but should be rejected by the system
• What should be done if it is not possible to test every possible input to a program? The test plan should contain appropriate test data to cover a range of situations
• What is black box testing? Form of testing where the software is tested without the testers being aware of the internal structure of the software. It can be carried out both within the company and by end-users
• What is white box testing? Form of testing carried out by software development teams in which the test plan is based on the internal structure of the program. All of the possible routes through the program are tested
• What is alpha testing? Form of testing carried out by the software development teams within the company. Bugs are pinpointed and fixed
• What is beta testing? Form of testing carried out by end-users after alpha testing has been completed. Feedback from users is used to inform the next stage of development