| Work Product: Developer Test |
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| This artifact encompasses the work traditionally thought of under the following categories: Unit Testing, much of Integration Testing, and some aspects of what is most often referred to as System Testing. |
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Purpose
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The purpose of the Developer Test is to provide the implementation of a subset of required tests in an efficient and
effective manner.
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Relationships
| Roles | Responsible:
| Modified By:
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| Input To | Mandatory:
| Optional:
| External:
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| Output From |
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Description
| Brief Outline |
Each Developer Test should consider various aspects including the following:
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The basic computer hardware requirements; for example, Processors, Memory Storage, Hard-disk Storage, Input/ Output
Interface Devices
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The basic underlying software environment; for example, Operating System and basic productivity tools such as
e-mail or a calendar system
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Additional specialized input/output peripheral hardware; for example, Bar-code scanners, receipt printers, cash
draws, and sensor devices
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The required software for the specialized input/ output peripheral hardware; for example, drivers, interface and
gateway software
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The minimal set of software tools necessary to facilitate test, evaluation and diagnostic activities; for
example, memory diagnostics, automated test execution, and so forth
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The required configuration settings of both hardware and software options; for example, video-display resolution,
resource allocation, environment variables, and so on
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The required "preexisting" consumables; for example, populated data sets, receipt printer dockets, and the like.
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Properties
| Optional |  |
| Planned |  |
Key Considerations
| Most of the Developer Tests are created in the same timeframe as the software components that need to be tested. The tests
driven by Change Requests are developed after the components have been developed, and most of the times are short-lived if
their goal is only to reproduce a defect in a more controllable environment. |
Tailoring
| Representation Options |
Developer Tests may have the properties listed in the table below. The level of
formality for Developer Tests varies, so some of the following information might be missing or embedded in the
implementation. In general, the larger and more critical the component under test is, the more effort needs to be put
into maintaining the developer tests.
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Property Name
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Brief Description
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Name
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An unique name used to identify this Developer Test.
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Description
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A short description of the contents of the Developer Test, typically giving some high-level indication of
complexity and scope.
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Purpose
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An explanation of what this Developer Test represents and why it is important.
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Dependent Test and Evaluation Items
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Some form of traceability or dependency mapping to specific elements such as individual Requirements that
need to be referenced.
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Preconditions
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The starting state that must be achieved prior to the Developer Test being executed.
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Instructions
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Either the step-by-step instructions for executing the manual test, or the machine readable instructions
that, when executed, stimulate the software in a similar manner to the actions that would be undertaken by
the appropriate Actor, human or otherwise.
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Observation Points
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One or more locations in the Developer Test instructions where some aspect of the system state will be
observed, and usually compared with an expected result.
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Control Points
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One or more locations in the Developer Test instructions where some condition or event in the system may
occur and needs to be considered in regard to determining the next instruction to be followed.
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Log Points
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One or more locations in the Developer Test instructions where some aspect of the executing test script
state is recorded for the purpose of future reference.
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Postconditions
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The resulting state that the system must be left in after the Developer Test has been executed.
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The overall goal is to implement a simple and efficient developer testing framework. For the "one time only" tests,
most of the documentation overhead should be avoided. Special attention should be given to the tests that will be used
as regression tests for subsystems or the more "volatile" components, in terms of documentation, maintainability,
efficiency, effectiveness and robustness.
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More Information
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1987, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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