Functional System Testing

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The goal of software testing

The process of uncovering evidence of defects in software systems
Does not include efforts associated with tracking down bugs and fixing them
No amount of testing will improve the quality of a computer program
The more testing we do of a system, the more convinced we might be of its correctness
Testing cannot in general prove a system works 100% correctly


Test case execution


A running of the software (under test) that provides the inputs specified in the test case and observing the results and comparing them to those specified by the test case
If the actual result varies from the expected result, then a failure has been detected


Test data


An effective test strategy requires careful acquisition and preparation of test data prior to testing
Testing can suffer if test data is poor
Test data concerns:
Depth: quantity and size of data
Breadth: variance of data values and data types
Scope: completeness, relevance and accuracy of data
Result of a query should be valid for the specific purpose of the query, and not due to a missing or inappropriate value
Conditions: data should reflect specific “conditions” in the domain
Data that would otherwise arrive after performing specific operations over time
Test data and test results are expensive to construct