Management of Test Case Aging: The Generation of Fine Varieties of Tests

When a test plan first enters life, it can often be like a fine wine, still good, but not fully mature in character, depth and complexity of test cases and objectives. But like that fine wine, as a product and an organization's processes mature, so, too, should the test plan and associated cases. This papers on an analysis of a suite of tests and methods that have matured over many years.

Most software projects spend their "life" in maintenance and updates. During these activities a large percentage of money spent on the software will be consumed by testing. We examine aspects of testing from initial through mature stages of an in-use software product. Analysis defines the impact of software trouble reports and change requests, including impacts from system usage on the testing. Percentage distributions between early test levels, objectives, and methods are compared with distributions from the organization as it evolves and matures.

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