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Adventures in Session-Based Testing This paper describes the way that a UK company controlled and improved ad-hoc testing, and was able to use the knowledge gained as a basis for ongoing, product sustained improvement. It details the session-based methods initially proposed, and notes problems, solutions and
improvements found in their implementation. It also covers the ways that the improved test results helped put the case for change throughout development, and ways in which the team has since built on the initial processes to arrive at a better testing overall. Session-based testing can be used to introduce measurement and control to an immature test process, and can form a foundation for significant improvements in productivity and error
detection.
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James Lyndsay, Workroom Productions
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The Context-Driven Approach to Software Testing Several jokes about consultants revolve around the idea that they answer most questions by saying "It depends." The context-driven school of testing accepts the "It depends" reality but then asks, "Depends on what?" Rather than talking about best practices, this approach asks when and why a given practice would be beneficial; what risks and benefits are associated with it; what skills, documents, development processes, and other resources are required to enable the process; and so on. Rather than dismissing an unpopular testing technique or test documentation method as useless, you should ask these questions to determine possible uses. The appropriate context might be narrow, but you'll learn a lot more about the technique and its alternatives by becoming aware of the context variables rather than ignoring them.
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Cem Kaner, Florida Institute of Technology
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Testing The Chain: End-to-End Integration Test When processes include several applications, the testing process is complicated in many ways. Possible complications include: organizational issues because of the multitude of test teams and their interdependencies; processes and transactions that span the chain which require new test scenarios; integral design, information analysis, and process design documents that aren't fit for the purpose of chain testing; and test execution that demands integral knowledge of the chain. This session gives you a list of all the variables that need to be considered, then offers solutions for successfully organizing chain testing.
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Gerard Numan, POLTEQ, B.V.
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An Execution Framework for Java Test Automation This presentation introduces the Java Execution Framework, describing test suites, test cases, and the JEF test harness.
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Erick Griffin, Tivoli Systems Inc.
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Flight Recorders: Analyze and Fix Defects Quickly Users find 25 percent of your defects after your software goes live, according to a recent study. In addition to being expensive to fix, these post-ship defects often prove impossible to find due to the many potential user environments out there. Flight recorders are new tools, named after those already present on aircraft, that trace the execution of an application in or before production. Their job is to collect information while the system runs. Then, if a problem or failure occurs, you can examine the trace file and discover what operations led to the problem without actually having to recreate the problem.
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Oliver Cole, OC Systems, Inc.
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STARWEST 2001: Bug Hunting: Going on a Software Safari This presentation is about bugs: where they hide, how you find them, and how you tell other people they exist so they can be fixed. Explore the habitats of the most common types of software bugs. Learn how to make bugs more likely to appear and discover ways to present information about the bugs you find to ensure they get fixed. Drawing on real-world examples of bug reports, Elisabeth Hendrickson reveals tips and techniques for capturing the wiliest and most squirmy critters crawling around in your software.
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Elisabeth Hendrickson, Quality Tree Software
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Concise, Standardized, Organized Testing in Complex Test Environments There's a need for standardized, organized hardware and software infrastructure, and for a common framework, in a complex test environment. Gerhard Strobel focuses on the experience of testing diverse products on many different platforms (UNIX, Windows, OS2, z/OS, OS400)-how they differ and how much they have in common. He explains how to configure and profile test machines, then highlights the technical areas where test efficiency can be increased. He also covers methods of execution control.
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Gerhard Strobel, IBM Germany
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Patterns and Automation: The Road to More Effective Testing Testers are an organization's most effective defense against shipping embarrassing or even fatal defects. With such responsibility on our shoulders, it is paramount that we understand what causes defects as well as the best techniques to use in finding them. James Whittaker presents the latest field-tested research results on two powerful defect-finding techniques--test patterns and test automation. Learn how to make testers more productive--and testing more effective--in your organization.
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James Whittaker, Florida Institute of Technology
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Targeted Software Fault Insertion Since the completely random software fault insertion techniques suggested in much of the research literature are not practical for most software products, this paper suggests that a modest targeted software fault insertion effort for a few common error conditions can have a dramatic impact on defect detection rates and quality. The paper uses the example of a software fault insertion subsystem, codenamed Faulty Towers, which was added to Mangosoft Incorporated’s test automation in order to target
common failures and errors.
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Paul Houlihan, MangoSoft Corporation
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White-Box Testing: What Your Developers Don't Want You to Know In this presentation, John Peraza describes how to use white-box testing to discover those defects that would otherwise remain undetected if you only conducted black-box testing. Learn various techniques-including test coverage, run-time memory leak detection, dynamic bounds checking, and code assessment for internationalization-that you can use to conduct white-box testing. Discover how BMC Software has benefited from including white-box testing in its quality assurance efforts.
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John Peraza, BMC Software, Inc.
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