Automation

Conference Presentations

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.

James Lyndsay, Workroom Productions
Automated Testing Framework for Embedded Systems

Is it possible to use an "open architecture" automation test tool to avoid the pitfalls of testing in the embedded, real-time world? It is now. In this session, Michael Jacobson presents an architecture that allows existing testing tools to be connected together as components in an automated testing framework targeted for embedded systems using network communications. He shows you how existing testing tools can become servers with just a couple lines of code. You'll even learn how each component can be changed and tested without requiring an update to the rest of the components, as long as interface communication is maintained.

Michael Jacobson, Northrop Grumman Corporation
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.

Cem Kaner, Florida Institute of Technology
Teach Your Automation Tool To Be As Smart As You

Teach your automation tool to speak your language instead of the other way around. This presentation demonstrates how test professionals can write automated scripts-without knowing coding-while providing a full complement of management reports that identify project progress, script status, and error tracking. You'll learn to fully integrate requirements, project management, and testing automation. Don't just use an automation tool, get it to do what you need it to do.

Bonnie Bayly, Anteon Corporation
Test Automation with Pure Data

While Web-based GUI testing is all the rage, lots of us still operate in a world of UNIX shells, command lines, and scripts. Automated testing in this world traditionally consists of executing the command being tested, then running a series of additional commands that perform validation. But how do you automate the test when the command being run expects answers? The solution: an Intelligent, Interactive Testing Tool (IITT). An IITT requires no scripting to write or maintain as it's completely data driven, meaning non-programming folks can create and maintain their own automated tests. This presentation demonstrates the ease with which an automated test can be developed using IITT's logic for non-GUI interactive applications.

Brian Brumfield, Hewlett-Packard Openview
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.

Gerard Numan, POLTEQ, B.V.
Did Your Tests Pass or Fail? Answering with Automation

Automated tests using self-verifying data (SVD) can help determine if your query-type tests have the right information or if they are showing you the expected views. In this presentation, Noel Nyman provides a brief overview of an SVD testing method followed by a demonstration of automation techniques that allow you to run random tests on SVDs with millions of records or entries. Using applications such as Microsoft Office, learn how to adapt the techniques taught in this presentation to many different types of applications using most of the common automation tools.

Noel Nyman, Microsoft
Applying Development Best Practices to Automated Testing

Test automation is a specialized form of software development where executable code is produced for the validation and testing process. Many best practices have been identified to allow developers to code more quickly, efficiently, and correctly, but few test automators have adopted these practices. Learn about several of these "best practices"-including code reviews and coding standards-that can be applied to automated test development. Discover how you, as an automated test developer, can capitalize on the benefits provided by these practices.

Andy Tinkham, Spherion Technology Architects
Software Test Automation Fall 2001: Data-Driven Automated Testing Using XML

Test automation is an unavoidable entity for testing Web-based applications where reduced time-to-market is the name of the game. Data-driven test cases allow the test automation engineer to automate/develop once and run many times with different conditions to test the system. Learn why XML-the markup language for documents containing structured information-is the best way to present the test data for automated testing. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of XML-based test data. An example of data-driven automated testing using XML as storage will be provided.

Rutesh Shah, Arsin Corporation
Choosing an Automated Web Application Testing Solution: What You Need to Know

The Internet has injected critical changes into how businesses must guarantee the quality of their enterprise applications. Automated testing tools are no longer optional for organizations that want to gainand-maintain-he highest level of quality control over their eBusiness applications. Selecting a Web testing tool is not an easy job in today's fast-paced market. This presentation defines and discusses the top requirements for an automated testing solution in the Internet age. Discover why Web testing is different from Client/Server testing. Explore the points of failure and critical technologies to test in a Web application. Learn the key criteria to use when selecting a testing tool: ease of use, accuracy, and reporting.

Yves de Montcheuil, Empirix

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