Exploring General Test Techniques

In the realm of software testing, employing the right techniques is akin to wielding a powerful set of tools that can unveil the hidden flaws and ensure the reliability of your software. These techniques serve as guiding heuristics for crafting well-structured tests. In this article, we will delve into nine families of general test techniques, each offering a unique perspective and approach to test design. These general techniques form the foundation upon which more specific testing methodologies are built.

General Test Techniques: A Primer

Before we dive into the specific families of general test techniques, let's define what we mean by a "general technique." Essentially, a general test technique is a simple and universal approach that can be applied to a wide array of testing contexts. These techniques serve as the building blocks upon which specialized testing strategies are constructed. By combining one or more general techniques with coverage ideas from other sources, you can construct an endless variety of specific test techniques tailored to your software's needs.

Now, let's explore the nine families of general test techniques:

1. Function Testing: Test What It Can Do

Function testing is all about exploring the capabilities of your software. Here's how you can approach it:

Identify Functions: Start by identifying the functions and subfunctions of your product.

Determining Success: Determine the criteria for success – how would you know if a function is working correctly?

Testing Functions: Test each function individually, ensuring it performs its intended task.

Behavior Verification: Verify that each function behaves as expected and does not exhibit unintended behavior.

2. Claims Testing: Challenge Every Claim

Claims testing focuses on scrutinizing every claim made about your software. Here's how to do it:

Identify Claims: Locate reference materials that contain claims about your product, whether explicit or implicit. This includes SLAs, EULAs, advertisements, specifications, help text, manuals, and more.

Claim Analysis: Analyze each claim, clarifying any vague or ambiguous statements.

Testing Claims: Test each claim made about your product to validate its accuracy.

Alignment Expectation: If you're testing against an explicit specification, expect the specification and the product to align.

3. Domain Testing: Partition the Data

Domain testing revolves around testing data processed by your software. Here's how to go about it:

Data Identification: Identify the data processed by your software, considering both inputs and outputs.

Data Selection: Decide which specific data sets to test with, including boundary values, typical values, invalid values, convenient values, and representative data.

Data Combinations: Consider testing combinations of data to assess their interactions and potential issues.

4. User Testing: Involve the Users

User testing places the end-users at the center of the testing process. Here's how to execute it effectively:

User Categories: Identify different user categories and their roles.

Use Case Definition: Determine what actions each user category will perform (use cases), their approach, and their priorities.

Real User Involvement: If possible, involve real users in the testing process, collecting their feedback and insights.

Simulated User Testing: When real users aren't available, systematically simulate user interactions, ensuring you closely mimic user behavior.

5. Stress Testing: Overwhelm the Product

Stress testing aims to push the product to its limits to uncover vulnerabilities. Here's how to approach it:

Subsystem Vulnerabilities: Identify subsystems and functions susceptible to overloading or breaking under challenging conditions.

Resource Identification: Identify data and resources related to these subsystems and functions.

Challenge Conditions: Select or generate challenging data or resource constraints, such as large data sets, high loads, long test runs, memory constraints, and more.

6. Risk Testing: Imagine a Problem, Then Look for It

Risk testing involves proactive problem identification. Here's how you can mitigate potential issues:

Problem Scenarios: Contemplate potential problems your product might encounter.

Risk Prioritization: Prioritize the most critical risks that need immediate attention.

Detection Methods: Determine how you would detect these problems if they existed.

Test Design: Design tests specifically to reveal these anticipated issues.

7. Flow Testing: Do One Thing After Another

Flow testing is all about testing the seamless flow of activities within your software:

End-to-End Activities: Perform multiple activities connected end-to-end, such as conducting tours through a state model.

Continuous Flow: Avoid resetting the system between actions.

Timing and Sequencing Variability: Vary timing, sequencing, and experiment with parallel threads to assess the robustness of the software's flow.

8. Automatic Checking: Check a Zillion Different Facts

Automatic checking involves leveraging tools and automation to conduct extensive testing:

Tool Utilization: Seek or develop tools that can perform various actions and verify numerous aspects of your software.

Coverage Automation: Consider tools that partially automate test coverage.

Oracles Automation: Utilize tools that partially automate oracles.

Change Detection: Implement automatic change detection mechanisms.

Test Data Generation: Employ tools for automatic test data generation.

Enhancing Human Testing: Utilize tools that augment human testing capabilities.

9. Scenario Testing: Test to a Compelling Story

Scenario testing encourages testing based on compelling narratives:

Holistic Perspective: Begin by considering the broader context surrounding your product.

Meaningful Interactions: Design tests that involve meaningful and complex interactions with the software.

Compelling Stories: Aim to create scenario tests that tell compelling stories of how critical users might interact with the software.

Conclusion

General test techniques are the cornerstone of effective software testing. By mastering these fundamental approaches, you can create a solid foundation for comprehensive testing strategies tailored to your software's unique requirements. Whether you're testing for functionality, claims validation, data processing, user satisfaction, stress resilience, risk mitigation, flow continuity, automation, or compelling scenarios, these techniques offer a roadmap to uncovering critical issues and ensuring the quality and reliability of your software. Remember, the right technique can make all the difference in delivering a flawless software product to your users.