Test Automation

A tester’s toolbox today contains a number of test case design techniques—classification trees, pairwise testing, design of experiments-based methods, and combinatorial testing. Each of these methods is supported by automated tools. Tools provide consistency in test case design, which can increase the all-important test coverage in software testing. Cause-effect graphing, another test design technique, is superior from a test coverage perspective, reducing the number of test cases needed to provide excellent coverage.

Some test automation ideas seem very sensible at first glance but contain pitfalls and problems that can and should be avoided. Dot Graham describes five of these “intelligent mistakes”—1. Automated tests will find more bugs quicker. (Automation doesn’t find bugs, tests do.) 2. Spending a lot on a tool must guarantee great benefits. (Good automation does not come “out of the box” and is not automatic.) 3. Let’s automate all of our manual tests. (This may not give you better or faster testing, and you will miss out on some benefits.) 4. Tools are expensive so we have to show a return on investment. (This is not only surprisingly difficult but may actually be harmful.) 5. Because they are called “testing tools,” they must be tools for testers to use. (Making testers become test automators may be damaging to both testing and automation.) Join Dot for a rousing discussion of “intelligent mistakes”—so you can be smart enough to avoid them.

During the past ten years, static analysis tools have become a vital part of software development for many organizations. However, the question arises, “Can we quantify the benefits of static analysis?” William Oliver presents the results of a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory study that first measured the cost of finding software defects using formal testing on a system without static analysis; then, they integrated a static analysis tool into the process and, over a period of time, recalculated the cost of finding software defects.

Few topics are hotter these days than mobile software development. It seems that every company is rushing to release its own mobile application. However, when it comes time to build that software, companies quickly discover that things are different now. Many developers claim that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to test drive an application. Traditional testing tools are unable to automate the application in the emulator or on the device so testers usually are left with a manual testing approach.