System Testing: Why? What? & How?

This document attempts to outline a strategy for testing software written in C++. This
means providing guidance on the thought processes you should be going through
when planning verification of C++ software, preferably before any code is written.
The first section is devoted to that task. The second looks at what you can do once
code starts to become available for testing, though without any particular regard to
any tools you might be using. Section Three describes the facilities offered by
Cantata++ and indicates how this might help in selected situations.

Unit testing is the testing of individual components (units) of the software. Unit testing is
usually conducted as part of a combined code and unit test phase of the software
lifecycle, although it is not uncommon for coding and unit testing to be conducted as two
distinct phases.
The basic units of design and code in Ada, C and C++ programs are individual
subprograms (procedures, functions, member functions). Ada and C++ provide
capabilities for grouping basic units together into packages (Ada) and classes (C++).
Unit testing for Ada and C++ usually tests units in the context of the containing package
or class.

The various activities which are undertaken when developing software are commonly
modelled as a software development lifecycle. The software development lifecycle
begins with the identification of a requirement for software and ends with the formal
verification of the developed software against that requirement.
The software development lifecycle does not exist by itself, it is in fact part of an overall
product lifecycle. Within the product lifecycle, software will undergo maintenance to
correct errors and to comply with changes to requirements. The simplest overall form is
where the product is just software, but it can become much more complicated, with
multiple software developments each forming part of an overall system to comprise a
product.

Since the advent of high level languages, the practice of developing software in a
different environment to the environment in which it will eventually be used has become
common. The development environment is referred to as the host, and the environment
in which the software will be used is referred to as the target. Such a development
strategy is referred to as host-target development, and the associated testing practices
as host-target testing or cross-testing.

Client-server software requires specific forms of testing to prevent or predict catastrophic errors. Servers go down, records lock, I/O (Input/Output) errors and lost messages can really cut into the benefits of adopting this network technology. Testing addresses system performance and scalability by understanding how systems respond to increased workloads and what causes them to fail

Any IT professional is sure to know the different phases of the Software Development Life Cycle or SDLC, namely Feasibility Study, Requirement Analysis, Design, Construction or Coding, Testing, Implementation, Maintenance & Support - the activities carried out in each phase & their significance. But, very few agree on the importance of Software Testing phase.

In this tutorial you will learn about Challenges in Testing Web Based Applications Introduction, Why testing Web Applications is different? Factors effecting Testing of Web Applications, Why technology platforms affect testing? Challenges in Testing Web Based Web Applications, Summary.

In this tutorial you will learn about Auditing Software Testing Process - Introduction, Types of Testing Process Audits, Audit to verify compliance, Audit for process improvement/problem solving,
Audit for Root Cause Analysis, Internal Audits, External Audits, Why Audit Software Testing Process? How to Audit, What can be audited? and Summary

In this tutorial you will learn about Testing for Agile Software Development - Background, Understanding Agile Software Development, How is Testing approach different in an Agile Development Scenario? What to test? Typical bugs found when doing agile testing? Steps Taken to Effectively Test in Agile Development Methodology, Ensuring software test coverage and Summary

This article attempts to explain the process of User Acceptance Testing.



Once the application is ready to be released the crucial step is User Acceptance Testing.



In this step a group representing a cross section of end users tests the application.
The user acceptance testing is done using real world scenarios and perceptions relevant to the end users