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	Testing Information Systems
	Testing Information Systems

Course Outline and Objectives
Course Philosophy and Approach

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	3 days

Project leaders, analysts, designers, programmers, testing professionals, test process managers and end-users who are interested in reducing the effort required to deliver usable information technology with a minimum of time investment.

Our instructors have extensive experience in applying these techniques on projects with business experts from a wide variety of fields.

GI General Introduction
TS Establishing a Test Strategy
TP Creating Test Plans
ST Testing Code Structures
BT Developing Behavioral Tests
DE Engineering Test Data
CT Testing without Code
FN Making a Difference

This course presents topics, tools and techniques on how to plan, structure and execute testing efficiently and effectively in the real world. It is based on the assumption that you already recognize the critical importance of testing. You just want to know how to do it better. This seminar includes components that are of special interest to information technology developers.

Properly Tested Information System Solutions

	are your most effective weapon against poor quality systems
	give you a competitive edge over organizations with poor-quality solutions
	increase the end-user's confidence in all aspects of the information technology organization
	are cheaper to create and maintain than those that are not well-tested
	communicate to your user community your commitment to quality


	Techniques of Efficiency

	Efficient testing is engineered for optimal performance throughout the system life cycle. A minimum number of test cases ensures that the system works in accordance with expectations. You need to identify, define and prioritize test cases from data flow diagrams, data models, event/response diagrams, program specifications, user documentation or plain business requirements. You need to engineer your test data to compare test cases from any source, reduce redundancy and optimize your testing performance.

printer friendly syllabus

Course Outline and Objectives

General Introduction
Module GI : Duration ~ .5-1 hour


	The major challenge of testing is to find a balance between the necessity for quality and the cost of delivering the information technology that the business community needs. To meet this challenge, you need to clearly understand both the risk of system failure and the mechanisms by which you can attempt to reduce that risk.

		What Is the True Goal of Information System Testing?
		How Do You Define the Major Testing Activities and Deliverables?
		What Relationship Does Testing Have To Your System Development Methodology?
		What Do You Understand Under Unit, Integration, System and Acceptance Testing?

		Evaluate a Formal Testing Methodology For Applicability
		Determine the Impact of Testing On a System Development Life Cycle
		Define Common Testing Terms Consistently
		Recognize Unit, Thread, System, Integration and Acceptance Testing

Establishing a Test Strategy
Module TS : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	A sound test strategy is the foundation upon which successful implementations build. The strategy has to support the selected approach with appropriate tools and techniques to be implemented. Suitable testing practices and methods allow sufficient flexibility to adapt to specific corporate needs.

		Which Tools and Techniques Fit Your Testing Approach?
		Which Manual Techniques Are the Most Effective?
		What Categories of Automated Testing Tools Are Available?
		How Should You Adapt Your Approach Based On Organizational Influences?

		List 7 Categories of Automated Testing Tools and Describe Their Use
		Recognize Organizational Impacts On Testing
		Evaluate Usability, Performance, Release, and Configuration Testing
		Distinguish Between Regression and Baseline Testing
		Improve Manual Testing Techniques
		Assess How Technology Affects Available Testing Tools and Techniques
		Distinguish Black Box From Clear Box Tests

Creating Test Plans
Module TP : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	The test plan is where all of the pieces have to fit together. Your defined test cases have to be prioritized, sequenced, resourced, scheduled and managed. A good test plan lets you identify problems before they occur and allows for proactive adjustments.

		When Can Testing Start and How Long Should It Take?
		What Does a Good Test Plan Encompass?
		Which Techniques Minimize the Time Needed Without Sacrificing Quality?
		How Do You Acquire the Resources Needed To Complete Your Testing?
		How Do You Know When You Have Tested Enough?

		Plan Testing Activities and Deliverables Based On Business Risks
		Leverage a Team’s Thinking Styles To Improve Testing Performance
		Assemble the 17 Key Elements of Effective Test Plans
		Plan Testing Based On 10 Different Software Error Categories
		Estimate the Potential Effort For Test Execution

Testing Code Structures
Module ST : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	Structural (a.k.a. "white" or "clear" box) testing is a powerful technique. It requires that you can either interpret the source code of the object being tested or express the logic of the object in a structural manner. This testing approach gives us mathematical models which can calculate the number of tests needed to achieve predefined coverage levels.

		What Do Models Show You That Code Does Not?
		What Do Coverage Levels Prove and What Do They Neglect?
		How Can You Calculate the Number of Test Cases Needed For Path Coverage?
		What Techniques Can Be Used To Identify Specific Structural Tests?

		Develop Test Cases From Different Views of a Component’s Logic
		List 3 Code Coverage Types and Select Whichever Is Appropriate
		Use Coverage Levels As a Tool For Determining System Reliability
		Compute How Many Tests Are Needed To Achieve a Selected Coverage
		Evaluate Drivers and Stubs For Testing an Evolving System Or Release

Developing Behavioral Tests
Module BT : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	Behavioral testing (a.k.a. "black box" and "functional" testing) is the major technique for testing information systems. It does not require knowledge of the inner workings. All you need to know is how to activate the system and how to interpret the reaction. Because of this, behavioral testing can be and is performed by professional testers, analysts, designers and end-users throughout the lifetime of the system. The challenge, then, is not how to do black box testing, but how to do it well.

		What Can You Use To Identify Behavioral Tests?
		How Can You Figure Out What To Test?
		What Level of Documentation Should You Create For Test Cases?
		Which Tests Are Most Likely To Find Errors?

		Recognize Test Cases On Data Flow And/Or Event/Response Diagrams
		Define Business Test Cases Based On Requirement Decomposition
		Extract Behavioral Test Cases From End-User Documentation
		Identify Event Based Test Cases Using Exception Analysis Techniques
		Create and Maintain a Consistent Set of Testing Documentation

Engineering Test Data
Module DE : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	Careful selection of the value of each field that you can manipulate will drastically reduce the number of test cases that you need to thoroughly test a system. Engineered data can give you a much higher confidence in the reliability of the system without identifying every unique situation that the system might eventually face.

		Where Do You Find Out Which Data You Can Manipulate?
		How Can You Identify the Optimal Content of Each Data Element?
		What Are Realistic Expectations For Reducing the Number of Tests Needed?
		What Is the Overall Payback For Engineering the Data?

		Document Test Actions and Expected Results in Test Scripts
		Engineer Test Data Using Equivalence Classes and Boundary Value Analysis
		Determine Data Dependencies From Entity/Relationship Diagrams
		Minimize the Number of Test Cases Needed with Content Optimization S
		Identify the Minimal Set of Test Cases To Achieve Defined Testing Goals

Testing without Code
Module CT : Duration ~ 1-3 hours


	Testing should not be deferred until a solution has been developed. In terms of bang for the buck, many times more money could be saved if the concept itself were tested prior to development. There is a difference between building the right system and building the system right.

		How Do You Test an Evolving Information System?
		How Can Customer Requirements Be Effectively "Tested"?
		What Proves a Good Design?
		What Makes Good Non-Execution Techniques Work?

		Evaluate Business Requirements For Testability
		Prepare and Conduct Quality Assurance Walk-Throughs
		Validate the Completeness of a Defined Set of Test Cases
		Test Whether the Requirements Solve the Business Problems
		Cross-Reference Test Cases To System Requirements

Making a Difference
Module FN : Duration ~ .5-1 hour


	Developing or changing the testing process within an existing organization is a daunting task. It requires a defined project with all the implied controls, decisions, support, etc. However, there may be some things that you can do without redesigning the known universe.

		How Do You Prioritize the Aspects That Are the Most Important For You and Your Organization?
		What Are You Going To Do About It?

		Identify Ways To Implement a Testing Strategy in Your Environment
		Evaluate the Usefulness of Accelerated Sessions in Testing
		Adapt a Testing Approach To Your Organization’s Needs

Visit our Business System Analyst Bookstore
for books on the topics covered in this seminar.

	Object Oriented ( Business Objects , Object Oriented Analysis , Object Oriented Design , Object Oriented Modeling , Object Oriented Testing , State Transition Diagrams , Unified Modeling Language (UML) , Use Cases )
	Process Analysis ( Data Flow Diagrams , Decision Tables , Event Response Diagrams , Flowcharts , Miscellaneous , Process Models )
	Related Topics ( Knowledge Management , Philosophies , Request for Proposal (RFP) , Risk Management , Six Sigma , Software Reuse , Strategic Planning )
	Test Management ( Defect Tracking , Miscellaneous , Test Planning , Testing Methodologies , Testing Tools , Validation & Verification )
	Testing Phases ( Acceptance Testing , Configuration Testing , Integration Testing , Performance Testing , System Testing , Unit Testing , Usability Testing )
	Testing Techniques ( Black Box Testing , Object Oriented Testing , Regression Testing , Test Cases , Test Data Engineering , Walkthroughs , White Box Testing )
	Usability Engineering ( Prototyping , Task Analysis , Miscellaneous , Usability Testing , User Interfaces )

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