QW2001 Standby Paper SB Technology Mr. Michael K. Jones, Assistant Professor (Dromedary Peak Consulting/Western International University) Test Strategy Derivation

Key Points

• Test strategy derivation is a necessity to efficiently and effectively test.
• The sources and foundations of a test strategy include more than requirements.
• Critical dependencies and their leverage points must be focused on.

Presentation Abstract

Test strategy derivation must always be performed but literature on the subject is minimal at best, other than a traditional discussion of the merits of top-down versus bottom- up with regards to integration. In the increasing complex systems found in today’s businesses, both off- line and on the web, an efficient and effective test strategy must be a goal that is reached for a system to be comprehensively and accurately tested. Simply “banging on the box” or “flailing at the machine” will not do the job.

This paper will define what a test strategy is and what it must cover. It will review the necessary sources and foundations for a test strategy, i.e. system requirement specifications and system architecture documents, and discuss how the test strategy can possibly be obtained in tandem with them. The paper will cover the critical dependencies of a test strategy and explore the leverage points that may be found among them. In particular the integration strategy and build documentation will be analyzed for their relationship to a successful test strategy. Test documentation will be then be reviewed to show where and how this information is best noted and preserved.

About the Author

Mr. Jones has a Master of Science in Computer Information Science and a Master of Business Administration. He has been through software engineering training at Boeing, Texas Instruments, and McDonnell Douglas in the past. He has worked in the software industry since 1976 and is currently the Chief Consultant at Dromedary Peak Consulting, which provides analytical direction and operational support for business. He is also an Assistant Professor in Information Technology at Western International University. His courses include Advanced Software Engineering, Advanced C Programming, Information Resource Management, Internet Business Strategy, and Web Application Development. Some of his published articles include: “Pragmatic Software Configuration Management in the E-World”, “Pragmatic Software Testing in the E-World”, “Software Configuration Management for the Web”, “Report from Captain QA from the Web”, and “Four Conceptual Attributes for Successful Web Applications”.