A Taxonomy of Testing Types

Abstract

What is Testing? The execution of an Object Under Test (OUT) under specific preconditions with specific stimuli so that its actual behavior can be compared with its expected or required behavior. Preconditions: pretest mode, states, stored data, or external conditions. Stimuli: Calls, commands, and messages (control flows), Data inputs (data flows), Trigger events such as state changes and temporal events. Actual Behavior: During Test: Calls, commands, and messages (control flows), Data outputs (data flows), Postconditions: post-test mode, states, stored data, or external conditions. Conclusion. Most systems require quite a few different types of testing. Most testers are not aware of the majority of the different types of testing. If you are not aware that it exists, then you dont know whether you need it. These types of testing can be organized into a taxonomy by the 5W + 2H questions. This taxonomy has several uses: Ensure the test strategy is sufficiently complete with no important type of testing overlooked. Organize testing types to make them and their relationships more understandable. Augment test training materials. Help categorize and understand limitations of testing tools.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1147163

Entities

People

  • Donald Firesmith

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

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  • Beta Testing
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Debugging
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Environment
  • Guarantees
  • Law
  • Materials
  • Object Oriented Programming
  • Performance Tests
  • Reliability
  • Security
  • Software Development
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  • Taxonomy
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training
  • United States
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  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.