Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D. Director MISSION: Create effective, grounded, timely materials to support the teaching and self-study of software testing, software reliability, and quality-related software metrics. Mike Andrews, Ph.D. James Whittaker, Ph.D. Pat Bond, Ph.D. Scott Tilley, Ph.D.

Testing? Testing is often taught as a routine activity. This misses the point Testing is a technical investigation of a product Complete testing would require infinite time Instead, we have to apply judgment & skill to develop the optimal set of tests and test documentation within the project’s time, cost and reporting constraints THIS is a much more challenging task, to learn to teach, and to do.

Testing Techniques? Testing courses are often focused on a miscellaneous collection of test techniques, plus rules for doing the paperwork Any technique addresses one or a few of these six issues: Risk (what bugs we’re looking for) Activity (how we do the testing) Tester (who does the testing) Coverage (how much of what gets tested) Evaluation (how to tell whether the program passed the test) Reporting requirements (needed outputs) Our task is to apply the right techniques to serve the specific needs of the project at hand For that, we need to understand techniques context (the circumstances surrounding the project) project requirements (how testing serves the project)

Black Box Testing Course Professional version in development since 1992 Taught at wide range of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, Postalsoft, Avid, BEA Systems, Cognos, California Dept of Transportation, Iomega, Peoplesoft, Rational, Cigital, Software AG, Safeco, many others. Techniques taught / practiced in context of a sample application Customizable At your site (1-5 days) Core learning objectives Selection of topics and examples Balance of lab vs lecture (co-taught with your technical manager) At Florida Tech (4.5 days typical) Selection of topics To lesser extent, lab vs lecture

Black Box Testing Course Materials Oracles Impossibility of complete testing Techniques Function testing Domain testing Risk-based testing Bug taxonomies Attacks Scenario testing Specification-based User testing Stress testing Multivariable tests Regression testing Stochastic testing & high-volume automation Exploratory testing Scripting problems Questioning strategies Ad hoc models paired testing Testability Bug reporting effective advocacy quality/cost analysis Test documentation doc components analyzing requirements for testdocs Test planning Outsourcing Legal issues Role of test groups / mission of testing Adapting testing to different lifecycles Test-related metrics and measurement theory Recruiting Career planning Evaluating staff performance

Possibilities for the Future We’re glad to organize these if there is enthusiasm: Homebrew test automation Available NOW Bret Pettichord Using / customizing the new generation of free software test tools Test-driven development course Potentially now project-driven, paired programming extensive personal practice, feedback Testing boot camp Summer 2005? Interest? 3 weeks High teacher : student ratio Mix of academic and practitioner teachers Extensive personal practice/coaching Lecture (a.m) Coached practice (p.m.) Group assignments (evening)