Quality Assurance Experiences Pete Nordquist Intel / Bear Creek / SOU

Background 4 months – Bear Creek Corp. 14 Years – Intel Corp. MSCS – Oregon Graduate Institute Math Ed / Music Ed – George Fox College

Why Test? Validate system requirements met Validate system integration Provide independent verification Advocate for the users

Furps FUNCTIONALITY: Feature Set - Capabilities - Generality – Security Does it do what it is supposed to do?

fUrps USABILITY: Human Factors - Aesthetics - Consistency – Documentation Can the user make it do what it is supposed to do?

fuRps RELIABILITY: Frequency/Severity of Failure - Recoverability - predictability - Accuracy - Mean Time to Failure How often does it do what it is supposed to do? Under normal conditions Under boundary conditions

furPs PERFORMANCE: Speed - Efficiency - Resource Consumption - Throughput - Response Time Does it do what it is supposed to do in a reasonable amount of time?

furpS SUPPORTABILITY: Testability - Extensibility - Adaptability - Maintainability - Compatibility - Configurability - Serviceability - Installability – Localizability How easy is it to keep it doing what it is supposed to do?

Hints Concentrate on “Sunny Day” scenario Learn everything you can about how the product is supposed to work then extrapolate to how it ought to work. Look for consistency / point out holes Use product under conditions as close as possible to those the real users will encounter. Integrate, integrate, integrate “Trust, but verify”

Politics of Testing Make friends of developers Educate management on risks: design problems, test coverage. Remember you won’t be paid if product does not go out the door. Remember you won’t be paid if product goes out the door and doesn’t work.

FURPS reference: Practical Software Metrics for Project Management and Process Improvement Practical Software Metrics for Project Management and Process Improvement by Robert B. Grady Prentice-Hall ECS Professional 270 pages (May 1992) Prentice Hall PTR; ISBN:

Other references Capability Maturity Model ISO Testing Computer Software -- Cem Kaner, et al; html

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