From Requirements to Test Data
The Design and Construction of Effective, Efficient, and Economical Test Data
(CSTP #2)
Dan Mosely
This tutorial counts as one day of training towards the Certified Software Test Professional requirements.

Description

This two-day seminar provides detailed view of the testing processes necessary to develop and construct effective test requirements/data. The focus is on integrated testing planning and test design processes that start with test requirements and ultimately deliver focused test data (test cases). The course covers the principles; the processes and the artifacts associated with the development of test requirements, test case requirements (test conditions) and the translation of the test case requirements into test data via formal test case design techniques.

Objectives

At the completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Understand the differing roles of the test engineer during test planning, test design, and test implementation
• Define effective test requirements
• Covert the test requirements into test case requirements
• Construct economical and efficient test data from the test case requirements
• Understand and be able to implement Black Box, White Box, and Gray Box test case design techniques
• Understand the role of test automation in the planning and design processes
• Be aware of the commercially available automated tools that support test requirements specification, test data construction, and test data execution
• Be introduced the data-driven approach to automated testing

Topics Include

• Background and introduction
• Software testing economics
• Software test planning and design as formal processes
• Software test requirements specification process (A step-by-step process for identifying detailed test conditions, designing test cases and building test data)
• Documenting test requirements
• Automated requirements specification tools
• Documenting test case requirements
• Designing test data
• White Box techniques
• Black Box techniques
• Building the test data
• Test data maintenance and enhancement
• Automated test data design/construction tools
• An introduction to the data-driven automated testing approach
• Test planning and design management considerations

Audience

This course is intended for any Software test engineers involved with the definition, design, construction and implementation of test requirements/data. Quality assurance or audit personnel as well as key user/clients will find this seminar of both interest and value.

Course Outline

1. Background and Introduction
2. Software Testing Economics
3. Software Test Planning and Design as Formal Processes
   • Overview of the testing process
     • Planning Phase
     • Design Phase
     • Implementation Phase
   • The roles of the test engineer during each phase
   • The test engineering skill sets required at each to support each phase
4. The Software Test Requirements Specification Process
   • Defining test requirements
   • Refining test requirements into test case requirements
     • Relationships
       • One to many
       • Many to one
       • Many to many
   • Automated requirements specification tools
5. Designing The Test Cases
• Test case design overview
• Black Box design techniques (requirements based)
• White Box design techniques (specification based)
• Gray Box Techniques (hybrid)
• Automated test design tools
6. Building The Test Cases (Test Data)
   • The MS Excel Spreadsheet approach
   • Automated test data generation tools
7. Test Data Maintenance And Enhancement
• What is "stale" test data
• Making test data dynamic
• Keeping test data current with the software application's ever-changing requirements
8. Using The Data To Drive The Tests
   • Data-Driven Testing Overview
9. Test Planning And Design Management Considerations
10. Questions and Answers