WEBSITE TESTING

Taken from Software Testing, 2nd Edition by Patton, Chapter 12

Highlights
What fundamental parts of a web page need testing What basic white-box and black-box techniques apply to web page testing How configuration and compatibility testing apply Why usability testing is the primary concern of web pages How to use tools to help test your website
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Web Page Fundamentals

Text of different sizes, fonts, and colors (okay, you can't see the colors in this book) Graphics and photos Hyperlinked text and graphics Rotating advertisements Text that has Drop-down selection boxes Fields in which the users can enter data
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Features that make Websites more Complex

Customizable layout that allows users to change where information is positioned onscreen Customizable content that allows users to select what news and information they want to see Dynamic drop-down selection boxes Dynamically changing text Dynamic layout and optional information based on screen resolution Compatibility with different web browsers, browser versions, and hardware and software platforms Lots of hidden formatting, tagging, and embedded information that enhances the web page's usabili

State Transition Diagrams

State Transition Map

Each unique state that the software can be in. A good rule of thumb is that if you're unsure whether something is a separate state, it probably is. The input or condition that takes it from one state to the next. This might be a key press, a menu selection, a sensor input, a telephone ring, and so on. A state can't be exited without some reason. Set conditions and produced output when a state is entered or exited. This would include a menu and buttons being displayed, a flag being set, a printout occurring, a calculation being performed, and so on.

A Documentation Testing Checklist

General Areas Audience Does the documentation speak to the correct level of audience, not too novice, not too advanced? Terminology Is the terminology proper for the audience? Are the terms used consistently? If acronyms or abbreviations are used, are they standard ones or do they need to be defined? Make sure that your company's acronyms don't accidentally make it through. Are all the terms indexed and cross-referenced correctly? Content and subject matter Are the appropriate topics covered? Are any topics missing? How about topics that shouldn't be included, such as a feature that was cut from the product and no one told the manual writer. Is the material covered in the proper depth?

A Documentation Testing Checklist

Correctness Just the facts Is all the information factually and technically correct? Look for mistakes caused by the writers working from outdated specs or sales people inflating the truth. Check the table of contents, the index, and chapter references. Try the website URLs. Is the product support phone number correct? Try it. Step by step Read all the text carefully and slowly. Follow the instructions exactly. Assume nothing! Resist the temptation to fill in missing steps; your customers won't know what's missing. Compare your results to the ones shown in the documentation.

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A Documentation Testing Checklist

Correctness
Figures and screen captures Check figures for accuracy and precision. Do they represent the correct image and is the image correct? Make sure that any screen captures aren't from prerelease software that has since changed. Are the figure captions correct? Samples and examples Load and use every sample just as a customer would. If it's code, type or copy it in and run it. Spelling and grammar In an ideal world, these types of bugs wouldn't make it through to you. Spelling and grammar checkers are too commonplace not to be used.

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Black-Box Testing
Text Hyperlinks Graphics Forms Other miscellaneous functionality (hit counter, scrolling marque text)

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Gray-Box Testing
HTML on webpages

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White Box Testing

Dynamic Content. Dynamic content is graphics and text that changes based on certain conditions for example, the time of day, the user's preferences, or specific user actions. Database-Driven Web Pages. Many e-commerce web pages that show catalogs or inventories are database driven. The HTML provides a simple layout for the web content and then pictures, text descriptions, pricing information, and so on are pulled from a database on the website's server and plugged into the pages. Programmatically Created Web Pages. Many web pages, especially ones with dynamic content, are programmatically generated that is, the HTML and possibly even the programming is created by software. Server Performance and Loading. Popular websites might receive millions of individual hits a day. Each one requires a download of data from the website's server to the browser's computer. Security. Financial, medical, and other websites that contain personal data are especially at risk and require intimate knowledge of server technology to test them for proper security.

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Configuration and Compatibility Testing

Hardware Platform. Browser Software and Version. Browser Plug-Ins. Many browsers can accept plug-ins or extensions to gain additional functionality.. Browser Options. Most web browsers allow for a great deal of customization. Video Resolution and Color Depth. Text Size. Modem Speeds.

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Usability Testing
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design by Nielsen
Gratuitous Use of Bleeding-Edge Technology. Scrolling Text, Marquees, and Constantly Running Animations. Long Scrolling Pages. Non-Standard Link Colors. Outdated Information. Overly Long Download Times. Lack of Navigation Support. Orphan Pages. Complex Website Addresses (URLs). Using Frames.
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Laboratory Session
Explore two websites and test the websites by applying the techniques you learn in class. Detect as many errors as you can by employing the following approaches: 1. Black-Box Testing 2. Gray-Box Testing 3. White Box Testing 4. Configuration and Compatibility Testing 5. Usability Testing In your opinion which is the better website?

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