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Acceptance criteria The expected results or performance characteristics that define whether the test case passed or failed. Acceptance Testing / User Acceptance Testing An acceptance test is a test that a user/sponsor and manufacturer/producer jointly perform on a finished, engineered product/system through black-box testing (i.e., the user or tester need not know anything about the internal workings of the system). It is often referred to as a(n) functional test, beta test, QA test, application test, confidence test, final test, or end user test Accessibility Testing Verifying a product is accessible to the people having disabilities (deaf, blind, mentally disabled etc.). Actual Result The behavior produced/observed when a component or system is tested. Adaptability The capability of the software product to be adapted for different specified environments without applying actions or means other than those provided for this purpose for the software considered. Ad-hoc Testing Testing carried out using no recognised test case design technique.This type of testing will not have any test cases associated with it. It is also known as Exploratory Testing Agile Testing Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm.Agile methods emphasize face-to-face communication over written document. Most agile teams are are located in a single open office. Analyzability The capability of the software product to be diagnosed for deficiencies or causes of failures in the software, or for the parts to be modified to be identified. Anomaly Any condition that deviates from expectation based on requirements specifications, design documents, user documents, standards, etc. or from someones perception or experience. Anomalies may be found during, but not limited to, reviewing, testing, analysis, compilation, or use of software products or applicable documentation. Alpha Testing In software development, testing is usually required before release to the general public. This phase of development is known as the alpha phase and testing during this phase is known as alpha testing. In the first phase of alpha testing, developers test the software using white box techniques. Additional inspection is then performed using black box or grey box techniques. Alpha testing is carried out at developer location as opposed to Beta testing that is carried out at customer or end user location. Arc Testing / Branch Testing A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed to execute branch outcomes. A test method satisfying coverage criteria that require that for each decision point, each possible branch be executed at least once. AUT

Application Under Test Authorization Testing Involves testing the systems responsible for the initiation and maintenance of user sessions. This will require testing the Input validation of login fields ,Cookie security,and Lockout testing .This is performed to discover whether the login system can be forced into permitting unauthorised access. The testing will also reveal whether the system is susceptible to denial of service attacks using the same techniques. Back-to-back testing Testing in which two or more variants of a component or system are executed with the same inputs, the outputs compared, and analyzed in cases of discrepancies Basis Path Testing A white box test case design technique that uses the algorithmic flow of the program to design tests.It allows the design and definition of a basic set of execution paths. Benchmark Testing Tests that use representative sets of programs and data designed to evaluate the performance of computer hardware and software in a given configuration Beta Testing / Field Testing Once the alpha phase is complete, development enters the beta phase. Versions of the software, known as beta-versions, are released to a limited audience outside of the company to ensure that the product has few faults or bugs. Beta testing, is generally constrained to black box techniques although a core of test engineers are likely to continue with white box testing in parallel to the beta tests. Big Bang Testing Integration testing where no incremental testing takes place prior to all the system's components being combined to form the system. Black Box Testing / Functional Testing Black box testing, concrete box or functional testing is used to check that the outputs of a program, given certain inputs, conform to the functional specification of the program. It performs testing based on previously understood requirements (or understood functionality), without knowledge of how the code executes. Bottom-up Testing An approach to integration testing where the lowest level components are tested first, then used to facilitate the testing of higher level components. The process is repeated until the component at the top of the hierarchy is tested. Boundary value analysis/ testing A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed which include representatives of boundary values. A testing technique using input values at, just below, and just above, the defined limits of an input domain; and with input values causing outputs to be at, just below, and just above, the defined limits of an output domain. Branch Coverage The percentage of branches that have been exercised by a test suite. 100%branch coverage implies both 100% decision coverage and 100% statement coverage. Breadth Testing A test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does not test features in detail Bug Bugs arise from mistakes and errors, made by people, in either a program's source code or its design that prevents it from working correctly or produces an incorrect result Business process-based testing An approach to testing in which test cases are designed based on descriptions and/or knowledge of business processes. Capability Maturity Model(CMM) A five level staged framework that describes the key elements of an effective software process. The Capability Maturity Model covers practices for planning, engineering and managing software development and maintenance. Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) A framework that describes the key elements of an effective product development and maintenance process. The Capability Maturity Model Integration covers practices for planning, engineering and managing product development and maintenance. CAST Computer Aided Software Testing Code Coverage An analysis method that determines which parts of the software have been covered by the test case suite and which parts

have not been executed and therefore may require additional attention. Compatibility Testing Testing whether the system is compatible with other systems with which it should communicate. Component Testing The testing of individual software components. Concurrency Testing Multi-user testing geared towards determining the effects of accessing the same application code, module or database records. Identifies and measures the level of locking, deadlocking and use of single-threaded code and locking semaphores Conformance Testing / Compliance Testing / Standards Testing Conformance testing or type testing is testing to determine whether a system meets some specified standard. To aid in this, many test procedures and test setups have been developed, either by the standard's maintainers or external organizations, specifically for testing conformance to standards. Conformance testing is often performed by external organizations, sometimes the standards body itself, to give greater guarantees of compliance. Products tested in such a manner are then advertised as being certified by that external organization as complying with the standard Context Driven Testing The context-driven school of software testing is flavor of Agile Testing that advocates continuous and creative evaluation of testing opportunities in light of the potential information revealed and the value of that information to the organization right now. Conversion Testing / Migration Testing Testing of programs or procedures used to convert data from existing systems for use in replacement systems. Coverage Testing Coverage testing is concerned with the degree to which test cases exercise or cover the logic (source code) of the software module or unit. It is also a measure of coverage of code lines, code branches and code branch combinations Cyclomatic Complexity A measure of the logical complexity of an algorithm, used in white-box testing. Cyclomatic complexity of each module is calculated by the formula (e-n+2) where 'e' is the number of edges and 'n' is the number of nodes in the control flow graph. Data flow Testing Testing in which test cases are designed based on variable usage within the code. Data integrity and Database integrity Testing Data integrity and database integrity test techniques verify that data is being stored by the system in a manner where the data is not compromised by updating, restoration, or retrieval processing Data-Driven Testing Testing in which the action of a test case is parameterized by externally defined data values, maintained as a file or spreadsheet. A common technique in Automated Testing. Some of the automation tools have built in data tables to facilitate the same. Decision condition testing A white box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute condition outcomes and decision outcomes Decision table A table showing combinations of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) with their associated outputs and/or actions (effects), which can be used to design test cases. Decision table testing A black box test design techniques in which test cases are designed to execute the combinations of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) shown in a decision table Decision testing A white box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute decision outcomes Defect An anomaly, or flaw, in a delivered work product. Examples include such things as omissions and imperfections found during early lifecycle phases and symptoms of faults contained in software sufficiently mature for test or operation. A defect can be any kind of issue you want tracked and resolved. Defect density The number of defects identified in a component or system divided by the size of the component or system (expressed in standard measurement terms, e.g. lines-of code, number of classes or function points). Defect per KLOC (Kilo Lines of Code) is a common representation. Dependency Testing Examines an application's requirements for pre-existing software, initial states and configuration in order to maintain

proper functionality Depth Testing A test that exercises a feature of a product in full detail. Design based Testing Designing tests based on objectives derived from the architectural or detail design of the software (e.g., tests that execute specific invocation paths or probe the worst case behaviour of algorithms). Development testing Formal or informal testing conducted during the implementation of a component or system, usually in the development environment by developers Documentation Testing Testing concerned with the accuracy of documentation. This is a type of static testing. Dynamic Testing Testing software by executing it and checking for non conformances. Efficiency testing The process of testing to determine the efficiency of a software product End-to-end Testing Test activity aimed at proving the correct implementation of a required function at a level where the entire hardware/software chain involved in the execution of the function is available. Endurance Testing Checks for memory leaks or other problems that may occur with prolonged execution Equivalence Class A portion of a component's input or output domains for which the component's behaviour is assumed to be the same from the component's specification Equivalence partition Testing A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed to execute representatives from equivalence classes. Equivalence Partitioning A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed to execute representatives from equivalence classes Exhaustive Testing Testing which covers all combinations of input values and preconditions for an element of the software under test Exploratory Testing This technique for testing computer software does not require significant advanced planning and is tolerant of limited documentation for the target-of-test. Instead, the technique relies mainly on the skill and knowledge of the tester to guide the testing, and uses an active feedback loop to guide and calibrate the effort. It is also known as ad hoc testing Failure The inability of a system or component to perform its required functions within specified performance requirements. A failure is characterized by the observable symptoms of one or more defects that have a root cause in one or more faults. Fault An accidental condition that causes the failure of a component in the implementation model to perform its required behavior. A fault is the root cause of one or more defects identified by observing one or more failures. Fuzz Testing Fuzz testing is a software testing technique. The basic idea is to attach the inputs of a program to a source of random data. If the program fails (for example, by crashing, or by failing built-in code assertions), then there are defects to correct.The great advantage of fuzz testing is that the test design is extremely simple, and free of preconceptions about system behavior. Gamma Testing Gamma testing is a little-known informal phrase that refers derisively to the release of "buggy" (defect-ridden) products. It is not a term of art among testers, but rather an example of referential humor. Cynics have referred to all software releases as "gamma testing" since defects are found in almost all commercial, commodity and publicly available software eventually. Globalization Testing Th Globalization testing is testing carried out to detect potential problems in application design that could inhibit globalization.It makes sure that the code can handle all international support without breaking functionality that would cause either data loss or display problems. Globalization testing checks proper functionality of the product with any of the culture/locale settings using every type of international input possible.

Gorilla Testing Testing one particular module,functionality heavily Grey Box Testing Grey box testing is a software testing technique that is a combination of both white box and black box testing. GUI Testing GUI testing is the process of testing a graphical user interface to ensure it meets its written specifications Heuristic evaluations Heuristic evaluations are one of the most informal method of usability inspection in the field of human-computer interaction. It helps identifying the usability problems in a user interface (UI) design. It specifically involves evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the "heuristics"). High Order Tests Black-box tests conducted once the software has been integrated Incremental Testing "Integration testing where system components are integrated into the system one at a time until the entire system is integrated. Installation Testing Installation testing can simply be defined as any testing that occurs outside of the development environment. Such testing will frequently occur on the computer system the software product will eventually be installed on. Integration Testing Integration testing is the phase of software testing in which individual software modules are combined and tested as a group. It follows unit testing and precedes system testing. Interface Testing Testing conducted to evaluate whether systems or components pass data and control correctly to each other. Interoperability testing The process of testing to determine the interoperability of a software product Invalid testing Testing using input values that should be rejected by the component or system Isolation Testing Component testing of individual components in isolation from surrounding components, with surrounding components being simulated by stubs Keyword driven Testing A scripting technique that uses data files to contain not only test data and expected results, but also keywords related to the application being tested. The keywords are interpreted by special supporting scripts that are called by the control script for the test Load Testing Load testing is the act of testing a system under load. It generally refers to the practice of modeling the expected usage of a software program by simulating multiple users accessing the program's services concurrently. Testing is carried out and performance checked for peak load, double peak load and likes. Localization Testing This term refers to making software specifically designed for a specific locality Logic coverage Testing / Logic driven Testing / Structural test case design Test case selection that is based on an analysis of the internal structure of the component. Also known as white-box testing Loop Testing A white box testing technique that exercises program loops Maintainability Testing / Serviceability Testing Testing whether the system meets its specified objectives for maintainability. Maintenance testing Testing the changes to an operational system or the impact of a changed environment to an operational system Model Based Testing Model-based testing refers to software testing where test cases are derived in whole or in part from a model that describes some (usually functional) aspects of the system under test. Monkey Testing Testing a system or an Application on the fly, i.e just few tests here and there to ensure the system or an application does not crash out Mutation testing

A testing methodology in which two or more program mutations are executed using the same test cases to evaluate the ability of the test cases to detect differences in the mutations N+ Testing A variation of Regression Testing. Testing conducted with multiple cycles in which errors found in test cycle N are resolved and the solution is retested in test cycle N+. The cycles are typically repeated until the solution reaches a steady state and there are no errors Negative Testing / Dirty Testing Testing carried out by entering invalid data to the AUT. Operational Testing Testing conducted to evaluate a system or component in its operational environment. Pair testing Two testers work together to find defects. Typically, they share one computer and trade control of it while testing Parallel Testing The process of feeding test data into two systems, the modified system and an alternative system (possibly the original system) and comparing results. Path coverage Metric applied to all path-testing strategies: in a hierarchy by path length, where length is measured by the number of graph links traversed by the path or path segment; e.g. coverage with respect to path segments two links long, three links long, etc. Unqualified, this term usually means coverage with respect to the set of entry/exit paths. Often used erroneously as synonym for statement coverage Path Testing Testing in which all paths in the program source code are tested at least once. Penetration Testing The portion of security testing in which the evaluators attempt to circumvent the security features of a system Performance Testing Performance testing is testing that is performed to determine how fast some aspect of a system performs under a particular workload.Performance testing can serve different purposes. It can demonstrate that the system meets performance criteria. It can compare two systems to find which performs better. Or it can measure what parts of the system or workload cause the system to perform badly Playtest A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and improvements before bringing it to market Portability Testing Testing aimed at demonstrating the software can be ported to specified hardware or software platforms. Post-conditions Cleanup steps after the test case is run, to bring it back to a known state. Precondition Dependencies that are required for the test case to run Progressive Testing Testing of new features after regression testing of previous features Quality Control Quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements and expectations Ramp Testing Continuously raising an input signal until the system breaks down Random Testing Testing a program or part of a program using test data that has been chosen at random Recovery Testing Confirms that the program recovers from expected or unexpected events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk space, unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions Regression Testing Regression testing is any type of software testing which seeks to uncover bugs that occur whenever software functionality that previously worked as desired stops working or no longer works in the same way that was previously planned. Release Candidate A pre-release version, which contains the desired functionality of the final version, but which needs to be tested for bugs Reliability Testing

Testing to determine whether the system/software meets the specified reliability requirements. Requirements based Testing Designing tests based on objectives derived from requirements for the software component. Risk-based testing Risk based testing is a method of allocationg limited test resources based on the assessed risk of failure of a feature or component of a software application. Sanity Testing Brief test of major functional elements of a piece of software to determine if its basically operational Scalability Testing Performance testing focused on ensuring the application under test gracefully handles increases in work load Scenario Testing A scenario test is a test based on a hypothetical story used to help a person think through a complex problem or system. They can be as simple as a diagram for a testing environment or they could be a description written in prose. Security Testing Tests focused on ensuring the target-of-test data (or systems) are accessible only to those actors for which they are intended. Session-based Testing Session-based testing is ideal when formal requirements are non present, incomplete, or changing rapidly. It can be used to introduce measurement and control to an immature test process, and can form a foundation for significant improvements in productivity and error detection. It is more closely related to Exploratory testing. It is a controlled and improved ad-hoc testing that is able to use the knowledge gained as a basis for ongoing, product sustained improvement Simulator A device, computer program or system used during testing, which behaves or operates like a given system when provided with a set of controlled inputs Smart testing Tests that based on theory or experience are expected to have a high probability of detecting specified classes of bugs; tests aimed at specific bug types Smoke Testing A smoke test is a cursory examination of all of the basic components of a software system to ensure that they work. Typically, smoke testing is conducted immediately after a software build is made. The term comes from electrical engineering, where in order to test electronic equipment, power is applied and the tester ensures that the product does not spark or smoke. Soak Testing Running a system at high load for extended period of time. For example, running several times more transactions for an entire day/night than would be expected in a busy day, to identify and performance problems that appear after a large number of transactions have been executed Soap-opera testing A technique for defining test scenarios by reasoning about dramatic and exaggerated usage scenarios. When defined in collaboration with experienced users, soap operas help to test many functional aspects of a system quickly and-because they are not related directly to either the systems formal specifications, or to the systems features-they have a high rate of success in revealing important yet often unanticipated problems. Software Quality Assurance Software testing is a process used to identify the correctness, completeness and quality of developed computer software. Actually, testing can never establish the correctness of computer software, as this can only be done by formal verification (and only when there is no mistake in the formal verification process). It can only find defects, not prove that there are none. Stability Testing Stability testing is an attempt to determine if an application will crash. State Transition Testing A test case design technique in which test cases are designed to execute state transitions. Statement Testing Testing designed to execute each statement of a computer program. Static Testing Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program (eg: Documentation testing) Statistical Testing A test case design technique in which a model is used of the statistical distribution of the input to construct representative

test cases. Storage Testing Testing whether the system meets its specified storage objectives. Stress Testing Stress testing is a form of testing that is used to determine the stability of a given system or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, in order to observe the results. In one form of stress testing the resources of the application are cut down(eg memory) and normal load is applied to the application and perfomance monitored. Stress testing a subset of load testing. Structural Testing White box testing, glass box testing or structural testing is used to check that the outputs of a program, given certain inputs, conform to the structural specification of the program SUT System Under Test refers to a system that is being tested for correct operation. Syntax Testing A test case design technique for a component or system in which test case design is based upon the syntax of the input. System Testing System testing is testing conducted on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the system's compliance with its specified requirements. System testing falls within the scope of Black box testing Technical Requirements Testing Testing of those requirements that do not relate to functionality. i.e. performance, usability, etc. Test Approach The implementation of the test strategy for a specific project. It typically includes the decisions made that follow based on the (test) project's goal and the risk assessment carried out, starting points regarding the test process, the test design techniques to be applied, exit criteria and test types to be performed Test Automation Test automation is the use of software to control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual outcomes to predicted outcomes, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and test reporting functions. Test Bed An execution environment configured for testing. May consist of specific hardware, OS, network topology, configuration of the product under test, other application or system software, etc. The test plan of a project will usually specify the test bed to be used for testing.This is same as Test environment Test Case The specification (usually formal) of a set of test inputs, execution conditions, and expected results, identified for the purpose of making an evaluation of some particular aspect of a Target Test Item. Test Cycle A formal test cycle consists of all tests performed. In software development, it can consist of, for example, the following tests: unit/component testing, integration testing, system testing, user acceptance testing and the code inspection. Test Data The definition (usually formal) of a collection of test input values that are consumed during the execution of a test, and expected results referenced for comparative purposes Test Driven Development Test-driven development (TDD) is a Computer programming technique that involves writing tests first and then implementing the code to make them pass. The goal of test-driven development is to achieve rapid feedback and implements the "illustrate the main line" approach to constructing a program. This technique is heavily emphasized in Extreme Programming. Test Driver A program or test tool used to execute a tests. Also known as a Test Harness Test Environment The hardware and software environment in which tests will be run, and any other software with which the software under test interacts when under test including stubs and test drivers. Test Harness In software testing, a test harness is a collection of software tools and test data configured to test a program unit by running it under varying conditions and monitor its behavior and outputs. Test Idea A brief statement identifying a test that is potentially useful to conduct. The test idea typically represents an aspect of a given test: an input, an execution condition or an expected result, but often only addresses a single aspect of a test.

Test Log A collection of raw output captured during a unique execution of one or more tests, usually representing the output resulting from the execution of a Test Suite for a single test cycle run. Test Plan A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of intended testing activities. It identifies test items, the features to be tested,the features not to be tested,test strategy, the testing tasks, who will do each task, test and any risks requiring contingency planning,reporting structure,deliverables etc. Test Procedure The procedural aspect of a given test, usually a set of detailed instructions for the setup and step-by-step execution of one or more given test cases. The test procedure is captured in both test scenarios and test scripts Test Report A document that summarizes the outcome of testing in terms of items tested, summary of results , effectiveness of testing and lessons learned. Test Scenario A sequence of actions (execution conditions) that identifies behaviors of interest in the context of test execution. Test Script A collection of step-by-step instructions that realize a test, enabling its execution. Test scripts may take the form of either documented textual instructions that are executed manually or computer readable instructions that enable automated test execution. Test Specification A document specifying the test approach for a software feature or combination or features and the inputs, predicted results and execution conditions for the associated tests Test Strategy Defines the strategic plan for how the test effort will be conducted against one or more aspects of the target system. Test Suite A package-like artifact used to group collections of test scripts , both to sequence the execution of the tests and to provide a useful and related set of Test Log information from which Test Results can be determined Test Tools Computer programs used in the testing of a system, a component of the system, or its documentation Testalibity The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met. Thread Testing A variation of top-down testing where the progressive integration of components follows the implementation of subsets of the requirements, as opposed to the integration of components by successively lower levels Top-down testing An incremental approach to integration testing where the component at the top of the component hierarchy is tested first, with lower level components being simulated by stubs. Tested components are then used to test lower level components. The process is repeated until the lowest level components have been tested Traceability Matrix A document showing the relationship between Test Requirements and Test Cases Unit Testing A unit test is a procedure used to verify that a particular module of source code is working properly Usability Testing Usability testing is a means for measuring how well people can use some human-made object (such as a web page, a computer interface, a document, or a device) for its intended purpose, i.e. usability testing measures the usability of the object. If usability testing uncovers difficulties, such as people having difficulty understanding instructions, manipulating parts, or interpreting feedback, then developers should improve the design and test it again Use case testing A black box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute user scenarios Validation The word validation has several related meanings:* In general, validation is the process of checking if something satisfies a certain criterion. Examples would be: checking if a statement is true, if an appliance works as intended, if a computer system is secure, or if computer data is compliant with an open standard. This should not be confused with verification. Verification In the context of hardware and software systems,formal verification is the act ofproving or disproving the correctness of a

systemwith respect to a certain formal specification or property,using formal methods. Volume Testing Testing which confirms that any values that may become large over time such as accumulated counts, logs, and data files can be accommodated by the program and will not cause the program to stop working or degrade its operation in any manner White Box testing / Glass box Testing White-box testing is testing that takes into account the internal mechanism of a system or component. White-box testing is also known as structural testing, clear box testing, and glass box testing . The connotations of 'glass box' or 'clear box' appropriately indicate that you have full visibility of the internal workings of the software product, specifically, the logic and the structure of the code. Workflow Testing Scripted end-to-end testing which duplicates specific workflows which are expected to be utilized by the end-user