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P R E S E N T A T I O N

T11

Thursday, May 4, 2000 1:30PM

AUTOMATING TEST GENERATION TO MINIMIZE TEST WRITING

Taratec Development Corporation

Linda Mier

International Conference On Software Testing Analysis & Review May 1-5, 2000 Orlando, FL, USA

Automating Test Generation to Minimize Test Writing

Linda Mier Taratec Development Corp.

28-Feb-2000

Linda Mier, Taratec Development Corp.

Copyright, 1996 Dale Carnegie &

Test Generation Automation Overview

Automation objectives When to automate What to automate Automation prep work Automated test writing example

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Linda Mier, Taratec Development Corp.

Objectives of Test Writing Automation

Reduce test writing/update times
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Eliminate repetitive typing

Decrease the number of errors in the test

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Missing test cases Missing test steps Cut-and-paste errors

Standardize test set wording Ensure requirements coverage Assist with test documentation
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When to Automate Test Writing

Multiple test sets Multiple applications requiring the same type(s) of testing Consistent end-user interface
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Predictable application behavior

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Linda Mier, Taratec Development Corp.

What to Automate
Test writing automation depends on:
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Test step granularity

Keystroke by keystroke High level information (experienced testers)

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Test reuse potential Best return on investment

Test step numbering Test setup Standard test information Text of frequently repeated steps Test section layout/formatting
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Automation Prep Work

Data evidence requirements Test set content requirements. Agreement on standard wording Requirements to be tested Test organization
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by application component by testing requirement by application unit

Material lot in an inventory system Patient in a Clinical Trial system Product in a manufacturing system

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Linda Mier, Taratec Development Corp.

Automation Example:
Application Being Tested
Access 97 Pharmaceutical clinical trial application
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Remote data entry of patient information Separate component for data validation
No messages during data entry

Requirements based on patient data validation

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Data ranges and consistency Missing data

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Automation Example:
Test Layout Requirements
Test number and description Requirements verified by the test Test executer information fields Instructions for testers
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Global - included in each test Unique to that test set Patient creation and data entry Running the validation component Verification of data checks
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Special Instructions for testers

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Numbered test steps

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Automation Example:
Test Writing Automation Design (Access 97)
Patients are the primary test component
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Test writer types in the data entered into the application for each patient Test writer links each patient to the requirement(s) proved by that patient

Tests created by linking patients to tests Supports manual test step entry
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Automation Example:
Test Writing Automation Design (Word 97)
Word template divided into sections required in the test
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Wording standard for each test included

Imports test content from the Access 97 database

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Test number and description Special instructions Patient creation and data entry Running the validation component Verifying the requirements
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Automation Example:
Coverage Reports/Queries
Requirements Coverage
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Requirements by Patient Patients by Requirement Patients by Test Tests by Patient Requirements without a link to a patient Requirements not linked to a test Patients not linked to a test
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Test/Patient Coverage
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Missing/Unused Components
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Automation Example:
Test Building Tool Structure
Test
Patient
Typical entry

Typed Test Steps

Free-style entry

Requirements

Patient data

Data entry System Time Data entry Screen/Path

Screen for corrections

Data entry System Time Data entry Screen/Path

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Linda Mier, Taratec Development Corp.

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Automation Example:
Test Writing Main Menu

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Test Writing Tool: Summary of Benefits

Decreased typing
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Automatically inserted canned test step text

Automatically generated requirement checks Easy creation of new tests by selecting different patient combinations Easily obtained statistics on the test content/coverage
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Linda Mier
About a year ago, Linda Mier joined the Software Testing Solutions division of Taratec Development Corp., a consulting organization specializing in regulated industries. In the last year Ms. Mier worked with Y2K testing, module testing, user acceptance testing, and testing tool development. Ms. Mier designed and developed a prototype of an application to automate generation of user acceptance tests for an Access 97 clinical trial application. She also designed, wrote, reviewed, and executed module tests for Presidio RDC clinical trial applications. Additionally, as part of a process improvement team, Ms. Mier created MS Office product templates to automate various module testing and evidence collection activities. Before working for Taratec, Ms Mier spent about 4 years working with pharmaceutical MES products at Base Ten Systems, Inc. in a Client/Server environment (Win95 and WinNT using Oracle and SQL databases). In addition to working on all phases of unit and system testing, Ms. Mier also did some factory and site acceptance testing, on-site customer support, customer training, and creation/modification of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Ms. Mier hasnt always worked with PCs, however; she started out in the Large Systems Performance area at IBM Corp. in Poughkeepsie, NY. Ms Mier worked on a variety of things during her 11 years there, including channel performance, batch performance and batch workload development for both hardware and MVS operating system announcements and multi-level cache simulation modeling for the TPF operating system used by the airlines, and she acted as the performance area representative to IBMs GUIDE Users Group.