Principles of Software Testing

Description

This course is designed to teach the core competencies and skills associated with the testing of a software system for use within a safety related environment or application. It covers the fundamentals of the software engineering lifecycle, safety standards, test environments and alternative test strategies as well as requirements traceability and verification.

The principles of host and target testing are discussed with reference to their role in the software lifecycle as well as qualification and certification issues. Both black-box and white-box testing are discussed in the context of dynamic testing, coverage analysis and static analysis. Practical exercises are included to demonstrate how stubs and test harnesses are generated to test software packages in isolation. The emphasis then switches to integration, where delegates learn how to integrate software components and test their interactions either on the target or host. System-level testing is approached through requirements-based testing where requirements traceability and fulfilment are also covered. Finally advanced testing issues are discussed such as time critical constraints, safety level of the test system as well as the system under test and considerations for the scope of the system under test for given safety constraints.

This course is recommended for those who are required to identify test strategies, perform testing write test specifications and harnesses and those who manage or trace requirements in order to provide test validation.

Content

• What software testing is?
• The software development lifecycle
• The importance of process
• Functional & performance testing
• The types of testing?
• Test strategies
• Process & documentation
• Test environments
• Unit testing
• Integration testing
• System acceptance

Who should attend

Anyone who is required to identify test strategies, perform testing, write test specifications and harnesses as well as those who manage or trace requirements in order to provide test validation.

Prerequisites

No specific prerequisites have been identified for this course however an understanding of software development would be advantageous. In addition, previous exposure to software testing would be advantageous.