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final exam material Flashcards

1
Q

what is testing intended to do

A

it is intended to demonstrate to the developer and the customer that the software meets its requirements

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2
Q

what are the two types of software testing

A

verification testing : are we building the product right?

  • intended to show that the system conforms to its specification
  • tests whether the system verifies tits functional and non-functional requirements

validation testing: did we build the right product?

  • testing whether the software does what the user requires
  • testing whether the software runs without incorrect or undesirable behavior (defect testing)
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3
Q

what does the confidence required in a system depend on?(3)

A

software purpose: the level of confidence depends on how critical the software is to an organisation

user expectations: users may have low expectations of certain kinds of software or they can tolerate certain software failure rates

marketing environment: getting a product to market early may be more important than finding defects in the program

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4
Q

what is software inspection

A

analyzing the system documentation: requirements, architecture, design models and test cases to discover problems

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5
Q

what is software testing and what is another word for it

A

running and observing product behavior. also known as dynamic verification

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6
Q

what are the 3 advantages of software inspection

A
  • inspections may be applied to any representation of the system
  • incomplete versions of a system can be inspected without additional costs
  • during testing, errors can mask other errors. but because inspection is a static process, we don’t have to be concerned with interactions between errors
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7
Q

what are the 4 difficulties of software inspection

A
  • software inspection involves people examining the source representation with the aim of discovering anomalies and defects which is difficult to automate
  • difficult to detect errors which could appear due to component interactions
  • difficult to detect problems related to performance issues
  • requires a dedicated team which is not always available
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8
Q

what are the three major stages of testing

A
  • development testing: system is tested during development
  • release testing: separate testing team tests a complete version of the system before it is released
  • user testing: users test the system in their own environment
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9
Q

what is a test case?

A

testing procedure to describe the input, expected output and the test process

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10
Q

what are the three types of development testing

A
  • unit testing: individual program units or object classes are tested
  • component testing: testing composite components made of individual units
  • system testing: testing the system as a whole
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11
Q

what is unit testing and what does it target? what is the most difficult to test

A

the process of testing individual program units in isolation

units designate individual program entities such as:
- individual functions or methods within an object
- object classes with several attributes and methods
- composite components with defined interfaces used to access their functionality

class relations make it more difficult to design object class tests as the information to be tested is not localized

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12
Q

what are TAT

A

test automation tools provide generic test classes that can be extended to create specific test cases

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13
Q

what are the 3 main phases of test automation

A
  • setup phase: where the system is initialized with the test case
  • call phase: where object or method to be tested is called
  • assertion phase: where the result is compared with the expected result
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14
Q

what are the two types of unit test cases

A
  • evaluating the normal operation behavior of a program
  • evaluating the abnormal behavior of a program
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15
Q

what are the two strategies to be used in unit testing

A
  • partition testing: where we identify groups of input that have common characteristics and should be processed in the same way
  • guideline-based testing: where certain testing guidelines are used
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16
Q

what are some examples of guideline based testing

A
  • choose inputs that force the system to generate all error messages
  • design inputs that cause input buffers to overflow
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17
Q

describe the component testing

A
  • software components are composite entities made of several interacting entities which could be individual or composite components
  • the functionality of the constituent entities of a component are accessed through the defined component interface
  • testing composite components should therefore focus on showing that the component interface behaves according to its specification
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18
Q

what is interface testing in component testing and what are its 4 types

A

detecting faults due to interface errors or invalid assumptions about interfaces

interface types:
- parameter interfaces: data passed from one method to another
- shared memory interfaces: block of memory is shared between procedures
- procedural interfaces: sub-system encapsulates a set of procedures to be called by other subsystems
- message passing interfaces: sub-systems request services from other sub-systems

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19
Q

what are interface errors

A
  • interface misuse: a calling component calls another component and makes an error in tis use of its interface
  • interface misunderstanding: a calling component embeds assumptions about the behavior of the called component which are incorrect
  • timing errors: the called and calling component operate at different speeds and out of date information is accessed
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20
Q

what are the interface testing guidelines (5)

A
  • user parameters when calling components at the extreme ends of their ranges
  • always test pointer parameters with null pointers
  • design tests which case the component to fail
  • use stress testing in message passing systems
  • in shared memory systems, vary the order in which components are activated
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21
Q

what is system testing and what does it focus on?

A
  • system testing involves integrating components to create a version of the system and then testing the integrated system
  • focuses on the interactions between components
  • Reusable components that have been separately developed and off the shelf systems may be integrated with the newly developed components
  • components developed by different team members may be integrated at this stage
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22
Q

what are the testing policies in system testing

A
  • exhaustive system testing is impossible so testing policies which define the required system test coverage is developed.

examples:
- all system functions that are accessed through menus should be tested
- combinations of functions that are accessed through the same menu must be tested
- where user input is provided, all functions must be tested with correct and incorrect values

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23
Q

what is TDD

A

Test driven development is an approach to program development in which you interleave testing and code development. commonly used with agile development

  • test cases are written before code and passing the tests is the critical driver for development
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24
Q

what are the 4 pros and 4 cons of TDD

A

pros:

  • code coverage: every code segment that is written has at least one associated test so all code written has at least one test
  • regression testing: a regression test suite is developed incrementally as a program is developed
  • simplified debugging: when a test fails, it should be obvious where the problem lies such that only newly written code needs to be checked
  • system documentation: the tests themselves are a form of documentation that describe what the code should be doing

Cons:

  • programmers prefer programming to testing
  • some tests can be very difficult to write incrementally
  • it is difficult to judge the completeness of a set of tests
  • maintaining simplicity requires extra work
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25
Q

what is regression testing

A
  • testing the system to check that new changes have not damaged previously working code
  • in a manual testing process, regression testing is expensive but, with automated testing, it is simple and straightforward
  • tests must run successfully before the changes can be committed
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26
Q

what is release testing and what is its primary goal

A
  • testing a particular release of a system that is intended for use outside of the development team
  • primary goal is to convince the supplier of the system that it is good enough for use
  • release testing is usually a black-box testing process
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27
Q

what is the difference between release testing and system testing (2)

A

release testing is a form of system testing

main differences:

  • a separate team that has not been involved in the system development should be responsible for the release testing
  • system testing by development team mainly focuses on discovering bugs in the system (defect testing)
  • release testing is to check the system meets its requirements and is good enough for external use
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28
Q

what are the types of release testing (3)

A
  • requirements testing: requirements based testing involves examining each requirement and developing a test for it
  • scenario based testing: testing the system in typical scenarios of use
  • performance testing: testing emergent properties of a system such as performance and reliability
29
Q

what is user testing

A

stage in the testing process in which users or customers provide input and advice on system testing

30
Q

what are the 3 types of user

A
  • alpha testing: users of the software work with the development team to test
  • beta testing: a release of the software is made available to users to allow them to experiment and to raise problems that they discover with the system developers
  • acceptance testing: customers test a system to decide whether or not it is ready to be accepted from the system developers

NOTE: in agile methods, user/customer is part of the development team

31
Q

what are the success criteria for good project management (4)

A
  • deliver the software to the customer at the agreed time
  • keep overall costs within budget
  • deliver software that meets the customer’s requirements
  • maintain a happy and well-functioned development team
32
Q

what are the features distinguishing software management

A
  • the product is intangible
  • many software projects are ‘one-off’ projects (different from the rest)
  • software processes are variable and organization specific
33
Q

what are project management activities (5)

A
  • project planning: estimating and scheduling project development, assigning people to tasks etc.
  • Reporting: project managers are responsible for reporting on the progress of a project to customers
  • Risk management: project managers asses the risks that may affect the project and take action when problems arise
  • People management: choose people for their team and establish ways of working that leads to effective performance
  • Proposal Writing: which describes the objectives of the project and how it will be carries out
34
Q

what are the 3 types of risks giving 4 types in each

A
  • Project risks affect scheduling and resources
    • staff turnover: experienced staff will leave the project before it is finished
    • management change: there will be a change of organizational management with different priorities
    • hardware unavailability: hardware that is essential for the project will not be delivered on schedule
    • Requirement specification delays: specification of essential requirements are not available on time
  • Product risks affect the quality and performance of the software being developed
    • Product requirements change: larger number of changes than anticipated
    • Requirements specification ambiguity: specifications of essential components are not clear
    • size underestimate: the size of the system has been underestimated
    • CASE tool underperformance: CASE tools, which support the project, do not perform as anticipated
  • Business risks affect the organization developing and procuring the software
    • technology change: the underlying technology on which the system is built is superseded by new technology
    • Product competition: a competitive product is marketed before the system is completed
    • New Regulations: governments introduce new regulatory functions and policies which may affect the business
    • cash flow reduction: budget cuts might arise, reducing cash flows
35
Q

what are the 4 types of project risks

A
  • staff turnover: experienced staff will leave the project before it is finished
  • management change: there will be a change of organizational management with different priorities
  • hardware unavailability: hardware that is essential for the project will not be delivered on schedule
  • Requirement specification delays: specification of essential requirements are not available on time
36
Q

what are 4 examples of product risks

A
  • Product requirements change: larger number of changes than anticipated
  • Requirements specification ambiguity: specifications of essential components are not clear
  • size underestimate: the size of the system has been underestimated
  • CASE tool underperformance: CASE tools, which support the project, do not perform as anticipated
37
Q

what are 4 examples of business risks

A
  • technology change: the underlying technology on which the system is built is superseded by new technology
  • Product competition: a competitive product is marketed before the system is completed
  • New Regulations: governments introduce new regulatory functions and policies which may affect the business
  • cash flow reduction: budget cuts might arise, reducing cash flows
38
Q

describe the 4 stages in risk management process

A
  • Risk identification
  • Risk analysis
  • Risk planning: how to avoid or minimize the effects
  • Risk monitoring: monitor the risks throughout the project
39
Q

what are some common risks that may be used to identify risks in a project

A
  • Technology risks
  • people risks
  • organizational risks
  • requirements risks
  • estimation risks
40
Q

what are the 4 risk consequence levels

A
  • Catastrophic: threaten the survival of the project
  • Serious: would cause major delays
  • *Tolerable: delays are within allowed contingencies
  • Insignificant: does not significantly affect the project
41
Q

what are the two approaches to risk

A
  • Avoidance strategies: reduce the probability that the risk will arise
  • minimization strategies: reduce the impact of the risk on the project or product
42
Q

how can we perform risk monitoring

A
  • Asses each identified risk regularly
  • discuss key risks at management progress meetings
43
Q

what is the most important asset in an organization

A

PEOPLE

44
Q

what are teh major people management factors (4)

A
  • consistency: team members are treated fairly
  • Respect: Different team members have different skills which should be respected
  • Inclusion: involve all team members and make sure that people’s views are considered
  • Honesty: always be honest about what is going well & what is going badly
45
Q

what are the general needs for team motivation

A
  • basic needs
  • social needs
  • personal needs
46
Q

what are the basic needs in an SE group

A
  • social:
    • provide communal facilities
    • allow informal communications
  • esteem
    • Recognition and achievements
    • appropriate rewards
  • self-realization
    • training: people like to learn more
    • responsibility: people like to know they can be counted on
47
Q

what are the 3 personality types

A
  • task oriented motivation for doing the work itself
  • self-oriented: the work is a means to an end, which is achievement of individual goals
  • interaction oriented: the principal motivation ins the presence and actions of co-workers
48
Q

what are the 4 advantages of a cohesive group

A
  • group quality standards can be developed by the group members
  • team members learn from each other and get to know each other’s work
  • knowledge is shared: continuity can be maintained if a group member leaves
  • refactoring and continual improvement is encouraged
49
Q

what does the effectiveness of a team depend on

A
  • the people in the group: you need a mix of people in a group project as software development involves diverse activities
  • the group organization
  • technical and managerial communications
50
Q

what is a manager or team leader’s job and what makes it challenging

A

to create a cohesive group

it may not be possible to appoint the ideal people to work on a project:

  • project budget may not allow for use of highly-paid staff
  • staff with the appropriate experience may not be available
  • an organization may wish to develop employee skills on a software project
51
Q

why is a team composed of members with the same motivation problematic?

A
  • task oriented: everyone wants to do their own thing
  • *self oriented: everyone wants to be the boss
  • *interaction oriented: too much babbling
52
Q

what are the properties of informal groups and when does it become successful

A
  • the group acts as a whole and comes to a consensu on decisions
  • the leader serves as the external interface of the group
  • work is discussed by the group as a whole

Successful where members are experienced and competent

53
Q

what may team communications depend on

A
  • team size: the larger the group, the harder it is for people to communicate
  • team structure: communication is better in informally structured groups than in hierarchically structured groups than in hierarchy structured groups
  • team composition: communications is better when there are different personality types in a group
  • the physical work environment: good workplace encourages communication
54
Q

what are the 7 roles a member can play in teams

A
  1. encourager
    • energizing the group when motivation is low
  2. compromiser
    • tries to maintain harmony among team members
    • tolerant individuals and good judges of people
    • diplomatic
    • able to resolve differences of opinion
  3. leader
    • directs the work and keeps the group on track
    • good at controlling people and events and coordinating resources
    • recognize the skills of each individual and how they can be used
  4. summarizer
    • summarizes group discussions and highlights conclusions
    • calm and reflective
    • elaborate on the ides of others
  5. ideas person
    • suggest new ideas to solve group problems
    • suggest new ways for the group to organize the task
    • they may get bored after the initial motivation wears off
  6. evaluator
    • helps the group avoid coming to agreement too quickly
    • tend to be slow in making decisions
      - logical, analytical and objective people
  7. recorder
    • keeps the group focused and organized
    • make sure everyone is helping with the project
    • time keepers
    • can act as spokesperson
    • memory of the group
55
Q

what makes a team effective (8)

A
  • clear goals
  • range of individuals who contribute in different ways
  • help each other achieve work
  • there should be balance between teh task and the process
  • the team is comfortable with disagreement
  • there are lots of discussion sand everyone’s ideas are heard
  • the group learn from experience
  • highlighting individual performance within the team
56
Q

what makes a team ineffective

A
  • no clear goals
  • people talk more than they listen
  • ideas are dismissed
  • there are arguments instead of constructive conversations
  • a few members dominate the rest
  • disagreements are put to the vote (makes some unhappy)
  • roles are not delegated to particular team members
  • lack of trust
57
Q

when does the project planning take place in the project life

A

takes place at three stages of a project’s life:

  • proposal stage, when bidding for a contract to develop or provide a software system
  • during the project startup phase when planning (who will work on the project, how the project is broken down etc)
  • periodically throughout the project
58
Q

what are the factors affecting software pricing (5)

A
  • Market opportunity
    • a development organization may quote a low price because it wishes to move into a new segment of the software market
    • accepting lower profit on one project may give the organisation the opportunity to make a greater profit on one project may give the organization the opportunity to make great profit later
    • the experience gained may also help develop new products
  • cost estimate uncertainty:
    • if an organization is unsure of tis cost estimate it may increase its price by a contingency over and above its normal profit
  • contractual terms:
    • a customer may be willing to allow a developer to retain ownership of the source code and reuse it in other projects
  • requirements volatility:
    • if the requirements are likely to change, an organization may lower its price to win a contract
  • *development company financial crisis
    • developers in financial difficulty may lower the price to gain a contract
59
Q

what is plan driven development

A

plan driven development is an approach to software engineering where the development process is planned in detail

60
Q

what are the project plan’s main sections

A
  • introduction: briefly describing the project objectives requirements and company constraints
  • project team organization: describes how the development team is organized
  • requirements specification: starting from organizational & external non-functional requirements to more detailed functional & non-functional requirements
  • risk analysis: describes possible risks and their likelihood as well as their mitigation/avoidance strategies
  • development requirements: hardware and software support required to develop the project
  • work breakdown: dividing the project into activities in order to define milestones and deliverables
    • milestone: key stages where progress is assessed
    • deliverables: work products delivered to the customer
  • project schedule:
    • dependencies between activities
    • estimated time to reach milestone
    • allocation of people to activities
  • Monitoring and reporting mechanisms: defines management reports that have to be produced
61
Q

what is project monitoring

A
  • measuring ongoing project activities (where we are)
  • monitoring project variables
  • identify corrective actions
62
Q

what are the project plan supplements (4)

A
  • quality plan: describes the quality procedures and standards that will be used in a project
  • validation plan: describes the approach, resources, and schedule used for system validation
  • maintenance plan: describes the maintenance requirements, costs and effort
  • staff development plan: describe how the skills and experience of the project team members will be developed
63
Q

what type of process is project planning

A

Iterative process where changes are inevitable

64
Q

what is project scheduling (3)

A
  • deciding how the work in a project will be organized as separate tasks
  • estimating the calendar time needed to complete each task
  • estimating the resources needed to complete each task
65
Q

what are the main project scheduling activities (4)

A
  • split project into tasks
  • estimate resources required to complete each task
  • estimate time required to complete each task
  • optimization: minimize dependencies to avoid delays caused by waiting
66
Q

what is person-day

A

average effort spend by one person during a day

67
Q

why is the relation between duration and effort (in person-days) not straightforward

A

it depends on different factors:
- number of staff allocated to each task
- productivity of each staff member
- amount of time allocated by each staff member to task

NOTE: we use staff allocation chart

68
Q

what is agile planning

A
  • agile methods are iterative approaches where software is developed and delivered in increments
  • not planned
  • based on the idea that customer’s requirements and priorities change
69
Q

what do XP and Scrum approaches have in common

A

they both have two-stage planning

  • release planning: whcih looks ahead for several months and decides the features that should be included in the release
  • iteration planning: which has shorter term outlook and focuses on planning the next increment of the system (2-4 weeks long)
  • story based planning:
    • the system specification is based on user stories
    • rank the stories in order of time they think it will take
    • release planning involves selecting and refining the stories selected

Software engineering (3 decks)

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