Software Testing

The TMap Test Management approach is based on years of practical software testing experiences and developed by the R&D department of IQUIP Informatica B.V. It enjoyed an overwhelming interest from its first publication in Dutch in 1995. Many companies and government departments arranged their organization and performed their test processes as much as possible according to TMap. Within a few years, it became the standard for software testing within the Dutch-speaking countries. The generic approach of the model offers ample space to tune the TMap standard to specific applications and organizational needs. TMap withstands the frequent innovations in IT since one of its main advantages is the possibility to create extensions for progressing IT developments, such as object orientation (OO), enterprise resource planning (ERP), component-based development (CBD), test automation, the Internet, etc.

In 1998, the English summary ‘Structured testing: an introduction to TMap' was published. It caught the attention of several international organizations, and the demand for the complete English version became enormous, especially through the well-attended TMap-courses. These courses are successfully organized in the Benelux and other parts of the world (UK, USA, Scandinavia, etc.).

Through these courses and, in particular, the continuously increasing international use of the TMap approach, the number of TMap experts is constantly growing, thereby creating an unprecedented flow of information on the application of TMap within different organizations and projects. As authors, we felt obliged to gather all experiences and new developments and share them with the TMap user community: publications in the press and on the Internet; papers, tutorials and track presentations at international test conferences; publication of the German version and TMap-related books regarding test process improvement (TPI); test automation; and finally the reviewed Dutch edition of the standard in 1999. But the demand of the English-speaking community kept on growing.

The authors are proud to present this book: the first complete English version of testing according to TMap. We wish you success in applying TMap, and are keen to share your experiences and critics. Let us continue to improve the testing profession and, by doing so, help the IT industry to introduce even better products to society.

TMap: the approach

This book describes TMap as the approach for the structured (white-box and black-box) testing of information systems. It answers the what, when, how, by what, and by whom questions regarding testing.

In order to make the design and execution of test processes more structured, TMap is based on four cornerstones related to those questions. The ‘what/when' questions are answered by the lifecycle model, a description of the test cycle related to the development cycle. The ‘how' question is answered in the description of the techniques for planning, preparation and execution of several tests. The ‘by what' question is considered in the description of the infrastructure. And the description of the organization aspects answers the ‘by whom' question.

Structure of the book

TMap is a generic approach to structured testing. The theory is described in a universal way because the one and only test approach does not exist. Testing occurs in several variations that demand their own application of the standard. In this book, ample attention is given to the way in which the right components of TMap in any kind of test process could be selected. This book is divided into six parts. Part I describes the phenomenon of testing and TMap in general. Parts II to V describe the respective cornerstones of TMap: lifecycle, techniques, organization and infrastructure. Part VI consists of several important applications of TMap towards modern developments in IT.

Part I describes the importance and the context of software testing in general and the relation with quality assurance in particular. The need for testing and the possibilities of a structured application are described in detail. Part I is concluded with an overview of the test management approach.

Part II contains a detailed description of the lifecycle for test processes. Test activities are described systematically for master test planning, and the low-level and high-level tests. The lifecycle is the central cornerstone of TMap. It describes the relation between the activities in a test process and all the components of the remaining cornerstones: techniques, organization and infrastructure.

Part III describes the available testing techniques in detail. As well as extensive test-specification techniques, the TMap set contains, among others, techniques for test strategy, test effort estimation, and an extensive set of checklists for static testing.

Part IV contains a detailed description of the organizational aspects of testing. It describes the different test functions, including required knowledge and skills, the organization within the test team — tasks and responsibilities — and the incorporation of the test team in the line or project organization. It also pays attention to the recruitment, selection and training of test personnel. Due to the need for ‘hard figures' about the test process the implementation of metrics is discussed. Part IV is concluded by a chapter on test process improvement: a practical step-by-step guide to structured testing.

Part V describes the infrastructure needed for testing. Guidelines are included for the test environment, test tools and the office environment.

Part VI contains a number of specific applications of TMap. Among others, extensions are created for object orientation (OO), enterprise resource planning (ERP), component-based development (CBD), test automation, and the Internet.

The appendices contain an elaborated example of a test plan, and a description of relations between TMap quality characteristics and ISO9216 quality characteristics definitions.

Target audience

The primary audience of this book is the group of people involved directly in the test process. A test team may use this book as a guide to perform test activities. For those who operate at more of a distance from the basic test process, such as clients, end users, and IT auditors, this book offers a good insight into the phenomenon of testing. For this purpose, in Part I some chapters have been added in which the background and the set-up of testing are discussed. This book does not have to be read from beginning to end. Depending on the involvement in testing, readers will look at some parts thoroughly, briefly or not at all. All readers are advised to look in the first place at Chapter 5 or preferably Part I in its entirety. After that, the interest and use will differ according to the target group.