140 likes | 511 Views
Software Testing: Verification and Validation. Verification “Are we building the product right?” Validation “Are we building the right product?” Barry Boehm, 1979. Verification and Validation Techniques. Static Techniques Software Inspections (against source code) Dynamic Techniques
E N D
Software Testing: Verification and Validation • Verification“Are we building the product right?” • Validation “Are we building the right product?” Barry Boehm, 1979 Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Verification and ValidationTechniques • Static Techniques • Software Inspections(against source code) • Dynamic Techniques • Software Testing(requires executable program) Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Verification and ValidationStatic techniques • Software Inspections • of requirements documents • of design documents (design reviews) • of source code (code reviews) • automated static analysis Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Verification and ValidationDynamic techniques • Software Testing • specification vs. implementation • Defect testing [Ch.20] • verifying non-functional requirements (e.g. performance; reliability) • Statistical testing[Ch.21] • automated dynamic analysis (if applicable) Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Verification and ValidationGoals • Establish that software is fit for purpose,not “bug-free” • “Good enough” depends on: • Software function (critical nature?) • User expectations • Market • competition, price Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Testing vs. Debugging • Verification and Validation • looking and categorizing existence of system defects [example] [bug list] • “What?” • Debugging • locating and correcting these defects • “Why?” Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Regression Testing • Canned test runs to verify that new defects were not introduced during “debugging” session. • Not exhaustive • Targeted to a particular interface • components, sub-systems, integrated system • Different levels (lengths) of regression tests • Targeted regressions Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
The Test Plan • Planning should begin right after requirements specification • Acceptance tests can be written then • System, sub-system tests can be written against designs Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
The Test Plan Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Software Inspections (code reviews) • >60% of program errors can be detected in code review [Fagan86] • >90% if more formal approach used (e.g. “Cleanroom” process) [Mills87] (We’ll talk about Cleanroom later) Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Software Inspections (code reviews) • Why are reviews more effective for finding defects in systems/subsystems (i.e., before acceptance testing)? • Bugs are often masked by other bugs • Leverage domain/programming knowledge • inspectors are skilled programmers • Common practice: code reviews and then acceptance testing • reviews can also help with development of tests Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Software Inspections (code reviews) • Sample procedure: • Announce review meeting in advance (a week?) • Provide design document, implementation overview, and pointer to code • Reviewers read code (and make notes) in advance of meeting • During meeting, directives recorded by Scribe • Testers/documenters attend too Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Automated Static Analysis • CASE tools that catch program curiosities that are usually indicative of bugs: • unreachable code • uninitialized variables • unreferenced variables • Programming language dependent • e.g., LINT (for C) Ch.19 - Verification & Validation
Automated Dynamic Analysis • Tools which do bookkeeping while program is run/tested. • Can find some dynamic problems that compiler cannot catch (depends on language…) • C/C++ tools: Purify, BoundsChecker Ch.19 - Verification & Validation