peterc@softway.sw.oz.au (Peter Chubb) (12/20/90)
From article <9731@as0c.sei.cmu.edu>, by bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson): > In article <278@smds.UUCP> rh@smds.UUCP (Richard Harter) writes: > >>Well my humble view is that testing is drudge work. That's why you have >>machines do it. People are supposed to design and implement the procedures >>that let the machines do it. Or as that noted authority on software >>development (me) said: >> >> "Any procedure whose purpose is to improve software quality >> which is not automated is a bug waiting to happen." > > Focusing on the current thinking on quality software, which is to > build the quality in up front - in the thinking stage - not in the testing > "automatable" stage, then my corollary to Richard's law is: > > "Any procedure that can be completely automated does not > have any significant influence on software quality." There are at least two areas where semi-automated testing is highly desireable: 1. For regression testing. After a change is made in a product during maintenance, or when porting to a new hardware or O/S platform, regression tests are useful to ensure that the product still functions as it did before. 2. For compliance testing. A product (an X.25 protocol stack, say) that is supposed to comply with a recognised standard must be demonstrated to comply. Automated testing can help here. In both these cases, the tests are likely to be run a large number of times, and so it is worth while putting the effort into developing an automated test suite. Where I have been involved in using automated tests, the effort required to produce and verify them has been significant: around 1.5 to 2 times the effort actually required to produce the product itself. It's only worth putting this kind of effort in if the benefits (in terms of shorter testing periods, or of compliance with the standard) outweigh the costs. Regards, - Peter Chubb Softway Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 305, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 698 2322; Fax: +61 2 699 9174; Telex: AA27987 ACSnet: peterc@softway.oz UUCP: ...!uunet!softway.oz!peterc