1 day

There is a great deal of debate among testers and project managers as to how much test planning is sufficient for a good test. Furthermore, testers tend to use common testing terms in non-standard and confusing ways. This course shows you how to understand and apply three major forms of test documentation in your organization.

IEEE standard 829-1998 is a foundational standard that provides a framework for developing software test plans and reports for your own organization and projects. The context of test planning as conveyed in this standard extends from high-level test plans to detailed test cases and procedures and, finally, to test reports. These test documents can extend throughout every project process.

This is a practical workshop with many exercises to help you immediately apply the concepts in the IEEE standards. Your instructor will be a certified instructor in the software engineering field.

You will learn the terminology, process, and challenges of standards in the real world. As a result of attending this seminar, you should have a good working knowledge of some of the most important and helpful software engineering standards and what it takes to make them a reality in your organization. From this workshop, you will leave with a practical understanding of IEEE Standard 829-1998 for Software Test Documentation and how to tailor and apply it in your projects.

Return on Investment

• Learn best practices in software engineering
• Learn how to develop test plans and test cases appropriate to the level of detail and risk in your projects
• Learn what comprises an effective incident report
• Understand the key issues in applying the standards
• Learn how to tailor the standards to fit your own needs
• Quit reinventing the wheel and use proven approaches that have already been fully described for you
• Advance your career by reinforcing your knowledge of standards

Who Will Benefit

• Test designers
• Test engineers
• Testers
• Software engineers
• Project managers
• Documentation specialists
• QA analysts

Prerequisites

• The program requires IT knowledge or experience.

• You will need to have a copy of the applicable IEEE Standards for your reference.

Program Information

This course is presented on an in-house basis only unless offered as a special public course. Contact us for information about how to bring this course into your organization.

Content and Structure

Module STDA - Introducing the IEEE Standards

• Course Objectives
• What is Systems Engineering?
• What is Software Systems Engineering?
• Why Should We Use Standards?
• Basic Principles for Standards
• ISO Compared to IEEE
• How Standards are Developed
• Organization of the SESC Standards
• Clauses
• Normative vs. Informative
• What Is in a Standard?
• What Is Not in a Standard?
• Where Standards Can Be Obtained?
• How to Tailor and Apply Standards
• Final Thoughts
• Other Resources
  
  

Module STDP - Applying IEEE STD 829-1998 For Software Test Documentation - Test Plans

• Standard Objectives and Purpose
• Benefits of Standardized Test Documentation
• Overview of Standard
  • Test Documentation Structure
  • Relationship of Test Documents to Testing Process
  • Structure of the Standard
  • Scope of the Standard
  • Terminology
• The Test Plan
  • Test Plan Outline and Structure
  • Considerations of Writing a Test Plan
  • Test Objectives
  • Example Test Objectives
  • Identifying Needed Test Resources
  • Planning the Test Environment
  • Identifying Functions To Be Tested
  • Identifying Interfaces With Other Systems or Components
  • Determining Test Schedules
  • Finalizing the Plan
  • Representative System Test Plan Outline
• How Much Time Should be Spent on Test Planning? Tips for Test Planning
  • Planning Time Guidelines
    
    

Module STDQ - Applying IEEE STD 829-1998 For Software Test Documentation - Test Specifications

• Test Design SpecificationsTest Case Specification
  • Considerations on Writing Test Specifications
• Considerations on Writing Test CasesProducer Testing
  • Which Kinds of Test Cases are Needed?
  • Tests by Type of Project
  • Determining Test Cases Based on Critical Success Factors
  • Test Case Economy
  • How to Match the Test to the Project and Test Stage
  • Rules for Test Applicability
• Customer Testing
• Test Script/Case Modularity and Reusability
• Organizing the Test Cases
• The Decomposition of Test Cases from Test Objectives and Functions
• How to be Creative in Test Case Design
• Functional Test Cases
• Structural Test Cases
• Test Procedure Specification
  • Considerations on Writing Test Procedures
    
    

Module STDR - Applying IEEE 829-1998 For Software Test Documentation - Test Reporting

• Test Item Transmittal ReportTest Log
  • Considerations on Writing Test Item Transmittal Reports
  • Transmitting Items Between Environments
• Test Incident Report
• Prerequisites for Test Evaluation
• Incident ReportingTest Summary Report
  • Example of a Home-grown Incident Tracking Tool
  • The Incident Life Cycle
  • Characteristics of Good Incident Report
  • Incident Reporting and Tracking - Things You Need to Know
  • Sample Defect Categories
  • Sample Defect Priorities
  • How Can This Data be Used?
• Charts and GraphsQuestions to Ask and Answer
  • Kiviat Charts
  • Bar Charts
  • Pie Charts
  • Defect Trends
• Application to IEEE 12207 (Annex C)Test Reporting Checklist
  • Points of Correlation
    
    

Module STDS - Applying IEEE STD 829 For Test Documentation - Summary

• Course Summary
• IEEE 829-1998 Goals
• Why is Test Documentation Important?
• Test Documentation Structure
• Scope of the Standard
• Two Phases of Implementing
• Usage Guidelines
• Test Documents by Activity Level
• Other Resources
  
  

Resources

• Glossary
  
  

Deliverables

• Course notebook with slides, worksheets, checklists, complete examples and supporting text

• You will have the basic information needed to select, tailor, and implement the appropriate project life cycle for your projects and organization.