Running the unit tests and
recording results
Unit
tests can begin when (i) the units becomes available from the developers (an estimation
of availability is part of the test plan), (ii) the test cases have been
designed and reviewed, and (iii) the test harness, and any other supplemental
supporting tools, are available. The testers then proceed to run the tests and
record results. Chapter 7 will describe documents called test logs that can be
used to record the results of specific tests. The status of the test efforts
for a unit, and a summary of the test results, could be recorded in a simple
format such as shown in Table 6.1. These forms can be included in the test
summary report, and are of value at the weekly status meetings that are often
used to monitor test progress. It is very important for the tester at any level
of testing to carefully record, review, and check test results. The tester must
determine from the results whether the unit has passed or failed the test. If
the test is failed, the nature of the problem should be recorded in what is
sometimes called a test incident report (see Chapter 7). Differences from
expected behavior should be described in detail. This gives clues to the
developers to help them locate any faults. During testing the tester may
determine that additional tests are required. For example, a tester may observe
that a particular coverage goal has not been achieved. The test set will have
to be augmented and the test plan documents should reflect these changes. When
a unit fails a test there may be several reasons for the failure. The most
likely reason for the failure is a fault in the unit implementation (the code).
Other likely causes that need to be carefully investigated by the tester are
the following:
• a fault
in the test case specification (the input or the output was not specified
correctly);
• a fault
in test procedure execution (the test should be rerun);
• a fault
in the test environment (perhaps a database was not set up properly);
• a fault
in the unit design (the code correctly adheres to the design specification, but
the latter is incorrect).
The
causes of the failure should be recorded in a test summary report, which is a
summary of testing activities for all the units covered by the unit test plan.
Ideally,
when a unit has been completely tested and finally passes all of the required
tests it is ready for integration. Under some circumstances unit may be given a
conditional acceptance for integration test. This may occur when the unit fails
some tests, but the impact of the failure is not significant with respect to
its ability to function in a subsystem, and the availability of a unit is
critical for integration test to proceed on schedule. This a risky procedure
and testers should evaluate the risks involved. Units with a conditional pass
must eventually be repaired. When testing of the units is complete, a test summary
report should be prepared. This is a valuable document for the groups
responsible for integration and system tests. It is also a valuable component
of the project history. Its value lies in the useful data it provides for test
process improvement and defect prevention. Finally, the tester should insure
that the test cases, test procedures, and test harnesses are preserved for
future reuse.
Related Topics
Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, DMCA Policy and Compliant
Copyright © 2018-2024 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.