Using Domain Analysis for Testing | March 2010 software testing newsletter from RBCS

We've got a big newsletter for you, so I'll keep this introductory letter brief. We've got an article for you on a sophisticated, powerful test technique called domain testing. If you want to extend concepts like equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis into the realm of business rules and calculations, this technique can help.

If you are in Europe, there are a couple opportunities to hear me speak about test management and the concept of end-to-end quality at the Testing and Finance conference and at the Test Istanbul conference.

Are you a requirements professional who also does testing, or vice versa? We have a new course for you, in e-learning format.

Do we have a great international team? Yes. Meet Sharon Robson below.

Finally, we have some news about our ISTQB courses that helps certification candidates. It's the best kept secret that is no secret.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter.

Regards,

Rex Black, President

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Using Domain Analysis for Testing

by Rex Black

Many of you are probably familiar with basic test techniques like equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis. In this article, I'll present an advanced technique for black-box testing called domain analysis. Domain analysis is an analytical way to deal with the interaction of factors or variables within the business logic layer of a program. It is appropriate when you have some number of factors to deal with. These factors might be input fields, output fields, database fields, events, or conditions. They should interact to create two or more situations in which the system will process data differently. Those situations are the domains. In each domain, the value of one or more factors influences the values of other factors, the system's outputs, or the processing performed.

In some cases, the number of possible test cases becomes very large due to the number of variables or factors and the potentially interesting test values or options for each variable or factor. For example, suppose you have 10 integer input fields that accept a number from 0 to 99. There are 10 billion valid input combinations.

Equivalence class partitioning and boundary value analysis on each field will reduce but not resolve the problem. You have four boundary values for each field. The illegal values are easy, because you have only 20 tests for those. However, to test each legal combination of fields, you have 1,024 test cases. But do you need to do so? And would testing combinations of boundary values necessarily make for good tests? Are there smarter options for dealing with such combinatorial explosions?

View this article in its entirety on our articles page.

This article was originally published in Quality Matters Q3 2009.

Shhhhhhh.....We'll Let You in on a Secret!

ISTQB E-Learning Provided for All ISTQB Live Course Attendees

Mid-2009, RBCS began providing e-learning course access to all live public ISTQB and on-site ISTQB course attendees. E-learning access is provided one week prior to the first day of the live course in order to allow time for self study and to complement the hard copy materials that are provided in advance of the course. E-learning access continues throughout the duration of the live course.

We began providing the complimentary access to the e-learning courses (a US$ 899 value for the Foundation Level course and US$ 999 for the Advanced Level courses) on a trial basis. The feedback from our course guests has been so outstanding that we have decided to make the inclusion of the e-learning course access a permanent feature of our live ISTQB Certified Tester courses - at no additional cost to you!

Requirements Engineering Foundation Course Now Available in E-Learning Format

25% Discount

Regularly Priced US $799

This month we debuted our Requirements Engineering Foundation course in e-learning format. This course is based on both the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysts) and IREB (International Requirements Engineering Board) bodies of knowledge and is an excellent preparation course for both the IIBA and IREB certification exams. It will teach you to be effective in your tasks, how to work within the development methodology that has been implemented, and how to save your team time and money. In order to support our Green Initiative, this course is completely electronic unless the consumer opts to purchase hard copies.

This course includes:

Electronic Noteset: approximately 600 PowerPoint slides covering the topics to be addressed (hard copy notesets can be purchased separately).
IREB Foundation Syllabus: "Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Syllabus".
Project Source Documents for Course Exercises: specifications used in the realistic example project used in exercises for the course.
A complete set of sample exam questions.
Tips and advice on how to prepare for the exam.

Three months of unlimited online access to the course is included. Blended e-learning and volume discounts are also available for companies. Call +1 (830) 438-4830 or email info@rbcs-us.com for more information.

To receive a 25% discount, purchase your course today! Only US $599.25! Can not be combined with any other offer. Offer expires April 30, 2010.

Sharon Robson Named One of the Most Influential Women in Software Testing

We would like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sharon Robson from Software Education for being named as one of the most influential women in Software Testing by Software Test & Performance Magazine.

Software Education is a valued partner of RBCS and Sharon is an integral part of the Software Education Team and of the RBCS - Software Education alliance. Sharon is a trainer specializing in Software Testing for Software Education. With over 17 years experience in software testing, she is a founding board member of the Australia New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB) and is currently the chairperson of the Marketing Working Group for the ISTQB, managing and organizing the international marketing approach for ISTQB.

Trivia: Did you know that RBCS is woman owned and primarily employs women?

March "Rexisms"

Some of you may have heard Rex's sayings over the years. We decided to coin them "Rexisms" for your reading pleasure. So here they are to ponder - some useful aphorisms to help you plan, prepare, perform, and perfect your testing activities, compiled from over a quarter-century of software and systems engineering experience.

Risk based testing provides four major benefits: selecting the right set of tests; sequencing the tests in the right order; reporting test results in terms of residual risk; and, if necessary, triaging tests in reverse-risk order.

To convince business and technical stakeholders to participate in risk identification and assessment, be sure to explain the benefits of risk based testing in terms of what's important to each stakeholder.

In some situations, the most important objective of testing is to find as many important bugs as possible. In other situations, finding bugs is not important at all. In yet other situations, bug-finding is only one of a number of important objectives. The wise test professional knows which situation she is in.

Attend a 3 Day Managing the Testing Process Workshop Immediately Following the Testing & Finance Conference

Bad Hamburg, Germany

June 7-8, 2010 Conference

June 9-11, 2010 Workshop

Attend Rex Black's classic Managing the Testing Process training course, based on his best selling book by the same name, June 9-11 immediately following the Testing and Finance Conference in Bad Hamburg, Germany.

The course gives attendees the tools they need to succeed as test managers. We'll look at quality risk analysis, test estimation, and test planning. We'll discuss developing high-quality test systems-test cases, test data, test tools, even automated test systems-that improve over time. We'll talk about tracking bugs and test cases. We'll discuss ways to derive and present metrics, charts, and graphs from the test results.

Save 25%	Requirements Engineering Foundation e-learning course! To receive a 25% discount, visit RBCS' Software Testing Resources and purchase your course today! Only US$ 599.25! Can not be combined with any other offer.
Offer Expires: April 30, 2010