Or, if you feel that you know the definition of any term better than mentioned here, then you can specify that in the comment section. We will review that and include that missing software testing terminology In our glossary list.
Many of these are specific to software and IT, but most are used throughout the testing world. Related Posts. What is ERP Testing? What is Structural Testing in Software Testing? What is White Box Testing? Techniques, Examples and Types. What is End to End Testing? Why is it Important? What is Split Testing? Why is it important? What is Agile Testing? Process, Methodology and Strategies. Open source A form of licensing in which software is offered free of charge.
Open source software is frequently available via download from the internet, from www. Operational testing Tests carried out when the system has been installed in the operational environment or simulated operational environment and is otherwise ready to go live.
Intended to test operational aspects of the system, e. Pair programming A software development approach where two developers sit together at one computer while programming a new system. While one developer codes, the other makes comments and observations, and acts as a sounding board. The technique has been shown to lead to higher quality thanks to the de facto continuous code review — bugs and errors are avoided because the team catches them as the code is written.
Pair testing Test approach where two persons, e. Typically, they share one computer and trade control of it while testing. One tester can act as observer when the other performs tests. Performance testing A test to evaluate whether the system meets performance requirements such as response time or transaction frequency.
Positive testing A test aimed to show that the test object works correctly in normal situations. For example, a test to show that the process of registering a new customer functions correctly when using valid test data. Postconditions Environmental and state conditions that must be fulfilled after a test case or test run has been executed.
Preconditions Environmental and state conditions that must be fulfilled before the component or system can be tested. May relate to the technical environment or the status of the test object.
Also known as prerequisites or preparations. Quality assurance QA Systematic monitoring and evaluation of various aspects of a component or system to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained.
Record and playback tool Test execution tool for recording and playback of test cases often used to support automation of regression testing. Regression testing A test activity generally conducted in conjunction with each new release of the system, in order to detect defects that were introduced or discovered when prior defects were fixed.
Compare to Re-testing. Release A new version of the system under test. The release can be either an internal release from developers to testers, or release of the system to the client. See also release management. Release management A set of activities geared to create new versions of the complete system. Each release is identified by a distinct version number. See also versioning and release. Release testing A type of non-exhaustive test performed when the system is installed in a new target environment, using a small set of test cases to validate critical functions without going into depth on any one of them.
Also called smoke testing — a funny way to say that, as long as the system does not actually catch on fire and start smoking, it has passed the test. Requirements management A set of activities covering gathering, elicitation, documentation, prioritization, quality assurance and management of requirements for an IT system.
Requirements manager The person responsible for requirements management Also known as Requirements Lead or Business Analyst. Re-testing A test to verify that a previously-reported defect has been corrected. Review A static test technique in which the reviewer reads a text in a structured way in order to find defects and suggest improvements.
Reviews may cover requirements documents, test documents, code, and other materials, and can range from informal to formal. Reviewer A person involved in the review process that identifies and documents discrepancies in the item being reviewed. Reviewers are selected in order to represent different areas of expertise, stakeholder groups and types of analysis. Risk A factor that could result in future negative consequences. Is usually expressed in terms of impact and likelihood.
Risk-based testing A structured approach in which test cases are chosen based on risks. Test design techniques like boundary value analysis and equivalence partitioning are risk-based. All testing ought to be risk-based. Sandwich integration An integration testing strategy in which the system is integrated both top-down and bottom-up simultaneously.
Can save time, but is complex. Scalability testing A component of non-functional testing, used to measure the capability of software to scale up or down in terms of its non-functional characteristics.
Scenario A sequence of activities performed in a system, such as logging in, signing up a customer, ordering products, and printing an invoice. You can combine test cases to form a scenario especially at higher test levels. Scrum An iterative, incremental framework for project management commonly used with agile software development.
Session-based testing An approach to testing in which test activities are planned as uninterrupted, quite short, sessions of test design and execution, often used in conjunction with exploratory testing. Severity The degree of impact that a defect has on the development or operation of a component or system.
State transition testing A test design technique in which a system is viewed as a series of states, valid and invalid transitions between those states, and inputs and events that cause changes in state. Static testing Testing performed without running the system. Document review is an example of a static test.
Stress testing shows which system resource e. Supplier The organization that supplies an IT system to a client. Can be internal or external. Also called vendor. Contrast with Client.
System The integrated combination of hardware, software, and documentation. System integration testing A test level designed to evaluate whether a system can be successfully integrated with other systems e.
May be included as part of system-level testing, or be conducted as its own test level in between system testing and acceptance testing. System testing Test level aimed at testing the complete integrated system. Both functional and non-functional tests are conducted. Test automation The process of writing programs that perform test steps and verify the result. Test case A structured test script that describes how a function or feature should be tested, including test steps, expected results preconditions and postconditions.
Test data Information that completes the test steps in a test case with e. In a test case where you add a customer to the system the test data might be customer name and address. Test data might exist in a separate test data file or in a database. Test driven development A development approach in which developers writes test cases before writing any code. Test driver A software component driver used during integration testing in order to emulate i.
Approximately one million bytes. Precisely K Bytes, bytes, or 1,, bytes. See: kilobyte. Any device or recording medium into which binary data can be stored and held, and from which the entire original data can be retrieved.
The two types of memory are main; e. See: storage device. A computer display listing a number of options; e. Sometimes used to denote a list of programs. One of two major categories of chip design [the other is bipolar]. It derives its name from its use of metal, oxide and semiconductor layers. Common type of transistor fabricated as a discrete component or into MOS integrated circuits. NBS The process of generating test sets for structural testing based upon use of complexity metrics or coverage metrics.
IEEE A quantitative measure of the degree to which software possesses a given attribute which affects its quality. Communications network that covers a geographical area such as a city or a suburb. Permanent memory that holds the elementary circuit operations a computer must perform for each instruction in its instruction set.
Frequently synonymous with a microcomputer. Execution speed of a computer. MIPS rate is one factor in overall performance. Bus and channel speed and bandwidth, memory speed, memory management techniques, and system software also determine total throughput.
DOD An unplanned event or series of events resulting in death, injury, occupational illness, or damage to or loss of data and equipment or property, or damage to the environment. Syn: accident. A symbol chosen to assist human memory and understanding; e. Construction of programs used to model the effects of a postulated environment for investigating the dimensions of a problem for the effects of algorithmic processes on responsive targets. ISO A functional unit that modulates and demodulates signals.
One of the functions of a modem is to enable digital data to be transmitted over analog transmission facilities. The term is a contraction of modulator-demodulator. Using a modem to communicate between computers. MODEM access is often used between a remote location and a computer that has a master database and applications software, the host computer. A structured software design technique, breaking a system into components to facilitate design and development. Syn: functional decomposition, hierarchical decomposition.
See: abstraction. IEEE Software composed of discrete parts. See: structured design. IEEE The degree to which a system or computer program is composed of discrete components such that a change to one component has minimal impact on other components.
Varying the characteristics of a wave in accordance with another wave or signal, usually to make user equipment signals compatible with communication facilities. Contrast with demodulate.
Converting signals from a binary-digit pattern [pulse form] to a continuous wave form [analog]. Contrast with demodulation. See: unit. A table which provides a graphic illustration of the data elements whose values are input to and output from a module.
IEEE A mode of operation in which two or more processes [programs] are executed concurrently [simultaneously] by separate CPUs that have access to a common main memory. Contrast with multi-programming. See: multi-tasking, time sharing.
Syn: parallel processing. Contrast with multi-tasking. See: time sharing. IEEE A mode of operation in which two or more tasks are executed in an interleaved manner. See: multi-processing, multi-programming, time sharing. Myers A test coverage criteria which requires enough test cases such that all possible combinations of condition outcomes in each decision, and all points of entry, are invoked at least once.
Contrast with branch coverage, condition coverage, decision coverage, path coverage, statement coverage. A device which takes information from any of several sources and places it on a single line or sends it to a single destination. IEEE Computer systems that perform more than one primary function or task are considered to be multipurpose. In some situations the computer may be linked or networked with other computers that are used for administrative functions; e.
NBS A method to determine test set thoroughness by measuring the extent to which a test set can discriminate the program from slight variants [mutants] of the program. Contrast with error seeding. National Bureau of Standards. Now National Institute for Standards and Technology. National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Gaithersburg, MD A federal agency under the Department of Commerce, originally established by an act of Congress on March 3, as the National Bureau of Standards. The Institute's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit.
The National Computer Systems Laboratory conducts research and provides, among other things, the technical foundation for computer related policies of the Federal Government. A type of microelectronic circuit used for logic and memory chips.
A database organization method that allows for data relationships in a net-like form. A single data element can point to multiple data elements and can itself be pointed to by other data elements.
Contrast with relational database. A junction or connection point in a network, e. IEEE 1 Examines software elements that are not designated safety-critical and ensures that these elements do not cause a hazard. Generally, safety-critical code should be isolated from non-safety-critical code. This analysis is to show this isolation is complete and that interfaces between safety-critical code and non-safety-critical code do not create hazards.
A reformation of a program by immediately relinking the entire program following the testing of each independent module. Integration testing is then conducted on the program as a whole. Syn: "big bang" integration. Contrast with incremental integration. A high priority interrupt that cannot be disabled by another interrupt. It can be used to report malfunctions such as parity, bus, and math co-processor errors. IEEE A value whose definition is to be supplied within the context of a specific operating system.
This value is a representation of the set of no numbers or no value for the operating system in use. IEEE Data for which space is allocated but for which no value currently exists. IEEE A string containing no entries. Note: It is said that a null string has length zero. In object oriented programming, A self contained module [encapsulation] of data and the programs [services] that manipulate [process] that data.
NIST A code expressed in machine language ["1"s and "0"s] which is normally an output of a given translation process that is ready to be executed by a computer. Syn: machine code.
Contrast with source code. See: object program. IEEE A software development technique in which a system or component is expressed in terms of objects and connections between those objects. IEEE A programming language that allows the user to express a program in terms of objects and messages between those objects.
A technology for writing programs that are made up of self-sufficient modules that contain all of the information needed to manipulate a given data structure. The modules are created in class hierarchies so that the code or methods of a class can be passed to other modules. New object modules can be easily created by inheriting the characteristics of existing classes. See: object, object oriented design.
IEEE A computer program that is the output of an assembler or compiler. IEEE Pertaining to a system or mode of operation in which input data enter the computer directly from the point of origin or output data are transmitted directly to the point where they are used.
For example, an airline reservation system. See: conversational, interactive, real time. Usually, operating systems are predominantly software, but partial or complete hardware implementations are possible. IEEE The period of time in the software life cycle during which a software product is employed in its operational environment, monitored for satisfactory performance, and modified as necessary to correct problems or to respond to changing requirements.
IEEE An exception that occurs when a program encounters an invalid operation code. An information processing technology that converts human readable data into another medium for computer input. An OCR peripheral device accepts a printed document as input, to identify the characters by their shape from the light that is reflected and creates an output disk file.
For best results, the printed page must contain only characters of a type that are easily read by the OCR device and located on the page within certain margins.
When choosing an OCR product, the prime consideration should be the program's level of accuracy as it applies to the type of document to be scanned. Thin glass wire designed for light transmission, capable of transmitting billions of bits per second. Unlike electrical pulses, light pulses are not affected by random radiation in the environment.
NIST Modifying a program to improve performance; e. A relational database programming system incorporating the SQL programming language. A registered trademark of the Oracle Corp. ISO In a calculator, the state in which the calculator is unable to accept or process the number of digits in the entry or in the result.
See: arithmetic overflow. IEEE An exception that occurs when the result of an arithmetic operation exceeds the size of the storage location designated to receive it. Contrast with serial. IEEE A constant, variable or expression that is used to pass values between software modules. Syn: argument. An error detection method in data transmissions that consists of selectively adding a 1-bit to bit patterns [word, byte, character, message] to cause the bit patterns to have either an odd number of 1-bits [odd parity] or an even number of 1-bits [even parity].
ISO A binary digit appended to a group of binary digits to make the sum of all the digits, including the appended binary digit, either odd or even, as predetermined. ISO A redundancy check by which a recalculated parity bit is compared to the predetermined parity bit. Contrast with check summation, cyclic redundancy check [CRC]. A high-level programming language designed to encourage structured programming practices.
ISO A character string that enables a user to have full or limited access to a system or to a set of data. IEEE A change made directly to an object program without reassembling or recompiling from the source program. IEEE A sequence of instructions that may be performed in the execution of a computer program. IEEE Analysis of a computer program [source code] to identify all possible paths through the program, to detect incomplete paths, or to discover portions of the program that are not on any path.
IEEE Software maintenance performed to improve the performance, maintainability, or other attributes of a computer program. Contrast with adaptive maintenance, corrective maintenance. IEEE A requirement that imposes conditions on a functional requirement; e.
Equipment that is directly connected a computer. A peripheral device can be used to input data; e. Syn: peripheral equipment. Synonymous with microcomputer, a computer that is functionally similar to large computers, but serves only one user. IEEE An audit conducted to verify that a configuration item, as built, conforms to the technical documentation that defines it.
See: functional configuration audit. IEEE A requirement that specifies a physical characteristic that a system or system component must posses; e. IEEE 1 In image processing and pattern recognition, the smallest element of a digital image that can be assigned a gray level. This term is derived from the term "picture element".
The hardware and software which must be present and functioning for an application program to run [perform] as intended. A technique a CPU can use to learn if a peripheral device is ready to receive data or to send data. In this method each device is checked or polled in-turn to determine if that device needs service. The device must wait until it is polled in order to send or receive data.
This method is useful if the device's data can wait for a period of time before being processed, since each device must await its turn in the polling scheme before it will be serviced by the processor. Contrast with interrupt. A type of microelectronic circuit in which the base material is positively charged.
The relative degree of repeatability, i. It is the result of resolution and stability. See: accuracy, bias, calibration. IEEE 1 The process of analyzing design alternatives and defining the architecture, components, interfaces, and timing and sizing estimates for a system or component.
See: detailed design. IEEE A review conducted to evaluate the progress, technical adequacy, and risk resolution of the selected design approach for one or more configuration items; to determine each design's compatibility with the requirements for the configuration item; to evaluate the degree of definition and assess the technical risk associated with the selected manufacturing methods and processes; to establish the existence and compatibility of the physical and functional interfaces among the configuration items and other items of equipment, facilities, software and personnel; and, as applicable, to evaluate the preliminary operational and support documents.
A flat board that holds chips and other electronic components. The board is "printed" with electrically conductive pathways between the components. The computer file that contains the establishment's current production data. Processing may include the use of an assembler, a compiler, an interpreter, or another translator to prepare the program for execution.
The instructions may include statements and necessary declarations. IEEE A specification language with special constructs and, sometimes, verification protocols, used to develop, analyze, and document a program design.
IEEE A computer program that has been purposely altered from the intended version to evaluate the ability of program test cases to detect the alteration. See: testing, mutation. A programmable logic chip. See: programmable logic device. A logic chip that is programmed at the user's site. Contrast with PROM. A chip which may be programmed by using a PROM programming device. It can be programmed only once. It cannot be erased and reprogrammed. Each of its bit locations is a fusible link.
An unprogrammed PROM has all links closed establishing a known state of each bit. Programming the chip consists of sending an electrical current of a specified size through each link which is to be changed to the alternate state. This causes the "fuse to blow", opening that link. IEEE A language used to express computer programs. See: computer language, high-level language, low-level language. IEEE Analysis to ensure that all portions of the program follow approved programming guidelines.
See: code audit, code inspection. NIST A management document describing the approach taken for a project. The plan typically describes work to be done, resources required, methods to be used, the configuration management and quality assurance procedures to be followed, the schedules to be met, the project organization, etc. Project in this context is a generic term. Some projects may also need integration plans, security plans, test plans, quality assurance plans, etc.
See: documentation plan, software development plan, test plan, software engineering. PROM programmer. NBS The use of techniques of mathematical logic to infer that a relation between program variables assumed true at program entry implies that another relation between program variables holds at program exit.
IEEE An exception that occurs when a program attempts to write into a protected area in storage. ISO A set of semantic and syntactic rules that determines the behavior of functional units in achieving communication. Using software tools to accelerate the software development process by facilitating the identification of required functionality during analysis and design phases. A limitation of this technique is the identification of system or software problems and hazards.
See: rapid prototyping. A combination of programming language and natural language used to express a software design. If used, it is usually the last document produced prior to writing the source code.
FDA Establishing confidence that process equipment and ancillary systems are compliant with appropriate codes and approved design intentions, and that manufacturer's recommendations are suitably considered.
FDA Establishing confidence that process equipment and sub-systems are capable of consistently operating within established limits and tolerances. FDA Establishing confidence that the process is effective and reproducible. FDA Establishing confidence through appropriate testing that the finished product produced by a specified process meets all release requirements for functionality and safety.
IEEE 1 A planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that an item or product conforms to established technical requirements. The operational techniques and procedures used to achieve quality requirements. High frequency electromagnetic waves that emanate from electronic devices such as chips and other electronic devices. An electromagnetic disturbance caused by such radiating and transmitting sources as electrostatic discharge [ESD], lightning, radar, radio and TV signals, and motors with brushes can induce unwanted voltages in electronic circuits, damage components and cause malfunctions.
See: electromagnetic interference. The term random access means that each memory location [usually 8 bits or 1 byte] may be directly accessed [read from or written to] at random.
ISO A limit check in which both high and low values are stipulated. A structured software requirements discovery technique which emphasizes generating prototypes early in the development process to permit early feedback and analysis in support of the development process. Contrast with incremental development, spiral model, waterfall model. See: prototyping. A memory chip from which data can only be read by the CPU. The CPU may not store data to this memory.
IEEE Pertaining to a system or mode of operation in which computation is performed during the actual time that an external process occurs, in order that the computation results can be used to control, monitor, or respond in a timely manner to the external process.
See: conversational, interactive, interrupt, on-line. A fast-response [immediate response] on-line system which obtains data from an activity or a physical process, performs computations, and returns a response rapidly enough to affect [control] the outcome of the activity or process; e. Contrast with batch processing. Documentation of changes made to the system. A record of change can be a written document or a database.
Normally there are two associated with a computer system, hardware and software. Changes made to the data are recorded in an audit trail. IEEE 1 The process of defining or generating a process or data structure in terms of itself. Computer architecture that reduces the complexity of the chip by using simpler instructions. Reduced instruction set does not necessarily mean fewer instructions, but rather a return to simple instructions requiring only one or a very few instruction cycles to execute, and therefore are more effectively utilized with innovative architectural and compiler changes.
Systems using RISC technology are able to achieve processing speeds of more than five million instructions per second. Regions are used to separate testing from production [normal use]. Syn: partition. A small, high speed memory circuit within a microprocessor that holds addresses and values of internal operations; e.
Each microprocessor has a specific number of registers depending upon its design. See: testing, regression. Database organization method that links files together as required. Relationships between files are created by comparing data such as account numbers and names. A relational system can take any two or more files and generate a new file from the records that meet the matching criteria.
Routine queries often involve more than one data file; e. Contrast with network database, flat file. IEEE The formal notification and distribution of an approved version. See: version. IEEE The ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. See: software reliability. IEEE 1 A condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective.
See: design requirement, functional requirement, implementation requirement, interface requirement, performance requirement, physical requirement. IEEE 1 The process of studying user needs to arrive at a definition of a system, hardware, or software requirements. See: prototyping, software engineering. IEEE The period of time in the software life cycle during which the requirements, such as functional and performance capabilities for a software product, are defined and documented.
IEEE A process or meeting during which the requirements for a system, hardware item, or software item are presented to project personnel, managers, users, customers, or other interested parties for comment or approval. Types include system requirements review, software requirements review. Contrast with code review, design review, formal qualification review, test readiness review. ISO The length of time specified for data on a data medium to be preserved. IEEE A trace produced from historical data recorded during the execution of a computer program.
Note: this differs from an ordinary trace, which is produced cumulatively during program execution. See: execution trace, subroutine trace, symbolic trace, variable trace. Relative to software changes, revalidation means validating the change itself, assessing the nature of the change to determine potential ripple effects, and performing the necessary regression testing. IEEE A process or meeting during which a work product or set of work products, is presented to project personnel, managers, users, customers, or other interested parties for comment or approval.
Types include code review, design review, formal qualification review, requirements review, test readiness review. Contrast with audit, inspection. IEEE A measure of the probability and severity of undesired effects. Often taken as the simple product of probability and consequence.
DOD A comprehensive evaluation of the risk and its associated impact. The degree to which a software system or component can function correctly in the presence of invalid inputs or stressful environmental conditions. IEEE A subprogram that is called by other programs and subprograms. Note: This term is defined differently in various programming languages. See: module.
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