QA Foundations P1
test architect
(1) A person who provides guidance and strategic direction for a test organization and for its relationship with other disciplines. (2) A person who defines the way testing is structured for a given system, including topics such as test tools and test data management.
change management
(1) A structured approach to transitioning individuals and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. (2) Controlled way to effect a change, or a proposed change, to a product or service.
maturity
(1) The capability of an organization with respect to the effectiveness and efficiency of its processes and work practices. (2) The capability of the software product to avoid failure as a result of defects in the software.
efficiency
(1) The capability of the software product to provide appropriate performance, relative to the amount of resources used, under stated conditions. (2) The capability of a process to produce the intended outcome, relative to the amount of resources used.
benchmark test
1) A standard against which measurements or comparisons can be made. (2) A test that is used to compare components or systems to each other or to a standard as in (1).
orthogonal array
A 2-dimensional array constructed with special mathematical properties, such that choosing any two columns in the array provides every pair combination of each number in the array.
branch
A basic block that can be selected for execution based on a program construct in which one of two or more alternative program paths is available, e.g., case, jump, go to, if-then-else.
boundary value analysis
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed based on boundary values.
user story testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed based on user stories to verify their correct implementation.
syntax testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed based upon the definition of the input domain and/or output domain.
cause-effect graphing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed from cause-effect graphs.
n-wise testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute all possible discrete combinations of any set of n input parameters.
pairwise testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute all possible discrete combinations of each pair of input parameters.
process cycle test
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute business procedures and processes.
elementary comparison testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute combinations of inputs using the concept of modified condition decision coverage.
equivalence partitioning
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute representatives from equivalence partitions. In principle, test cases are designed to cover each partition at least once.
use case testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute scenarios of use cases.
combinatorial testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute specific combinations of values of several parameters.
decision table testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute the combinations of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) shown in a decision table.
state transition testing
A black-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute valid and invalid state transitions.
classification tree method
A black-box test design technique in which test cases, described by means of a classification tree, are designed to execute combinations of representatives of input and/or output domains.
domain analysis
A black-box test design technique that is used to identify efficient and effective test cases when multiple variables can or should be tested together. It builds on and generalizes equivalence partitioning and boundary values analysis.
random testing
A black-box test design technique where test cases are selected, possibly using a pseudo-random generation algorithm, to match an operational profile. This technique can be used for testing non-functional attributes such as reliability and performance.
continuous representation
A capability maturity model structure wherein capability levels provide a recommended order for approaching process improvement within specified process areas.
test log
A chronological record of relevant details about the execution of tests.
test process group (TPG)
A collection of (test) specialists who facilitate the definition, maintenance, and improvement of the test processes used by an organization.
system
A collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of functions.
firewall
A component or set of components that controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
finite state machine
A computational model consisting of a finite number of states and transitions between those states, possibly with accompanying actions.
requirement
A condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed document.
atomic condition
A condition that cannot be decomposed, i.e., a condition that does not contain two or more single conditions joined by a logical operator (AND, OR, XOR).
planning poker
A consensus-based estimation technique, mostly used to estimate effort or relative size of user stories in Agile software development. It is a variation of the Wideband Delphi method using a deck of cards with values representing the units in which the team estimates.
Critical Testing Processes (CTP)
A content-based model for test process improvement built around twelve critical processes. These include highly visible processes, by which peers and management judge competence and mission-critical processes in which performance affects the company's profits and reputation.
TPI Next
A continuous business-driven framework for test process improvement that describes the key elements of an effective and efficient test process.
defect management committee
A cross-functional team of stakeholders who manage reported defects from initial detection to ultimate resolution (defect removal, defect deferral, or report cancellation). In some cases, the same team as the configuration control board.
salting
A cryptographic technique that adds random data (salt) to the user data prior to hashing.
test hook
A customized software interface that enables automated testing of a test object.
corporate dashboard
A dashboard-style representation of the status of corporate performance data.
pointer
A data item that specifies the location of another data item. For example, a data item that specifies the address of the next employee record to be processed
collapsed decision table
A decision table in which combinations of inputs that are impossible or lead to the same outputs are merged into one column (rule), by setting the conditions that do not influence the outputs to don't care.
escaped defect
A defect that was not detected in a previous test level which is supposed to find such type of defects.
regression
A degradation in the quality of a component or system due to a change.
component specification
A description of a component's function in terms of its output values for specified input values under specified conditions, and required non-functional behavior (e.g., resource utilization).
testability review
A detailed check of the test basis to determine whether the test basis is at an adequate quality level to act as an input document for the test process.
daily build
A development activity whereby a complete system is compiled and linked every day (often overnight), so that a consistent system is available at any time including all latest changes.
embedded iterative model
A development lifecycle sub-model that applies an iterative approach to detailed design, coding and testing within an overall sequential model. In this case, the high-level design documents are prepared and approved for the entire project but the actual detailed design, code development and testing are conducted in iterations.
incremental development model
A development lifecycle where a project is broken into a series of increments, each of which delivers a portion of the functionality in the overall project requirements. The requirements are prioritized and delivered in priority order in the appropriate increment. In some (but not all) versions of this lifecycle model, each subproject follows a mini V-model with its own design, coding and testing phases.
iterative development model
A development lifecycle where a project is broken into a usually large number of iterations. An iteration is a complete development loop resulting in a release (internal or external) of an executable product, a subset of the final product under development, which grows from iteration to iteration to become the final product.
buffer
A device or storage area used to store data temporarily for differences in rates of data flow, time or occurrence of events, or amounts of data that can be handled by the devices or processes involved in the transfer or use of the data.
simulator
A device, computer program or system used during testing, which behaves or operates like a given system when provided with a set of controlled inputs.
emulator
A device, computer program, or system that accepts the same inputs and produces the same outputs as a given system.
state diagram
A diagram that depicts the states that a component or system can assume, and shows the events or circumstances that cause and/or result from a change from one state to another.
mind map
A diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central keyword or idea. These are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.
configuration management
A discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance with specified requirements.
process assessment
A disciplined evaluation of an organization's software processes against a reference model.
test phase
A distinct set of test activities collected into a manageable phase of a project, e.g., the execution activities of a test level.
review plan
A document describing the approach, resources and schedule of intended review activities. It identifies, amongst others: documents and code to be reviewed, review types to be used, participants, as well as entry and exit criteria to be applied in case of formal reviews, and the rationale for their choice. It is a record of the review planning process.
test plan
A document describing the scope, approach, resources and schedule of intended test activities. It identifies amongst others test items, the features to be tested, the testing tasks, who will do each task, degree of tester independence, the test environment, the test design techniques and entry and exit criteria to be used, and the rationale for their choice, and any risks requiring contingency planning. It is a record of the test planning process.
release note
A document identifying test items, their configuration, current status and other delivery information delivered by development to testing, and possibly other stakeholders, at the start of a test execution phase.
test evaluation report
A document produced at the end of the test process summarizing all testing activities and results. It also contains an evaluation of the test process and lessons learned.
incident report
A document reporting on any event that occurred, e.g., during the testing, which requires investigation.
defect report
A document reporting on any flaw in a component or system that can cause the component or system to fail to perform its required function.
test procedure specification
A document specifying a sequence of actions for the execution of a test. Also known as test script or manual test script.
test case specification
A document specifying a set of test cases (objective, inputs, test actions, expected results, and execution preconditions) for a test item.
test design specification
A document specifying the test conditions (coverage items) for a test item, the detailed test approach and identifying the associated high-level test cases.
test progress report
A document summarizing testing activities and results, produced at regular intervals, to report progress of testing activities against a baseline (such as the original test plan) and to communicate risks and alternatives requiring a decision to management.
test summary report
A document summarizing testing activities and results. It also contains an evaluation of the corresponding test items against exit criteria.
assessment report
A document summarizing the assessment results, e.g., conclusions, recommendations and findings.
test specification
A document that consists of a test design specification, test case specification and/or test procedure specification.
specification
A document that specifies, ideally in a complete, precise and verifiable manner, the requirements, design, behavior, or other characteristics of a component or system, and, often, the procedures for determining whether these provisions have been satisfied.
risk
A factor that could result in future negative consequences.
quality attribute
A feature or characteristic that affects an item's quality.
Test Maturity Model integration (TMMi)
A five-level staged framework for test process improvement, related to the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), that describes the key elements of an effective test process.
defect
A flaw in a component or system that can cause the component or system to fail to perform its required function, e.g., an incorrect statement or data definition. A defect, if encountered during execution, may cause a failure of the component or system.
pairwise integration testing
A form of integration testing that targets pairs of components that work together, as shown in a call graph.
neighborhood integration testing
A form of integration testing where all of the nodes that connect to a given node are the basis for the integration testing.
N-switch testing
A form of state transition testing in which test cases are designed to execute all valid sequences of N+1 transitions.
control flow analysis
A form of static analysis based on a representation of unique paths (sequences of events) in the execution through a component or system. This evaluates the integrity of control flow structures, looking for possible control flow anomalies such as closed loops or logically unreachable process steps.
data flow analysis
A form of static analysis based on the definition and usage of variables.
Test Point Analysis (TPA)
A formula based test estimation method based on function point analysis.
Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
A framework that describes the key elements of an effective product development and maintenance process. This covers best-practices for planning, engineering and managing product development and maintenance.
V-model
A framework to describe the software development lifecycle activities from requirements specification to maintenance. This model illustrates how testing activities can be integrated into each phase of the software development lifecycle.
process model
A framework wherein processes of the same nature are classified into a overall model, e.g., a test improvement model.
mobile application
A general term for a software application that is used via a mobile device such as a smart phone
performance objective
A goal for the various performance aspects of a system that can be verified through conducting tests in a controlled environment
cause-effect graph
A graphical representation of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) with their associated outputs (effects), which can be used to design test cases.
cause-effect diagram
A graphical representation used to organize and display the interrelationships of various possible root causes of a problem. Possible causes of a real or potential defect or failure are organized in categories and subcategories in a horizontal tree-structure, with the (potential) defect or failure as the root node.
state table
A grid showing the resulting transitions for each state combined with each possible event, showing both valid and invalid transitions.
configuration control board (CCB)
A group of people responsible for evaluating and approving or disapproving proposed changes to configuration items, and for ensuring implementation of approved changes
Agile software development
A group of software development methodologies based on iterative incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams.
test type
A group of test activities aimed at testing a component or system focused on a specific test objective, i.e. functional test, usability test, regression test etc. This may take place on one or more test levels or test phases.
test level
A group of test activities that are organized and managed together. This is linked to the responsibilities in a project. Examples of these are component test, integration test, system test and acceptance test.
test strategy
A high-level description of the test levels to be performed and the testing within those levels for an organization or program (one or more projects).
security policy
A high-level document describing the principles, approach and major objectives of the organization regarding security.
test policy
A high-level document describing the principles, approach and major objectives of the organization regarding testing.
performance indicator
A high-level metric of effectiveness and/or efficiency used to guide and control progressive development, e.g., lead-time slip for software development.
test performance indicator
A high-level metric of effectiveness and/or efficiency used to guide and control progressive test development, e.g., Defect Detection Percentage (DDP).
test automation strategy
A high-level plan to achieve long-term objectives of test automation under given boundary conditions.
user story
A high-level user or business requirement commonly used in Agile software development, typically consisting of one sentence in the everyday or business language capturing what functionality a user needs and the reason behind this, any non-functional criteria, and also includes acceptance criteria.
error
A human action that produces an incorrect result.
minimal essential test strategy
A lightweight approach to risk analysis sometimes used when testing mobile applications
test schedule
A list of activities, tasks or events of the test process, identifying their intended start and finish dates and/or times, and interdependencies.
condition
A logical expression that can be evaluated as True or False, e.g., A>B.
RACI matrix
A matrix describing the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or process. It is especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities. Acronym derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
concurrency
A measure of the number of simultaneous or parallel threads of execution
indicator
A measure that can be used to estimate or predict another measure.
metric
A measurement scale and the method used for measurement.
retrospective meeting
A meeting at the end of a project during which the project team members evaluate the project and learn lessons that can be applied to the next project.
memory leak
A memory access failure due to a defect in a program's dynamic store allocation logic that causes it to fail to release memory after it has finished using it, eventually causing the program and/or other concurrent processes to fail due to lack of memory.
buffer overflow
A memory access failure due to the attempt by a process to store data beyond the boundaries of a fixed length buffer, resulting in overwriting of adjacent memory areas or the raising of an overflow exception.
session-based test management
A method for measuring and managing session-based testing, e.g., exploratory testing.
mutation analysis
A method to determine test suite thoroughness by measuring the extent to which a test suite can discriminate the program from slight variants (mutants) of the program.
service virtualization
A method to emulate the behavior of specific components, services, of a system
quality function deployment (QFD)
A method to transform user demands into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to deploy methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts, and ultimately to specific elements of the manufacturing process.
S.M.A.R.T. goal methodology (SMART)
A methodology whereby objectives are defined very specifically rather than generically. This is an acronym derived from the attributes of the objective to be defined: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
convergence metric
A metric that shows progress toward a defined criterion, e.g., convergence of the total number of tests executed to the total number of tests planned for execution.
component
A minimal software item that can be tested in isolation.
native mobile application
A mobile application that is designed for a specific device family and is coded to access specific functionality of the device normally via tools that have been specifically designed for the device.
mobile web application
A mobile application that is designed for use by a variety of devices with the majority of the code residing on the web server
hybrid application
A mobile application that requires communication with the web server but also utilizes plug-ins to access device functionality
test model
A model describing testware that is used for testing a component or a system under test.
staged representation
A model structure wherein attaining the goals of a set of process areas establishes a maturity level; each level builds a foundation for subsequent levels.
reliability growth model
A model that shows the growth in reliability overtime during continuous testing of a component or system as a result of the removal of defects that result in reliability failures.
botnet
A network of compromised computers, called bots or robots, which is controlled by a third party and used to transmit malware or spam, or to launch attacks.
European Foundation for Quality Management excellence model
A non-prescriptive framework for an organization's quality management system, defined and owned by the EFQM, based on five 'Enabling' criteria (covering what an organization does), and four 'Results' criteria (covering what an organization achieves).
lifecycle model
A partitioning of the life of a product or project into phases.
stakeholder
A party that has an interest in the activities of a project, system or organization
dd-path
A path between two decisions of an algorithm, or two decision nodes of a corresponding graph, that includes no other decisions.
audit trail
A path by which the original input to a process (e.g., data) can be traced back through the process, taking the process output as a starting point. This facilitates defect analysis and allows a process audit to be carried out.
feasible path
A path for which a set of input values and preconditions exists which causes it to be executed.
attack vector
A path or means by which an attacker can gain access to a system for malicious purposes.
infeasible path
A path that cannot be exercised by any set of possible input values.
technical review
A peer group discussion activity that focuses on achieving consensus on the technical approach to be taken.
test process improver
A person implementing improvements in the test process based on a test improvement plan.
hacker
A person or organization who is actively involved in security attacks, usually with malicious intent.
attacker
A person or process that attempts to access data, functions or other restricted areas of the system without authorization, potentially with malicious intent.
assessor
A person who conducts an assessment. Any member of an assessment team.
script kiddie
A person who executes security attacks that have been created by other hackers rather than creating own ones.
test automation engineer
A person who is responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of a test automation architecture as well as the technical evolution of the resulting test automation solution.
test automation manager
A person who is responsible for the planning and supervision of the development and evolution of a test automation solution.
demilitarized zone (DMZ)
A physical or logical subnetwork that contains and exposes an organization's external-facing services to an untrusted network, commonly the Internet.
test improvement plan
A plan for achieving organizational test process improvement objectives based on a thorough understanding of the current strengths and weaknesses of the organization's test processes and test process assets.
milestone
A point in time in a project at which defined (intermediate) deliverables and results should be ready.
wild pointer
A pointer that references a location that is out of scope for that pointer or that does not exist.
hyperlink
A pointer within a web page that leads to other web pages.
equivalence partition
A portion of an input or output domain for which the behavior of a component or system is assumed to be the same, based on the specification.
authentication
A procedure determining whether a person or a process is, in fact, who or what it is declared to be.
defect-based test design technique
A procedure to derive and/or select test cases targeted at one or more defect types, with tests being developed from what is known about the specific defect type.
content-based model
A process model providing a detailed description of good engineering practices, e.g., test practices.
process reference model
A process model providing a generic body of best practices and how to improve a process in a prescribed step-by-step manner.
quality risk
A product risk related to a quality attribute.
exercised
A program element is said to be exercised by a test case when the input value causes the execution of that element, such as a statement, decision, or other structural element.
process improvement
A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of the organization's processes, and the result of such a program.
software process improvement (SPI)
A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of the organization's software processes and the results of such a program.
test process improvement
A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of the organization's test processes and the results of such a program.
decision
A program point at which the control flow has two or more alternative routes. A node with two or more links to separate branches.
scripting language
A programming language in which executable test scripts are written, used by a test execution tool (e.g., a capture/playback tool).
short-circuiting
A programming language/interpreter technique for evaluating compound conditions in which a condition on one side of a logical operator may not be evaluated if the condition on the other side is sufficient to determine the final outcome.
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
A proprietary adaptable iterative software development process framework consisting of four project lifecycle phases: inception, elaboration, construction and transition.
burndown chart
A publicly displayed chart that depicts the outstanding effort versus time in an iteration. It shows the status and trend of completing the tasks of the iteration. The X-axis typically represents days in the sprint, while the Y-axis is the remaining effort (usually either in ideal engineering hours or story points).
Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI)
A questionnaire-based usability test technique for measuring software quality from the end user's point of view.
Website Analysis and Measurement Inventory (WAMMI)
A questionnaire-based usability test technique for measuring web site software quality from the end user's point of view.
test automation solution
A realization/implementation of a test automation architecture, i.e., a combination of components implementing a specific test automation assignment. The components may include commercial off-the-shelf test tools, test automation frameworks, as well as test hardware.
test objective
A reason or purpose for designing and executing a test.
dashboard
A representation of dynamic measurements of operational performance for some organization or activity, using metrics represented via metaphors such as visual dials, counters, and other devices resembling those on the dashboard of an automobile, so that the effects of events or activities can be easily understood and related to operational goals.
scorecard
A representation of summarized performance measurements representing progress towards the implementation of long-term goals. This provides static measurements of performance over or at the end of a defined interval.
non-functional requirement
A requirement that does not relate to functionality, but to attributes such as reliability, efficiency, usability, maintainability and portability.
functional requirement
A requirement that specifies a function that a component or system must perform.
testable requirement
A requirements that is stated in terms that permit establishment of test designs (and subsequently test cases) and execution of tests to determine whether the requirement has been met.
formal review
A review characterized by documented procedures and requirements, e.g., inspection.
informal review
A review not based on a formal (documented) procedure.
peer review
A review of a software work product by colleagues of the producer of the product for the purpose of identifying defects and improvements. Examples are inspection, technical review and walkthrough.
ad hoc reviewing
A review technique carried out by independent reviewers informally, without a structured process.
checklist-based reviewing
A review technique guided by a list of questions or required attributes.
role-based reviewing
A review technique where reviewers evaluate a work product from the perspective of different stakeholder roles.
scenario-based reviewing
A review technique where the review is guided by determining the ability of the work product to address specific scenarios.
perspective-based reading
A review technique whereby reviewers evaluate the work product from different viewpoints.
product risk
A risk directly related to the test object.
project risk
A risk related to management and control of the (test) project, e.g., lack of staffing, strict deadlines, changing requirements, etc.
measurement scale
A scale that constrains the type of data analysis that can be performed on it.
test execution schedule
A scheme for the execution of test procedures. Note: The test procedures are included in this in their context and in the order in which they are to be executed.
structured scripting
A scripting technique that builds and utilizes a library of reusable (parts of) scripts.
data-driven testing
A scripting technique that stores test input and expected results in a table or spreadsheet, so that a single control script can execute all of the tests in the table. This is often used to support the application of test execution tools such as capture/playback tools.
keyword-driven testing
A scripting technique that uses data files to contain not only test data and expected results, but also keywords related to the application being tested. The keywords are interpreted by special supporting scripts that are called by the control script for the test.
process-driven scripting
A scripting technique where scripts are structured into scenarios which represent use cases of the software under test. The scripts can be parameterized with test data.
SQL injection
A security attack inserting malicious SQL statements into an entry field for execution.
pharming
A security attack intended to redirect a web site's traffic to a fraudulent web site without the user's knowledge or consent.
password cracking
A security attack recovering secret passwords stored in a computer system or transmitted over a network.
denial of service (DOS)
A security attack that is intended to overload the system with requests such that legitimate requests cannot be serviced.
ethical hacker
A security tester using hacker techniques
insider threat
A security threat originating from within the organization, often by an authorized system user.
test director
A senior manager who manages test managers.
control flow
A sequence of events (paths) in the execution through a component or system.
path
A sequence of events, e.g., executable statements, of a component or system from an entry point to an exit point.
subpath
A sequence of executable statements within a component.
basic block
A sequence of one or more consecutive executable statements containing no branches. Note: A node in a control flow graph represents this
test procedure
A sequence of test cases in execution order, and any associated actions that may be required to set up the initial preconditions and any wrap up activities post execution.
use case
A sequence of transactions in a dialogue between an actor and a component or system with a tangible result, where an actor can be a user or anything that can exchange information with the system.
pseudo-random
A series which appears to be random but is in fact generated according to some prearranged sequence.
transaction
A set of activities performed by the system from the point of initiation to the point at which one or more processes have been completed
build verification test (BVT)
A set of automated tests which validates the integrity of each new build and verifies its key/core functionality, stability and testability. It is an industry practice when a high frequency of build releases occurs (e.g., Agile projects) and it is run on every new build before the build is released for further testing.
test target
A set of exit criteria.
test case
A set of input values, execution preconditions, expected results and execution postconditions, developed for a particular objective or test condition, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement.
process
A set of interrelated activities, which transform inputs into outputs.
test
A set of one or more test cases.
risk type
A set of risks grouped by one or more common factors such as a quality attribute, cause, location, or potential effect of risk. A specific set of this is related to the type of testing that can mitigate (control) that risk type. For example, the risk of user interactions being misunderstood can be mitigated by usability testing.
test suite
A set of several test cases for a component or system under test, where the post condition of one test is often used as the precondition for the next one.
security procedure
A set of steps required to implement the security policy and the steps to be taken in response to a security incident.
basis test set
A set of test cases derived from the internal structure of a component or specification to ensure that 100% of a specified coverage criterion will be achieved.
linear scripting
A simple scripting technique without any control structure in the test scripts.
virtual user
A simulation of the activities that would be performed by a user according to the operational profile
performance test script
A simulation of user or component activity that contributes to the load on the system under test
stub
A skeletal or special-purpose implementation of a software component, used to develop or test a component that calls or is otherwise dependent on it. It replaces a called component.
tester
A skilled professional who is involved in the testing of a component or system
driver
A software component or test tool that replaces a component that takes care of the control and/or the calling of a component or system.
pair programming
A software development approach whereby lines of code (production and/or test) of a component are written by two programmers sitting at a single computer. This implicitly means ongoing real-time code reviews are performed.
Extreme Programming (XP)
A software engineering methodology used within Agile software development whereby core practices are programming in pairs, doing extensive code review, unit testing of all code, and simplicity and clarity in code.
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
A software product that is developed for the general market, i.e. for a large number of customers, and that is delivered to many customers in identical format.
test tool
A software product that supports one or more test activities, such as planning and control, specification, building initial files and data, test execution and test analysis.
fuzz testing
A software testing technique used to discover security vulnerabilities by inputting massive amounts of random data, called fuzz, to the component or system.
custom tool
A software tool developed specifically for a set of users or customers.
monitoring tool
A software tool or hardware device that runs concurrently with the component or system under test and supervises, records and/or analyses the behavior of the component or system.
open source tool
A software tool that is available to all potential users in source code form, usually via the internet. Its users are permitted, usually under license, to study, change, improve and, at times, to distribute the software.
compiler
A software tool that translates programs expressed in a high-order language into their machine language equivalents.
instrumenter
A software tool used to carry out instrumentation.
root cause
A source of a defect such that if it is removed, the occurrence of the defect type is decreased or removed.
test oracle
A source to determine expected results to compare with the actual result of the software under test. An oracle may be the existing system (for a benchmark), other software, a user manual, or an individual's specialized knowledge, but should not be the code.
intake test
A special instance of a smoke test to decide if the component or system is ready for detailed and further testing. This is typically carried out at the start of the test execution phase.
quality gate
A special milestone in a project. These are located between those phases of a project strongly depending on the outcome of a previous phase. This includes a formal check of the documents of the previous phase.
load profile
A specification of the activity which a component or system being tested may experience in production. This consists of a designated number of virtual users who process a defined set of transactions in a specified time period and according to a predefined operational profile.
baseline
A specification or software product that has been formally reviewed or agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development, and that can be changed only through a formal change control process.
test charter
A statement of test objectives, and possibly test ideas about how to test. These are used in exploratory testing.
Agile Manifesto
A statement on the values that underpin Agile software development. The values are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, responding to change over following a plan.
predicate
A statement that can evaluate to true or false and may be used to determine the control flow of subsequent decision logic.
test process improvement manifesto
A statement that echoes the Agile manifesto, and defines values for improving the testing process. The values are: flexibility over detailed processes, best practices over templates, deployment orientation over process orientation, peer reviews over quality assurance (departments), business driven over model-driven.
executable statement
A statement which, when compiled, is translated into object code, and which will be executed procedurally when the program is running and may perform an action on data
vulnerability scanner
A static analyzer that is used to detect particular security vulnerabilities in the code.
control chart
A statistical process control tool used to monitor a process and determine whether it is statistically controlled. It graphically depicts the average value and the upper and lower control limits (the highest and lowest values) of a process.
Pareto analysis
A statistical technique in decision making that is used for selection of a limited number of factors that produce significant overall effect. In terms of quality improvement, a large majority of problems (80%) are produced by a few key causes (20%).
walkthrough
A step-by-step presentation by the author of a document in order to gather information and to establish a common understanding of its content.
balanced scorecard
A strategic tool for measuring whether the operational activities of a company are aligned with its objectives in terms of business vision and strategy.
maturity model
A structured collection of elements that describe certain aspects of maturity in an organization, and aid in the definition and understanding of an organization's processes. This often provides a common language, shared vision and framework for prioritizing improvement actions.
Systematic Test and Evaluation Process (STEP)
A structured testing methodology, also used as a content-based model for improving the testing process. This does not require that improvements occur in a specific order.
project retrospective
A structured way to capture lessons learned and to create specific action plans for improving on the next project or next project phase.
network zone
A sub-network with a defined level of trust. For example, the Internet or a public zone would be considered to be untrusted.
smoke test
A subset of all defined/planned test cases that cover the main functionality of a component or system, to ascertaining that the most crucial functions of a program work, but not bothering with finer details.
best practice
A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved performance of an organization under given context, usually recognized as "best" by other peer organizations.
defect taxonomy
A system of (hierarchical) categories designed to be a useful aid for reproducibly classifying defects.
intrusion detection system (IDS)
A system which monitors activities on the 7 layers of the OSI model from network to application level, to detect violations of the security policy.
safety critical system
A system whose failure or malfunction may result in death or serious injury to people, or loss or severe damage to equipment, or environmental harm.
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)
A systematic approach to risk identification and analysis of identifying possible modes of failure and attempting to prevent their occurrence.
PRISMA
A systematic approach to risk-based testing that employs product risk identification and analysis to create a product risk matrix based on likelihood and impact. Term is derived from Product Risk Management.
management review
A systematic evaluation of software acquisition, supply, development, operation, or maintenance process, performed by or on behalf of management that monitors progress, determines the status of plans and schedules, confirms requirements and their system allocation, or evaluates the effectiveness of management approaches to achieve fitness for purpose.
orthogonal array testing
A systematic way of testing all-pair combinations of variables using orthogonal arrays. It significantly reduces the number of all combinations of variables to test all pair combinations.
decision table
A table showing combinations of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) with their associated outputs and/or actions (effects), which can be used to design test cases.
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
A technique used to analyze the causes of faults (defects). The technique visually models how logical relationships between failures, human errors, and external events can combine to cause specific faults to disclose.
hazard analysis
A technique used to characterize the elements of risk. The result of this will drive the methods used for development and testing of a system.
Teststorming
A technique used to derive test cases using techniques such as brainstorming or mindmaps
exhaustive testing
A test approach in which the test suite comprises all combinations of input values and preconditions.
capture/playback
A test automation approach, where inputs to the test object are recorded during manual testing in order to generate automated test scripts that could be executed later (i.e. replayed).
frozen test basis
A test basis document that can only be amended by a formal change control process.
blocked test case
A test case that cannot be executed because the preconditions for its execution are not fulfilled.
low-level test case
A test case with concrete (implementation level) values for input data and expected results. Logical operators from high-level test cases are replaced by actual values that correspond to the objectives of the logical operators.
high-level test case
A test case without concrete (implementation level) values for input data and expected results. Logical operators are used: instances of the actual values are not yet defined and/or available.
statistical testing
A test design technique in which a model of the statistical distribution of the input is used to construct representative test cases.
error guessing
A test design technique where the experience of the tester is used to anticipate what defects might be present in the component or system under test as a result of errors made, and to design tests specifically to expose them.
test harness
A test environment comprised of stubs and drivers needed to execute a test.
three-point estimation
A test estimation method using estimated values for the "best case", "worst case", and "most likely case" of the matter being estimated, to define the degree of certainty associated with the resultant estimate.
fail
A test is deemed this if its actual result does not match its expected result.
pass
A test is deemed to pass if its actual result matches its expected result.
test control
A test management task that deals with developing and applying a set of corrective actions to get a test project on track when monitoring shows a deviation from what was planned.
test monitoring
A test management task that deals with the activities related to periodically checking the status of a test project. Reports are prepared that compare the actuals to that which was planned.
master test plan
A test plan that typically addresses multiple test levels.
level test plan
A test plan that typically addresses one test level.
phase test plan
A test plan that typically addresses one test phase.
false-positive result
A test result in which a defect is reported although no such defect actually exists in the test object.
false-negative result
A test result which fails to identify the presence of a defect that is actually present in the test object.
analytical test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team analyzes the test basis to identify the test conditions to cover.
regression-averse test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team applies various techniques to manage the risk of regression such as functional and/or non-functional regression test automation at one or more levels.
model-based test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team derives testware from models.
process-compliant test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team follows a set of predefined processes, whereby the processes address such items as documentation, the proper identification and use of the test basis and test oracle(s), and the organization of the test team.
standard-compliant test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team follows a standard. Standards followed may be valid e.g., for a country (legislation standards), a business domain (domain standards), or internally (organizational standards).
consultative test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team relies on the input of one or more key stakeholders to determine the details of the strategy.
methodical test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team uses a pre-determined set of test conditions such as a quality standard, a checklist, or a collection of generalized, logical test conditions which may relate to a particular domain, application or type of testing.
reactive test strategy
A test strategy whereby the test team waits to design and implement tests until the software is received, reacting to the actual system under test.
test comparator
A test tool to perform automated test comparison of actual results with expected results.
user test
A test whereby real-life users are involved to evaluate the usability of a component or system.
penetration testing
A testing technique aiming to exploit security vulnerabilities (known or unknown) to gain unauthorized access.
fault seeding tool
A tool for seeding (i.e., intentionally inserting) faults in a component or system.
static analyzer
A tool that carries out static analysis.
defect management tool
A tool that facilitates the recording and status tracking of defects and changes. They often have workflow-oriented facilities to track and control the allocation, correction and re-testing of defects and provide reporting facilities.
incident management tool
A tool that facilitates the recording and status tracking of incidents. They often have workflow-oriented facilities to track and control the allocation, correction and re-testing of incidents and provide reporting facilities.
test automation framework
A tool that provides an environment for test automation. It usually includes a test harness and test libraries.
unit test framework
A tool that provides an environment for unit or component testing in which a component can be tested in isolation or with suitable stubs and drivers. It also provides other support for the developer, such as debugging capabilities.
coverage tool
A tool that provides objective measures of what structural elements, e.g., statements, branches have been exercised by a test suite.
dynamic analysis tool
A tool that provides run-time information on the state of the software code. These tools are most commonly used to identify unassigned pointers, check pointer arithmetic and to monitor the allocation, use and deallocation of memory and to flag memory leaks.
security testing tool
A tool that provides support for testing security characteristics and vulnerabilities.
configuration management tool
A tool that provides support for the identification and control of configuration items, their status over changes and versions, and the release of baselines consisting of configuration items.
review tool
A tool that provides support to the review process. Typical features include review planning and tracking support, communication support, collaborative reviews and a repository for collecting and reporting of metrics.
test management tool
A tool that provides support to the test management and control part of a test process. It often has several capabilities, such as testware management, scheduling of tests, the logging of results, progress tracking, incident management and test reporting.
security tool
A tool that supports operational security.
stress testing tool
A tool that supports stress testing
modeling tool
A tool that supports the creation, amendment and verification of models of the software or system.
requirements management tool
A tool that supports the recording of requirements, requirements attributes (e.g., priority, knowledge responsible) and annotation, and facilitates traceability through layers of requirements and requirements change management. Some of these also provide facilities for static analysis, such as consistency checking and violations to pre-defined requirements rules.
test design tool
A tool that supports the test design activity by generating test inputs from a specification that may be held in a CASE tool repository, e.g., requirements management tool, from specified test conditions held in the tool itself, or from code.
load testing tool
A tool to support load testing whereby it can simulate increasing load, e.g., numbers of concurrent users and/or transactions within a specified time-period.
performance testing tool
A tool to support performance testing that usually has two main facilities: load generation and test transaction measurement. Load generation can simulate either multiple users or high volumes of input data. During execution, response time measurements are taken from selected transactions and these are logged. This tool normally provide reports based on test logs and graphs of load against response times.
debugging tool
A tool used by programmers to reproduce failures, investigate the state of programs and find the corresponding defect. This enable programmers to execute programs step by step, to halt a program at any program statement and to set and examine program variables.
hyperlink test tool
A tool used to check that no broken hyperlinks are present on a web site.
state transition
A transition between two states of a component or system.
classification tree
A tree showing equivalence partitions hierarchically ordered, which is used to design test cases in the classification tree method.
traceability matrix
A two-dimensional table, which correlates two entities (e.g., requirements and test cases). The table allows tracing back and forth the links of one entity to the other, thus enabling the determination of coverage achieved and the assessment of impact of proposed changes.
sequential development model
A type of development lifecycle model in which a complete system is developed in a linear way of several discrete and successive phases with no overlap between them.
inspection
A type of peer review that relies on visual examination of documents to detect defects, e.g., violations of development standards and non-conformance to higher level documentation. The most formal review technique and therefore always based on a documented procedure.
stress testing
A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate a system or component at or beyond the limits of its anticipated or specified workloads, or with reduced availability of resources such as access to memory or servers.
spike testing
A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate the abiltiy of a system to recover from sudden bursts of peak loads and return afterward to a steady state
load testing
A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate the behavior of a component or system with increasing load, e.g., numbers of parallel users and/or numbers of transactions, to determine what load can be handled by the component or system.
endurance testing
A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate the stability of the system over a time frame specific to the system's operational context
capture/playback tool
A type of test execution tool where inputs are recorded during manual testing in order to generate automated test scripts that can be executed later (i.e. replayed). These tools are often used to support automated regression testing.
test data preparation tool
A type of test tool that enables data to be selected from existing databases or created, generated, manipulated and edited for use in testing.
test execution tool
A type of test tool that is able to execute other software using an automated test script, e.g., capture/playback.
heuristic evaluation
A usability review technique that targets usability problems in the user interface or user interface design. With this technique, the reviewers examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized usability principles (the "heuristics").
abuse case
A use case in which some actors with malicious intent are causing harm to the system or to other actors.
input
A variable (whether stored within a component or outside) that is read by a component.
output
A variable (whether stored within a component or outside) that is written by a component.
value-based quality
A view of quality wherein quality is defined by price. A quality product or service is one that provides desired performance at an acceptable cost. Quality is determined by means of a decision process with stakeholders on trade-offs between time, effort and cost aspects.
manufacturing-based quality
A view of quality, whereby quality is measured by the degree to which a product or service conforms to its intended design and requirements. Quality arises from the process(es) used.
transcendent-based quality
A view of quality, wherein quality cannot be precisely defined, but we know it when we see it, or are aware of its absence when it is missing. Quality depends on the perception and affective feelings of an individual or group of individuals toward a product
product-based quality
A view of quality, wherein quality is based on a well-defined set of quality attributes. These attributes must be measured in an objective and quantitative way. Differences in the quality of products of the same type can be traced back to the way the specific quality attributes have been implemented.
user-based quality
A view of quality, wherein quality is the capacity to satisfy needs, wants and desires of the user(s). A product or service that does not fulfill user needs is unlikely to find any users. This is a context dependent, contingent approach to quality since different business characteristics require different qualities of a product.
cross-site scripting (XSS)
A vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious code into an otherwise benign website.
test-driven development (TDD)
A way of developing software where the test cases are developed, and often automated, before the software is developed to run those test cases.
security vulnerability
A weakness in the system that could allow for a successful security attack.
LCSAJ testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute LCSAJs.
branch testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute branches.
multiple condition testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute combinations of single condition outcomes (within one statement).
decision condition testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute condition outcomes and decision outcomes.
condition testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute condition outcomes.
decision testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute decision outcomes.
data flow testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute definition-use pairs of variables.
path testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute paths.
modified condition / decision testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute single condition outcomes that independently affect a decision outcome.
statement testing
A white-box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute statements.
site acceptance testing
Acceptance testing by users/customers at their site, to determine whether or not a component or system satisfies the user/customer needs and fits within the business processes, normally including hardware as well as software.
user acceptance testing
Acceptance testing carried out by future users in a (simulated) operational environment focusing on user requirements and needs.
factory acceptance testing
Acceptance testing conducted at the site at which the product is developed and performed by employees of the supplier organization, to determine whether or not a component or system satisfies the requirements, normally including hardware as well as software.
regulatory acceptance testing
Acceptance testing conducted to verify whether a system conforms to relevant laws, policies and regulations.
contractual acceptance testing
Acceptance testing conducted to verify whether a system satisfies its contractual requirements.
API
Acronym for Application Programming Interface.
CLI
Acronym for Command-Line Interface.
CASE
Acronym for Computer Aided Software Engineering.
CAST
Acronym for Computer Aided Software Testing.
GUI
Acronym for Graphical User Interface
test basis
All documents from which the requirements of a component or system can be inferred. The documentation on which the test cases are based. If a document can be amended only by way of formal amendment procedure, then the this is called a frozen this.
EFQM
An Acronym. A non-prescriptive framework for an organization's quality management system, defined and owned by the European Foundation for Quality Management, based on five 'Enabling' criteria (covering what an organization does), and four 'Results' criteria (covering what an organization achieves).
control flow graph
An abstract representation of all possible sequences of events (paths) in the execution through a component or system.
call graph
An abstract representation of calling relationships between subroutines in a program.
data flow
An abstract representation of the sequence and possible changes of the state of data objects, where the state of an object is any of creation, usage, or destruction.
configuration item
An aggregation of hardware, software or both, that is designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process.
code coverage
An analysis method that determines which parts of the software have been executed (covered) by the test suite and which parts have not been executed, e.g., statement coverage, decision coverage or condition coverage.
root cause analysis
An analysis technique aimed at identifying the root causes of defects. By directing corrective measures at root causes, it is hoped that the likelihood of defect recurrence will be minimized.
thread testing
An approach to component integration testing where the progressive integration of components follows the implementation of subsets of the requirements, as opposed to the integration of components by levels of a hierarchy.
Goal Question Metric (GQM)
An approach to software measurement using a three-level model conceptual level (goal), operational level (question) and quantitative level (metric).
control flow testing
An approach to structure-based testing in which test cases are designed to execute specific sequences of events. Various techniques exist for control flow testing, e.g., decision testing, condition testing, and path testing, that each have their specific approach and level of control flow coverage.
session-based testing
An approach to testing in which test activities are planned as uninterrupted sessions of test design and execution, often used in conjunction with exploratory testing.
business process-based testing
An approach to testing in which test cases are designed based on descriptions and/or knowledge of business processes.
requirements-based testing
An approach to testing in which test cases are designed based on test objectives and test conditions derived from requirements, e.g., tests that exercise specific functions or probe non-functional attributes such as reliability or usability.
design-based testing
An approach to testing in which test cases are designed based on the architecture and/or detailed design of a component or system (e.g., tests of interfaces between components or systems).
risk-based testing
An approach to testing to reduce the level of product risks and inform stakeholders of their status, starting in the initial stages of a project. It involves the identification of product risks and the use of risk levels to guide the test process.
work breakdown structure (WBS)
An arrangement of work elements and their relationship to each other and to the end product.
phishing
An attempt to acquire personal or sensitive information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
security attack
An attempt to gain unauthorized access to a system or component, resources, information, or an attempt to compromise system integrity.
social engineering
An attempt to trick someone into revealing information (e.g., a password) that can be used to attack systems or networks.
feature
An attribute of a component or system specified or implied by requirements documentation (for example reliability, usability or design constraints).
test reproducibility
An attribute of a test indicating whether the same results are produced each time the test is executed.
data quality
An attribute of data that indicates correctness with respect to some pre-defined criteria, e.g., business expectations, requirements on data integrity, data consistency
security audit
An audit evaluating an organization's security processes and infrastructure.
defect type
An element in a taxonomy of defects. Defect taxonomies can be identified with respect to a variety of considerations, including, but not limited to: Phase or development activity in which the defect is created, e.g., a specification error or a coding error, Characterization of defects, e.g., an "off-by-one" defect, Incorrectness, e.g., an incorrect relational operator, a programming language syntax error, or an invalid assumption, Performance issues, e.g., excessive execution time, insufficient availability.
critical success factor
An element necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. These are the critical factors or activities required for ensuring the success.
status accounting
An element of configuration management consisting of the recording and reporting of information needed to manage a configuration effectively. This information includes a listing of the approved configuration identification, the status of proposed changes to the configuration, and the implementation status of the approved changes.
configuration identification
An element of configuration management, consisting of selecting the configuration items for a system and recording their functional and physical characteristics in technical documentation.
configuration control
An element of configuration management, consisting of the evaluation, coordination, approval or disapproval, and implementation of changes to configuration items after formal establishment of their configuration identification.
variable
An element of storage in a computer that is accessible by a software program by referring to it by a name.
statement
An entity in a programming language, which is typically the smallest indivisible unit of execution.
coverage item
An entity or property used as a basis for test coverage, e.g., equivalence partitions or code statements
test environment
An environment containing hardware, instrumentation, simulators, software tools, and other support elements needed to conduct a test.
review
An evaluation of a product or project status to ascertain discrepancies from planned results and to recommend improvements. Examples include management review, informal review, technical review, inspection, and walkthrough.
entry point
An executable statement or process step which defines a point at which a given process is intended to begin.
exit point
An executable statement or process step which defines a point at which a given process is intended to cease.
data definition
An executable statement where a variable is assigned a value.
checklist-based testing
An experience-based test design technique whereby the experienced tester uses a high-level list of items to be noted, checked, or remembered, or a set of rules or criteria against which a product has to be verified.
attack-based testing
An experience-based testing technique that uses software attacks to induce failures, particularly security related failures.
Wideband Delphi
An expert-based test estimation technique that aims at making an accurate estimation using the collective wisdom of the team members.
Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis
An extension of FMEA, as in addition to the basic FMEA, it includes a criticality analysis, which is used to chart the probability of failure modes against the severity of their consequences. The result highlights failure modes with relatively high probability and severity of consequences, allowing remedial effort to be directed where it will produce the greatest value.
top-down testing
An incremental approach to integration testing where the component at the top of the component hierarchy is tested first, with lower level components being simulated by stubs. Tested components are then used to test lower level components. The process is repeated until the lowest level components have been tested.
bottom-up testing
An incremental approach to integration testing where the lowest level components are tested first, and then used to facilitate the testing of higher-level components. This process is repeated until the component at the top of the hierarchy is tested.
audit
An independent evaluation of software products or processes to ascertain compliance to standards, guidelines, specifications, and/or procedures based on objective criteria, including documents that specify: the form or content of the products to be produced, the process by which the products shall be produced, and how compliance to standards or guidelines shall be measured.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
An indicator of psychological preference representing the different personalities and communication styles of people.
informal group review
An informal review performed by three or more persons.
exploratory testing
An informal test design technique where the tester actively controls the design of the tests as those tests are performed and uses information gained while testing to design new and better tests.
specified input
An input for which the specification predicts a result.
boundary value
An input value or output value which is on the edge of an equivalence partition or at the smallest incremental distance on either side of an edge, for example the minimum or maximum value of a range.
input value
An instance of an input.
output value
An instance of an output.
test automation architecture
An instantiation of the this to define the architecture of a test automation solution, i.e., its layers, components, services and interfaces.
functional integration
An integration approach that combines the components or systems for the purpose of getting a basic functionality working early.
interface testing
An integration test type that is concerned with testing the interfaces between components or systems.
big-bang testing
An integration testing approach in which software elements, hardware elements, or both are combined all at once into a component or an overall system, rather than in stages.
test condition
An item or event of a component or system that could be verified by one or more test cases, e.g., a function, transaction, feature, quality attribute, or structural element.
feature-driven development
An iterative and incremental software development process driven from a client-valued functionality (feature) perspective. This is mostly used in Agile software development.
Deming cycle
An iterative four-step problem-solving process (plan-do-check-act) typically used in process improvement.
scrum
An iterative incremental framework for managing projects commonly used with Agile software development.
defect masking
An occurrence in which one defect prevents the detection of another.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
An organization-wide management approach centered on quality, based on the participation of all members of the organization and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society. This consists of planning, organizing, directing, control, and assurance.
IDEAL
An organizational improvement model that serves as a roadmap for initiating, planning, and implementing improvement actions. This is named for the five phases it describes: initiating, diagnosing, establishing, acting, and learning.
test session
An uninterrupted period of time spent in executing tests. In exploratory testing, each test session is focused on a charter, but testers can also explore new opportunities or issues during a session. The tester creates and executes on the fly and records their progress.
problem
An unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents.
static analysis
Analysis of software development artifacts, e.g., requirements or code, carried out without execution of these software development artifacts. This is usually carried out by means of a supporting tool.
static code analysis
Analysis of source code carried out without execution of that software.
deliverable
Any (work) product that must be delivered to someone other than the (work) product's author.
anomaly
Any condition that deviates from expectation based on requirements specifications, design documents, user documents, standards, etc., or from someone's perception or experience. This may be found during, but not limited to, reviewing, testing, analysis, compilation, or use of software products or applicable documentation.
incident
Any event occurring that requires investigation.
MBT model
Any model used in model-based testing.
test deliverable
Any test (work) product that must be delivered to someone other than the test (work) product's author.
testware
Artifacts produced during the test process required to plan, design, and execute tests, such as documentation, scripts, inputs, expected results, set-up and clear-up procedures, files, databases, environment, and any additional software or utilities used in testing.
security
Attributes of software products that bear on its ability to prevent unauthorized access, whether accidental or deliberate, to programs and data.
exception handling
Behavior of a component or system in response to erroneous input, from either a human user or from another component or system, or to an internal failure.
path sensitizing
Choosing a set of input values to force the execution of a given path.
unreachable code
Code that cannot be reached and therefore is impossible to execute.
test reporting
Collecting and analyzing data from testing activities and subsequently consolidating the data in a report to inform stakeholders.
test script
Commonly used to refer to a test procedure specification, especially an automated one.
post-execution comparison
Comparison of actual and expected results, performed after the software has finished running.
dynamic comparison
Comparison of actual and expected results, performed while the software is being executed, for example by a test execution tool.
code
Computer instructions and data definitions expressed in a programming language or in a form output by an assembler, compiler or other translator.
software
Computer programs, procedures, and possibly associated documentation and data pertaining to the operation of a computer system.
verification
Confirmation by examination and through provision of objective evidence that specified requirements have been fulfilled.
validation
Confirmation by examination and through provision of objective evidence that the requirements for a specific intended use or application have been fulfilled.
quality management
Coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality. Direction and control with regard to quality generally includes the establishment of the quality policy and quality objectives, quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.
structural coverage
Coverage measures based on the internal structure of a component or system.
test data
Data that exists (for example, in a database) before a test is executed, and that affects or is affected by the component or system under test.
data obfuscation
Data transformation that makes it difficult for a human to recognize the original data.
pass/fail criteria
Decision rules used to determine whether a test item (function) or feature has passed or failed a test.
automation code defect density
Defect density of a component of the test automation code.
maturity level
Degree of process improvement across a predefined set of process areas in which all goals in the set are attained.
failure
Deviation of the component or system from its expected delivery, service or result.
fault attack
Directed and focused attempt to evaluate a specific quality characteristic of a test object by attempting to force specific failures to occur. Usually focused on reliability or security.
test report
Documentation summarizing test activities and results.
test closure
During the this phase of a test process data is collected from completed activities to consolidate experience, testware, facts and numbers. The test closure phase consists of finalizing and archiving the testware and evaluating the test process, including preparation of a test evaluation report.
equivalent manual test effort (EMTE)
Effort required for running tests manually.
postcondition
Environmental and state conditions that must be fulfilled after the execution of a test or test procedure.
precondition
Environmental and state conditions that must be fulfilled before the component or system can be executed with a particular test or test procedure.
codependent behavior
Excessive emotional or psychological dependence on another person, specifically in trying to change that person's current (undesirable) behavior while supporting them in continuing that behavior. For example, in software testing, complaining about late delivery to test and yet enjoying the necessary "heroism", working additional hours to make up time when delivery is running late, therefore reinforcing the lateness.
test run
Execution of a test on a specific version of the test object.
test cycle
Execution of the test process against a single identifiable release of the test object.
development testing
Formal or informal testing conducted during the implementation of a component or system, usually in the development environment by developers.
acceptance testing
Formal testing with respect to user needs, requirements, and business processes conducted to determine whether or not a system satisfies the acceptance criteria and to enable the user, customers or other authorized entity to determine whether or not to accept the system.
standard
Formal, possibly mandatory, set of requirements developed and used to prescribe consistent approaches to the way of working or to provide guidelines (e.g., ISO/IEC standards, IEEE standards, and organizational standards).
operational environment
Hardware and software products installed at users' or customers' sites where the component or system under test will be used. The software may include operating systems, database management systems, and other applications.
confidence interval
In managing project risks, the period of time within which a contingency action must be implemented in order to be effective in reducing the impact of the risk.
load generator
In performance testing, a tool used for the creation of a defined set of activities to be submitted to a target process or system
management console
In performance testing, an interface to a load generation tool that provides the control to start and stop the load generation
coverage analysis
Measurement of achieved coverage to a specified coverage item during test execution referring to predetermined criteria to determine whether additional testing is required and if so, which test cases are needed.
information assurance
Measures that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation. These measures include providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.
Function Point Analysis (FPA)
Method aiming to measure the size of the functionality of an information system. The measurement is independent of the technology. This measurement may be used as a basis for the measurement of productivity, the estimation of the needed resources, and project control.
online MBT
Model-based testing approach whereby test cases are generated and executed simultaneously.
offline MBT
Model-based testing approach whereby test cases are generated into a repository for future execution.
maintenance
Modification of a software product after delivery to correct defects, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a modified environment.
system of systems
Multiple heterogeneous, distributed systems that are embedded in networks at multiple levels and in multiple interconnected domains, addressing large-scale inter-disciplinary common problems and purposes, usually without a common management structure.
non-conformity
Non-fulfillment of a specified requirement.
test leader
On large projects, the person who reports to the test manager and is responsible for project management of a particular test level or a particular set of testing activities.
beta testing
Operational testing by potential and/or existing users/customers at an external site not otherwise involved with the developers, to determine whether or not a component or system satisfies the user/customer needs and fits within the business processes. This testing is often employed as a form of external acceptance testing for commercial off-the-shelf software in order to acquire feedback from the market.
operational acceptance testing
Operational testing in the acceptance test phase, typically performed in a (simulated) operational environment by operations and/or systems administration staff focusing on operational aspects, e.g., recoverability, resource-behavior, installability and technical compliance.
quality assurance
Part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled.
authorization
Permission given to a user or process to access resources.
white-box test design technique
Procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on an analysis of the internal structure of a component or system.
functional test design technique
Procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on an analysis of the specification of the functionality of a component or system without reference to its internal structure.
black-box test design technique
Procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on an analysis of the specification, either functional or nonfunctional, of a component or system without reference to its internal structure.
experience-based test design technique
Procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on the tester's experience, knowledge and intuition.
non-functional test design technique
Procedure to derive and/or select test cases for non-functional testing based on an analysis of the specification of a component or system without reference to its internal structure.
test design technique
Procedure used to derive and/or select test cases.
protocol
Protocols define a set of communications rules between computers and systems.
incident logging
Recording the details of any incident that occurred, e.g., during testing.
anti-pattern
Repeated action, process, structure or reusable solution that initially appears to be beneficial and is commonly used but is ineffective and/or counterproductive in practice.
generic test automation architecture
Representation of the layers, components, and interfaces of a test automation architecture, allowing for a structured and modular approach to implement test automation.
independence of testing
Separation of responsibilities, which encourages the accomplishment of objective testing.
alpha testing
Simulated or actual operational testing by potential users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site, but outside the development organization. This testing is often employed for commercial off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance testing.
custom software
Software developed specifically for a set of users or customers. The opposite is commercial off-the-shelf software.
malware
Software that is intended to harm a system or its components.
anti-malware
Software that is used to detect and inhibit malware.
malware scanning
Static analysis aiming to detect and remove malicious code received at an interface.
operational profile testing
Statistical testing using a model of system operations (short duration tasks) and their probability of typical use.
installation guide
Supplied instructions on any suitable media, which guides the installer through the installation process. This may be a manual guide, step-by-step procedure, installation wizard, or any other similar process description.
installation wizard
Supplied software on any suitable media, which leads the installer through the installation process. It normally runs the installation process, provides feedback on installation results, and prompts for options.
SUT
System Under Test
risk management
Systematic application of procedures and practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing, prioritizing, and controlling risk.
scripted testing
Test execution carried out by following a previously documented sequence of tests.
procedure testing
Testing aimed at ensuring that the component or system can operate in conjunction with new or existing users' business procedures or operational procedures.
system testing
Testing an integrated system to verify that it meets specified requirements.
methodical testing
Testing based on a standard set of tests, e.g., a checklist, a quality standard, or a set of generalized test cases.
analytical testing
Testing based on a systematic analysis of e.g., product risks or requirements.
white-box testing
Testing based on an analysis of the internal structure of the component or system.
functional testing
Testing based on an analysis of the specification of the functionality of a component or system.
model-based testing (MBT)
Testing based on or involving models.
experience-based testing
Testing based on the tester's experience, knowledge and intuition.
monkey testing
Testing by means of a random selection from a large range of inputs and by randomly pushing buttons, ignorant of how the product is being used.
failover testing
Testing by simulating failure modes or actually causing failures in a controlled environment. Following a failure, this is tested to ensure that data is not lost or corrupted and that any agreed service levels are maintained (e.g., function availability or response times).
ad hoc testing
Testing carried out informally. No formal test preparation takes place, no recognized test design technique is used, there are no expectations for results and arbitrariness guides the test execution activity.
operational testing
Testing conducted to evaluate a component or system in its operational environment.
consultative testing
Testing driven by the advice and guidance of appropriate experts from outside the test team (e.g., technology experts and/or business domain experts).
mutation testing
Testing in which two or more variants of a component or system are executed with the same inputs, the outputs compared, and analyzed in cases of discrepancies
regression testing
Testing of a previously tested program following modification to ensure that defects have not been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the software, as a result of the changes made. It is performed when the software or its environment is changed.
static testing
Testing of a software development artifact, e.g., requirements, design or code, without execution of these artifacts, e.g., reviews or static analysis.
isolation testing
Testing of individual components in isolation from surrounding components, with surrounding components being simulated by stubs and drivers, if needed.
desk checking
Testing of software or a specification by manual simulation of its execution.
conversion testing
Testing of software used to convert data from existing systems for use in replacement systems.
GUI testing
Testing performed by interacting with the software under test via the graphical user interface.
insourced testing
Testing performed by people who are co-located with the project team but are not fellow employees.
outsourced testing
Testing performed by people who are not co-located with the project team and are not fellow employees.
CLI testing
Testing performed by submitting commands to the software under test using a dedicated command-line interface.
API testing
Testing performed by submitting commands to the software under test using programming interfaces of the application directly.
integration testing
Testing performed to expose defects in the interfaces and in the interactions between integrated components or systems.
hardware-software integration testing
Testing performed to expose defects in the interfaces and interaction between hardware and software components.
component integration testing
Testing performed to expose defects in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components.
Agile testing
Testing practice for a project using Agile software development methodologies, incorporating techniques and methods, such as extreme programming (XP), treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing the test-first design paradigm.
standard-compliant testing
Testing that complies to a set of requirements defined by a standard, e.g., an industry testing standard or a standard for testing safety-critical systems.
reactive testing
Testing that dynamically responds to the system under test and test results being obtained. Typically this has a reduced planning cycle and the design and implementation test phases are not carried out until the test object is received.
process-compliant testing
Testing that follows a set of defined processes, e.g., defined by an external party such as a standards committee.
dynamic testing
Testing that involves the execution of the software of a component or system.
mobile application testing
Testing that is conducted on mobile applications
confirmation testing
Testing that runs test cases that failed the last time they were run, in order to verify the success of corrective actions.
non-functional testing
Testing the attributes of a component or system that do not relate to functionality, e.g., reliability, efficiency, usability, maintainability and portability.
maintenance testing
Testing the changes to an operational system or the impact of a changed environment to an operational system.
installability testing
Testing the installability of a software product
system integration testing
Testing the integration of systems and packages; testing interfaces to external organizations (e.g., Electronic Data Interchange, Internet).
database integrity testing
Testing the methods and processes used to access and manage the data(base), to ensure access methods, processes and data rules function as expected and that during access to the database, data is not corrupted or unexpectedly deleted, updated or created.
documentation testing
Testing the quality of the documentation, e.g., user guide or installation guide.
concurrency testing
Testing to determine how the occurrence of two or more activities within the same interval of time, achieved either by interleaving the activities or by simultaneous execution, is handled by the component or system.
accuracy testing
Testing to determine the accuracy of a software product.
compliance testing
Testing to determine the compliance of the component or system.
accessibility testing
Testing to determine the ease by which users with disabilities can use a component or system.
efficiency testing
Testing to determine the efficiency of a software product.
usability testing
Testing to determine the extent to which the software product is understood, easy to learn, easy to operate and attractive to the users under specified conditions.
interoperability testing
Testing to determine the interoperability of a software product.
maintainability testing
Testing to determine the maintainability of a software product.
performance testing
Testing to determine the performance of a software product.
portability testing
Testing to determine the portability of a software product.
recoverability testing
Testing to determine the recoverability of a software product.
reliability testing
Testing to determine the reliability of a software product.
robustness testing
Testing to determine the robustness of the software product.
safety testing
Testing to determine the safety of a software product.
scalability testing
Testing to determine the scalability of the software product.
security testing
Testing to determine the security of the software product.
suitability testing
Testing to determine the suitability of a software product.
invalid testing
Testing using input values that should be rejected by the component or system.
regression-averse testing
Testing using various techniques to manage the risk of regression, e.g., by designing re-usable testware and by extensive automation of testing at one or more test levels.
incremental testing
Testing where components or systems are integrated and tested one or some at a time, until all the components or systems are integrated and tested.
volume testing
Testing where the system is subjected to large volumes of data.
black-box testing
Testing, either functional or non-functional, without reference to the internal structure of the component or system.
negative testing
Tests aimed at showing that a component or system does not work. This is related to the tester's attitude rather than a specific test approach or test design technique, e.g., testing with invalid input values or exceptions.
automated testware
Testware used in automated testing, such as tool scripts.
error tolerance
The ability of a system or component to continue normal operation despite the presence of erroneous inputs.
reliability
The ability of the software product to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time, or for a specified number of operations.
traceability
The ability to identify related items in documentation and software, such as requirements with associated tests.
emotional intelligence
The ability, capacity, and skill to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups.
ramp down
The act of decreasing the load on a system in a measurable and controlled way
ramp up
The act of increasing the load on a system in a measurable and controlled way
software development lifecycle
The activities performed at each stage in software development, and how they relate to one another logically and chronologically.
test planning
The activity of establishing or updating a test plan.
test completion
The activity that makes test assets available for later use, leaves test environments in a satisfactory condition and communicates the results of testing to relevant stakeholders.
native device
The actual physical device that is running a mobile application
system throughput
The amount of data or data items passing through a system or process
think time
The amount of time required by a user to determine and execute the next action in a sequence of actions
causal analysis
The analysis of defects to determine their root cause.
transactional analysis
The analysis of transactions between people and within people's minds; a transaction is defined as a stimulus plus a response. Transactions take place between people and between the ego states (personality segments) within one person's mind.
mean time to repair (MTTR)
The arithmetic mean (average) time a system will take to recover from any failure. This typically includes testing to insure that the defect has been resolved.
mean time between failures (MTBF)
The arithmetic mean (average) time between failures of a system. This is typically part of a reliability growth model that assumes the failed system is immediately repaired, as a part of a defect fixing process.
impact analysis
The assessment of change to the layers of development documentation, test documentation and components, in order to implement a given change to specified requirements.
definition-use pair
The association of a definition of a variable with the subsequent use of that variable. Variable uses include computational (e.g., multiplication) or to direct the execution of a path (predicate use).
expected result
The behavior predicted by the specification, or another source, of the component or system under specified conditions.
actual result
The behavior produced/observed when a component or system is tested.
test estimation
The calculated approximation of a result related to various aspects of testing (e.g., effort spent, completion date, costs involved, number of test cases, etc.) which is usable even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or noisy.
effectiveness
The capability of producing an intended result.
safety
The capability of the software product to achieve acceptable levels of risk of harm to people, business, software, property or the environment in a specified context of use.
compliance
The capability of the software product to adhere to standards, conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions.
stability
The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected effects from modifications in the software.
adaptability
The capability of the software product to be adapted for different specified environments without applying actions or means other than those provided for this purpose for the software considered.
attractiveness
The capability of the software product to be attractive to the user.
analyzability
The capability of the software product to be diagnosed for deficiencies or causes of failures in the software, or for the parts to be modified to be identified.
installability
The capability of the software product to be installed in a specified environment.
scalability
The capability of the software product to be upgraded to accommodate increased loads.
replaceability
The capability of the software product to be used in place of another specified software product for the same purpose in the same environment.
co-existence
The capability of the software product to co-exist with other independent software in a common environment sharing common resources.
testability
The capability of the software product to enable modified software to be tested.
changeability
The capability of the software product to enable specified modifications to be implemented.
learnability
The capability of the software product to enable the user to learn its application.
operability
The capability of the software product to enable the user to operate and control it.
understandability
The capability of the software product to enable the user to understand whether the software is suitable, and how it can be used for particular tasks and conditions of use.
interoperability
The capability of the software product to interact with one or more specified components or systems.
fault tolerance
The capability of the software product to maintain a specified level of performance in cases of software faults (defects) or of infringement of its specified interface.
suitability
The capability of the software product to provide an appropriate set of functions for specified tasks and user objectives.
functionality
The capability of the software product to provide functions which meet stated and implied needs when the software is used under specified conditions.
accuracy
The capability of the software product to provide the right or agreed results or effects with the needed degree of precision.
recoverability
The capability of the software product to re-establish a specified level of performance and recover the data directly affected in case of failure.
resource utilization
The capability of the software product to use appropriate amounts and types of resources, for example the amounts of main and secondary memory used by the program and the sizes of required temporary or overflow files, when the software performs its function under stated conditions.
usability
The capability of the software to be understood, learned, used and attractive to the user when used under specified conditions.
test object
The component or system to be tested.
configuration
The composition of a component or system as defined by the number, nature, and interconnections of its constituent parts.
result
The consequence/outcome of the execution of a test. It includes outputs to screens, changes to data, reports, and communication messages sent out.
suspension criteria
The criteria used to (temporarily) stop all or a portion of the testing activities on the test items.
test selection criteria
The criteria used to guide the generation of test cases or to select test cases in order to limit the size of a test.
resumption criteria
The criteria used to restart all or a portion of the testing activities that were suspended previously.
risk impact
The damage that will be caused if the risk becomes an actual outcome or event.
test input
The data received from an external source by the test object during test execution. The external source can be hardware, software or human.
resumption requirements
The defined set of testing activities that must be repeated when testing is re-started after a suspension.
severity
The degree of impact that a defect has on the development or operation of a component or system
compatibility
The degree to which a component or system can exchange information with other components or systems.
robustness
The degree to which a component or system can function correctly in the presence of invalid inputs or stressful environmental conditions.
complexity
The degree to which a component or system has a design and/or internal structure that is difficult to understand, maintain and verify.
availability
The degree to which a component or system is operational and accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a percentage.
quality
The degree to which a component, system or process meets specified requirements and/or user/customer needs and expectations.
performance
The degree to which a system or component accomplishes its designated functions within given constraints regarding processing time and throughput rate.
software integrity level
The degree to which software complies or must comply with a set of stakeholder-selected software and/or software-based system characteristics (e.g., software complexity, risk assessment, safety level, security level, desired performance, reliability or cost) which are defined to reflect the importance of the software to its stakeholders.
coverage
The degree, expressed as a percentage, to which a specified coverage item has been exercised by a test suite.
model coverage
The degree, expressed as a percentage, to which model elements are planned to be or have been exercised by a test suite.
test case explosion
The disproportionate growth of the number of test cases with growing size of the test basis, when using a certain test design technique. This may also happen when applying the test design technique systematically for the first time.
maintainability
The ease with which a software product can be modified to correct defects, modified to meet new requirements, modified to make future maintenance easier, or adapted to a changed environment.
portability
The ease with which the software product can be transferred from one hardware or software environment to another.
probe effect
The effect on the component or system by the measurement instrument when the component or system is being measured, e.g., by a performance testing tool or monitor. For example performance may be slightly worse when performance testing tools are being used.
risk likelihood
The estimated probability that a risk will become an actual outcome or event.
condition outcome
The evaluation of a condition to True or False.
batch processing
The execution of a series of jobs or transactions grouped together in a set and executed off-line
acceptance criteria
The exit criteria that a component or system must satisfy in order to be accepted by a user, customer, or other authorized entity.
reconnaissance
The exploration of a target area aiming to gain information that can be useful for an attack.
test case result
The final verdict on the execution of a test and its outcomes, such as pass, fail, or error. The result of error is used for situations where it is not clear whether the problem is in the test object.
configuration auditing
The function to check on the contents of libraries of configuration items, e.g., for standards compliance.
test process
The fundamental test process comprises test planning and control, test analysis and design, test implementation and execution, evaluating exit criteria and reporting, and test closure activities.
geolocation
The identification of the real-world geographical location of a device
test approach
The implementation of the test strategy for a specific project. It typically includes the decisions made that follow based on the (test) project's goal and the risk assessment carried out, starting points regarding the test process, the test design techniques to be applied, exit criteria and test types to be performed.
risk level
The importance of a risk as defined by its characteristics impact and likelihood. This can be used to determine the intensity of testing to be performed. This can be expressed either qualitatively (e.g., high, medium, low) or quantitatively.
test item
The individual element to be tested. There usually is one test object and many test items.
instrumentation
The insertion of additional code into the program in order to collect information about program behavior during execution, e.g., for measuring code coverage.
man-in-the-middle attack
The interception, mimicking and/or altering and subsequent relaying of communications (e.g., credit card transactions) by a third party such that a user remains unaware of that third party's presence.
test generation layer
The layer in a generic test automation architecture which supports manual or automated design of test suites and/or test cases.
test definition layer
The layer in a generic test automation architecture which supports test implementation by supporting the definition of test suites and/or test cases, e.g., by offering templates or guidelines.
test execution layer
The layer in a generic test automation architecture which supports the execution of test suites and/or test cases.
test adaptation layer
The layer in a test automation architecture which provides the necessary code to adapt test scripts on an abstract level to the various components, configuration or interfaces of the SUT.
moderator
The leader and main person responsible for an inspection or other review process.
facilitator
The leader and main person responsible for an inspection or review process.
priority
The level of (business) importance assigned to an item, e.g., defect
level of intrusion
The level to which a test object is modified by adjusting it for testability.
cyclomatic complexity
The maximum number of linear, independent paths through a program. This may be computed as L = N + 2P, where L = the number of edges/links in a graph, N = the number of nodes in a graph, P = the number of disconnected parts of the graph (e.g., a called graph or subroutine).
test execution technique
The method used to perform the actual test execution, either manual or automated.
Defect Detection Percentage (DDP)
The number of defects found by a test level, divided by the number found by that test level and any other means afterwards.
defect density
The number of defects identified in a component or system divided by the size of the component or system (expressed in standard measurement terms, e.g., lines-of-code, number of classes or function points).
measure
The number or category assigned to an attribute of an entity by making a measurement.
quality control
The operational techniques and activities, part of quality management, that are focused on fulfilling quality requirements.
test infrastructure
The organizational artifacts needed to perform testing, consisting of test environments, test tools, office environment and procedures.
LCSAJ coverage
The percentage of LCSAJs of a component that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% LCSAJ coverage implies 100% decision coverage.
decision condition coverage
The percentage of all condition outcomes and decision outcomes that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% decision condition coverage implies both 100% condition coverage and 100% decision coverage.
modified condition / decision coverage (MC/DC)
The percentage of all single condition outcomes that independently affect a decision outcome that have been exercised by a test case suite. 100% modified condition decision coverage implies 100% decision condition coverage.
boundary value coverage
The percentage of boundary values that have been exercised by a test suite.
branch coverage
The percentage of branches that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% branch coverage implies both 100% decision coverage and 100% statement coverage.
multiple condition coverage
The percentage of combinations of all single condition outcomes within one statement that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% multiple condition coverage implies 100% modified condition decision coverage.
condition coverage
The percentage of condition outcomes that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% condition coverage requires each single condition in every decision statement to be tested as True and False.
decision coverage
The percentage of decision outcomes that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% of this implies both 100% branch coverage and 100% statement coverage.
phase containment
The percentage of defects that are removed in the same phase of the software lifecycle in which they were introduced.
data flow coverage
The percentage of definition-use pairs that have been exercised by a test suite.
equivalence partition coverage
The percentage of equivalence partitions that have been exercised by a test suite.
statement coverage
The percentage of executable statements that have been exercised by a test suite.
path coverage
The percentage of paths that have been exercised by a test suite. 100% path coverage implies 100% LCSAJ coverage
N-switch coverage
The percentage of sequences of N+1 transitions that have been exercised by a test suite.
test execution phase
The period of time in a software development lifecycle during which the components of a software product are executed, and the software product is evaluated to determine whether or not requirements have been satisfied.
requirements phase
The period of time in the software lifecycle during which the requirements for a software product are defined and documented.
software lifecycle
The period of time that begins when a software product is conceived and ends when the software is no longer available for use. This typically includes a concept phase, requirements phase, design phase, implementation phase, test phase, installation and checkout phase, operation and maintenance phase, and sometimes, retirement phase. Note these phases may overlap or be performed iteratively.
reviewer
The person involved in the review that identifies and describes anomalies in the product or project under review. They can be chosen to represent different viewpoints and roles in the review process.
test manager
The person responsible for project management of testing activities and resources, and evaluation of a test object. The individual who directs, controls, administers, plans and regulates the evaluation of a test object.
lead assessor
The person who leads an assessment. In some cases, for instance CMMI and TMMi when formal assessments are conducted, the lead assessor must be accredited and formally trained.
scribe
The person who records each defect mentioned and any suggestions for process improvement during a review meeting, on a logging form. They should ensure that the logging form is readable and understandable.
acting
The phase within IDEAL model where the improvements are developed, put into practice, and deployed across the organization. The acting phase consists of the activities: create solution, pilot/test solution, refine solution and implement solution.
diagnosing
The phase within the IDEAL model where it is determined where one is, relative to where one wants to be. The diagnosing phase consists of the activities to characterize current and desired states and develop recommendations.
learning
The phase within the IDEAL model where one learns from experiences and improves one's ability to adopt new processes and technologies in the future. The learning phase consists of the activities: analyze and validate, and propose future actions.
initiating
The phase within the IDEAL model where the groundwork is laid for a successful improvement effort. The initiating phase consists of the activities: set context, build sponsorship and charter infrastructure.
establishing
The phase within the IDEAL model where the specifics of how an organization will reach its destination are planned. The establishing phase consists of the activities set priorities, develop approach and plan actions.
failure mode
The physical or functional manifestation of a failure. For example, a system in failure mode may be characterized by slow operation, incorrect outputs, or complete termination of execution.
test management
The planning, estimating, monitoring and control of test activities, typically carried out by a test manager.
test-first development
The practice of designing tests based on the specification of a test item before developing the corresponding test item.
computer forensics
The practice of determining how a security attack has succeeded and assessing the damage caused.
testing
The process consisting of all lifecycle activities, both static and dynamic, concerned with planning, preparation and evaluation of software products and related work products to determine that they satisfy specified requirements, to demonstrate that they are fit for purpose and to detect defects.
test data management
The process of analyzing test data requirements, designing test data structures, creating and maintaining test data.
test analysis
The process of analyzing the test basis and defining test objectives.
risk analysis
The process of assessing identified project or product risks to determine their level of risk, typically by estimating their impact and probability of occurrence (likelihood).
measurement
The process of assigning a number or category to an entity to describe an attribute of that entity.
integration
The process of combining components or systems into larger assemblies.
certification
The process of confirming that a component, system or person complies with its specified requirements, e.g., by passing an exam.
qualification
The process of demonstrating the ability to fulfill specified requirements. Note the term "qualified" is used to designate the corresponding status.
operational profiling
The process of developing and implementing an operational profile.
test implementation
The process of developing and prioritizing test procedures, creating test data and, optionally, preparing test harnesses and writing automated test scripts.
encryption
The process of encoding information so that only authorized parties can retrieve the original information, usually by means of a specific decryption key or process.
dynamic analysis
The process of evaluating behavior, e.g., memory performance, CPU usage, of a system or component during execution.
debugging
The process of finding, analyzing and removing the causes of failures in software.
risk assessment
The process of identifying and subsequently analyzing the identified project or product risk to determine its level of risk, typically by assigning likelihood and impact ratings.
test comparison
The process of identifying differences between the actual results produced by the component or system under test and the expected results for a test. This can be performed during test execution (dynamic comparison) or after test execution.
risk identification
The process of identifying risks using techniques such as brainstorming, checklists and failure history.
fault injection
The process of intentionally adding defects to a system for the purpose of finding out whether the system can detect, and possibly recover from, a defect. This is intended to mimic failures that might occur in the field.
fault seeding
The process of intentionally adding defects to those already in the component or system for the purpose of monitoring the rate of detection and removal, and estimating the number of remaining defects. This is typically part of development (pre-release) testing and can be performed at any test level (component, integration, or system).
account harvesting
The process of obtaining lists of email addresses for use in bulk email messages.
defect management
The process of recognizing, investigating, taking action and disposing of defects. It involves recording defects, classifying them and identifying the impact.
incident management
The process of recognizing, investigating, taking action and disposing of incidents. It involves logging incidents, classifying them and identifying the impact.
test logging
The process of recording information about tests executed into a test log.
test execution
The process of running a test on the component or system under test, producing actual result(s).
functionality testing
The process of testing to determine the functionality of a software product.
resource utilization testing
The process of testing to determine the resource-utilization of a software product.
test design
The process of transforming general test objectives into tangible test conditions and test cases.
risk mitigation
The process through which decisions are reached and protective measures are implemented for reducing risks to, or maintaining risks within, specified levels.
information security
The protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
data privacy
The protection of personally identifiable information or otherwise sensitive information from undesired disclosure
test mission
The purpose of testing for an organization, often documented as part of the test policy.
failure rate
The ratio of the number of failures of a given category to a given unit of measure, e.g., failures per unit of time, failures per number of transactions, failures per number of computer runs.
operational profile
The representation of a distinct set of tasks performed by the component or system, possibly based on user behavior when interacting with the component or system, and their probabilities of occurrence. A task is logical rather that physical and can be executed over several machines or be executed in non-contiguous time segments.
simulation
The representation of selected behavioral characteristics of one physical or abstract system by another system.
behavior
The response of a component or system to a set of input values and preconditions.
decision outcome
The result of a decision (which therefore determines the branches to be taken).
domain
The set from which valid input and/or output values can be selected.
input domain
The set from which valid input values can be selected.
output domain
The set from which valid output values can be selected.
entry criteria
The set of generic and specific conditions for permitting a process to go forward with a defined task, e.g., test phase. The purpose of this is to prevent a task from starting which would entail more (wasted) effort compared to the effort needed to remove the failed entry criteria.
exit criteria
The set of generic and specific conditions, agreed upon with the stakeholders for permitting a process to be officially completed. The purpose of this is to prevent a task from being considered completed when there are still outstanding parts of the task which have not been finished. This is used to report against and to plan when to stop testing.
system hardening
The step-by-step process of reducing the security vulnerabilities of a system by applying a security policy and different layers of protection.
performance profiling
The task of analyzing, e.g., identifying performance bottlenecks based on generated metrics, and tuning the performance of a software component or system using tools.
component testing
The testing of individual software components.
cost of quality
The total costs incurred on quality activities and issues and often split into prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs and external failure costs.
software quality
The totality of functionality and features of a software product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
horizontal traceability
The tracing of requirements for a test level through the layers of test documentation (e.g., test plan, test design specification, test case specification and test procedure specification or test script).
vertical traceability
The tracing of requirements through the layers of development documentation to components.
test automation
The use of software to perform or support test activities, e.g., test management, test design, test execution and results checking.
test execution automation
The use of software, e.g., capture/playback tools, to control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual results to expected results, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and reporting functions.
LCSAJ
This consists of the following three items (conventionally identified by line numbers in a source code listing): the start of the linear sequence of executable statements, the end of the linear sequence, and the target line to which control flow is transferred at the end of the linear sequence.
project
This is a unique set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates undertaken to achieve an objective conforming to specific requirements, including the constraints of time, cost and resources.
hashing
Transformation of a variable length string of characters into a usually shorter fixed-length value or key. Hashed values, or hashes, are commonly used in table or database lookups. Cryptographic hash functions are used to secure data.
compound condition
Two or more single conditions joined by means of a logical operator (AND, OR or XOR), e.g., A>B AND C>1000.
pair testing
Two persons, e.g., two testers, a developer and a tester, or an end-user and a tester, working together to find defects. Typically, they share one computer and trade control of it while testing.
actor
User or any other person or system that interacts with the test object in a specific way.
