Back to back testing
This form of testing is where two or more variants of a system or component are fed with the same input. The outputs are then compared and, should there be differences, a detailed analysis of causes is carried out.
Beta testing
Beta testing is carried out externally on operational software by a sufficiently large and representative group of people - either clients or users in a related environment.
Beta testing allows producers to carry out a form of acceptance test before finally releasing the software onto the market. Feedback from potential customers and users can be gained at this stage.
This approach is most often used when the number of different user environments envisioned is large and diverse.
Cf. beta testing on Wikipedia.
Black-box testing
Black-box testing takes an external perspective of the test object as a basis on which to develop test cases. These tests can be functional or non-functional, though they are usually functional.
The test designer selects valid and invalid inputs and determines the correct output. There is no reference to or examination of the test object's internal structure.
See also black-box testing on Wikipedia.
Blocked test/blocked test case
If a test cannot be carried out due to its preconditions not being fulfilled, this is referred to as a blocked test case.Boundary condition
Refers to the pre- and post-conditions of a test case. A boundary condition remains unchanged during the execution of a test case.
See the Wikipedia entry on boundary conditions.
Boundary value analysis
This form of black-box testing is orientated towards possible faults; this is achieved by testing using values that are just inside or outside of equivalence class partitions.
Branch
In a control flow graph, a vectored edge is called a branch.
In addition to this, a branch can aslo be:
- a change in the control flow of a software component in which the path from one statement to another is changed, e.g. using an IF application in programming language;
- a change in the control flow of a software component in which the path from one statement to another is changed inasmuch as a new path skips out a statement - e.g. using a go-to application;
- a change in the control flow of a software component resulting from a component having several entry points - an entry point being either the first statement in the component or all other statements which can be reached directly from outside of the component.
Branch condition coverage
This is a control-flow-oriented approach to white-box testing which examines the coverage of branches within a control-flow graph.
Cf. Wikipedia on code coverage.
Bug tracking systems
This is a database of faults used to oversee processing. All information about the faults as well as their status are contained in this database.
Bug trackers are often used during testing so that faults detected by testers are passed onto developers.
There are several bug trackers available, from freeware through to commercial software. Well-know systems include: Mantis, Bugzilla, Jira, OTRS and OnTime. Microsoft's Team Foundation Server (TFS) can also be used as a bug-tracker.
Zeta Test currently supports integration with the following trackers:
- Mantis (writes)
- Bugzilla (writes)
- OnTime (writes)
- Team Foundation Server TFS (reads and writes)
Cf. bug tracking systems on Wikipedia.
Business process-based testing
In this approach to testing, test cases are designed and chosen with reference to knowledge about buisness processes.
Cf. business process on Wikipedia.