Page 1 of 7 ITECH7409 Software Testing Assignment 1 Individual Research on Software Testing and Standards Overview According to Standards Australia: “Standards are published documents setting out...

Testing research


Page 1 of 7 ITECH7409 Software Testing Assignment 1 Individual Research on Software Testing and Standards Overview According to Standards Australia: “Standards are published documents setting out specifications and procedures designed to ensure products, services and systems are safe, reliable and consistently perform the way they were intended to. They establish a common language which defines quality and safety criteria.” There are several standards, international and national, that relate specifically to software testing. Standards formalize industry best practice and they are agreed upon by professionals in the industry in which the standards apply to. This assignment is an investigation into those standards. The purpose of the assignment is to help you to:- • improve your research and comprehension skills • develop a good understanding of professional industry standards for software testing • appreciate the value of various processes and methods used in industry to test and evaluate software systems Timelines and Expectations Marks and Percentage Value of Task: 100 marks 10% Due: Thursday, May 7, 2020 @16:00 (Week 7) Minimum time expectation: 10 hours Page 2 of 7 Learning Outcomes Assessed K1. Critically evaluate software requirements as inputs toward testing of the final solution; K2. Analyse and critically evaluate appropriate tools and techniques to support the testing process; K3. Develop a good understanding of selecting and applying measures and models used for testing that are compliant with the appropriate professional industry standards such as the ACS and IEEE; S1. Analyse and critically evaluate software requirements and proposed solutions; S2. Apply complex decision making to select appropriate testing techniques; S3. Write professional level management, planning, quality assurance and testing documentation for a software system; S4. Apply effective testing techniques to software systems of varying scales and test levels A1. Develop and maintain plans for scheduling quality assurance tasks including software testing; Assessment Details You will need to: • locate a research paper related to software testing that refers to at least one standard. • research, comprehend and analyse each document (both the paper and the chosen standard) to find relevant details to answer a set of questions, and • prepare a written summary report of findings Page 3 of 7 As a suggestion, commence your search for a research paper at the Federation University website. There is a QuickSearch link on the library home page: There is also a listing of Databases A-Z (http://libguides.federation.edu.au/az.php ) which is a link for Australian Standards Online. Requirements: Questions for the standard: • What is the standard name? • Who holds the copyright for the standard? • Amongst the acknowledged contributors to the document, which universities were involved (if any)? • What is the scope or intent of the standard? • What are key terms and understandings needed for the Type your query here http://libguides.federation.edu.au/az.php Page 4 of 7 standard to be understood and applied? • In your own words, what does application of the standard result in? Or, in other words, what does the standard do? • Finally, what specific relevance to software testing is the standard? Discuss the paper and how it relates to the standard. For example: does the paper suggest how to improve the standard? Does the paper highlight issues in applying the standard? Attached is a sample paper (Wichmann and Cox, 1992) which refers to the ANSI1/IEEE2 Standard 8293 and ANSI/IEEE Standard 1008. Although this paper is somewhat outdated, it serves to illustrate the task for this assignment. Prepare a report of no more than 1,500 words answering all questions. The report should have the following structure. • an introduction to standards and a brief description of the research paper and chosen standard • responses to questions for the standard • listing and a discussion of commonalities and differences between the two documents • a conclusion summarizing the report findings 1 American National Standards Institute 2 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 3 Current versions of both these standards are available online at Federation University library Page 5 of 7 Marking Criteria/Rubric Student ID:_______________ Student Name: ________________________________ Assessment component Mark 1. Introduction 20 2. Responses to questions 20 3. Listing and discussion of commonalities and differences between the research paper and the chosen standard 20 4. Conclusion 20 5. Spelling, grammar and report presentation 20 Total 100 Final /10 Comments Submission Your assignment should be completed according to the guides for your assessments: https://federation.edu.au/library/student-resources/guides-to-your-assessments You are required to provide documentation, contained in an appropriate file, which includes a front page indicating: • the title of the assignment • the course ID and course name, • student name and student ID • a statement of what has been completed • acknowledgement of the names of all people (including https://federation.edu.au/library/student-resources/guides-to-your-assessments Page 6 of 7 other students and people outside of the university) who have assisted you and details on what parts of the assignment that they have assisted you with • a list of references used (APA style) Using the link provided in Moodle, please upload your report as a Word file. Name your Word file in the following manner: _.docx e.g. Aravind_ADIGA_30301234.docx Also, upload a copy of the standard used by the research paper. Feedback Assessment marks will be made available in fdlMarks, feedback to individual students will be provided via Moodle or as direct feedback during your tutorial class Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own without properly acknowledging that person. You must not allow other students to copy your work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. More information about the plagiarism policy and procedure for the university can be found at: http://federation.edu.au/students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism Your support material must be compiled from reliable sources such as the academic resources in Federation University library which might include, but not limited to: the main library collection, library databases and the BONUS+ collection as well as any reputable online resources (you should confirm this with your tutor). http://federation.edu.au/students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism Page 7 of 7 Footer CRICOS Provider No. 00103D Federation University General Guide to Referencing: The University has published a style guide to help students correctly reference and cite information they use in assignments. A copy of the University’s citation guides can be found on the university’s web site. It is imperative that students cite all sources of information. The General Guide to Referencing can be purchased from the University bookshop or accessed online at: https://federation.edu.au/library/guides/referencing References Wichmann, B. A. and M. G. Cox (1992). "Problems and strategies for software component testing standards." Software Testing, Verification and Reliability 2(4): 167-185. https://federation.edu.au/library/guides/referencing Timelines and Expectations Learning Outcomes Assessed Assessment Details Requirements: Marking Criteria/Rubric Submission Feedback Plagiarism: References Problems and strategies for software component testing standards SOFTWARE TESTING, VERIFICATION AND RELIABILITY, VOL. 2, 167-185 (1992) Problems and Strategies for Software Component Testing Standards B. A. WICHMANN AND M. G. COX National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, W l l OL W, U. K. SUMMARY What does it mean to say that an item of software has been tested? Unfortunately, currently accepted standards are inadequate to give the confidence the user needs and the meaningful objective for the supplier. This paper assesses the currently available standards, mainly in the component testing area and advocates that the British Computer Society proto-standard should be taken as a basis for a formal standard. The paper is intended for those concerned with software quality. KEY WORDS Component testing Quality assurance Standards 1. PROBLEM STATEMENT This paper considers the issue of software testing in the narrow sense, i.e. the execution of the code of a system to attempt to find errors. The objective is to quantify or assess the quality of the software under test, particularly in an objective manner which can therefore be agreed by both a supplier and customer. The reliance placed upon dynamic testing varies significantly from sector to sector. It appears from current drafts that the revision of the avionics standard for safety-critical software depends almost exclusively on testing (RCTA, 1993), while the U.K. Interim Defence Standard (MOD, 1991) places much greater emphasis on static analysis. Dynamic testing has been widely used within industry since the advent of the first computers. However, the contribution that testing makes to software quality in practice is hard to judge. Everybody producing software will claim that it is ‘tested’, and therefore one must look beyond such superficial claims. The classic work on testing is that of Myers (1979). In the author’s view, little progress has been made in the practical state of the art since the publication of Myers’ book. For more recent summaries of the art of testing (see Ince, 1991 and White, 1987). This paper is an attempt to revisit the issues to see if some advance can be made; preferably so that those who undertake testing can claim some measurable quality objective.