Psqt east risk testing

1Risk Driven Software Testing

PSQT East Tutorial v.1.0 ©TQ2003

Risk Driven Software TestingAll

The Software

Processes

All

The Software

Processes

Scope Tests Define Strategies

Schedule

Allocate Resources

Manage Resources

Test and Report

Gather Requirements

PrioritizeDocument & Analyze

Design

ImplementFix

Develop Tests



Getting StartedIntroductions

Logistics

Setting up the Parking Lot

Objectives for the Course



Materials in this TutorialReview materials in student notebook

• job aids at front of notebook

• agendas

• slides

• exercise materials

• references

Establish parking lot on a flip chart page for topics to handle later



Logistics

Starting and ending times

Breaks

Exercise Teams

Timekeeper

Location of support facilities

Attendance at all sessions is expected

Number formessages:

Emergencyprocedures:

Pagers andPhones -- Off



Exercise: Identifying Risky ProjectsUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, complete the exercise named

“Identifying Risky Projects”

Expected time: 20 minutes



Debriefing: Identifying Risky ProjectsWhat steps happened in your mind for you to identify risk?

What types of projects you find risky?

How does this affect the way you test?



Course ObjectivesIdentify testing project risks and refine the plan to include mitigation and contingency activities

• State testing goals and objectives

• Identify risks with regard to product and project characteristics

• State testing activities with acceptance criteria

• Select a testing lifecycle to match the products risks and the project's schedule



Common Testing ProblemsProblems we are used to see happen:

• we ship before we have finished testing

• our customers find all our defects

• we don’t have the testers when we need them

• testing is ad-hoc and results are irreproducible

• we don’t test for the critical success factors

• we don’t test versus requirements from customer

• there are no acceptance criteria for any phase and deciding when the product is ready becomes a point of contention

• ...

Good risk management processes will help!



Risk Management Prevents ProblemsProblems that risk management can prevent

• We anticipated lateness but accepted sending out an unfinished product

• We have too many defects to fix too late in the cycle

• We have too many tests to run in a short period of time

• We have tested for the simple defects and the customer gets to test for the “killer” bugs

• …

We know something can happen but we hope it does not happen.



Start by Reviewing Project Parameters

Project vision

• Are objectives clear and understood?

• Are objectives of customer and provider known?

Project scope, milestones and deliverables

• Are features agreed to?

• Are commitments agreed to and documented?

Roles and responsibilities

• Are roles and responsibilities clear to all involved?

• Are all roles staffed?

• Is sponsorship and accountability clear?

Use knowledge of specific project roles to identify risks



Consider Lessons LearnedFor projects like this in the past

• What risks were identified and handled well?

• Are there lessons from those to be applied in this project?

• What risks were identified, but became problems later?

• What should be done differently in this project?

Are there other experiences of the organization that indicate lessons to be applied here?

Is there information from the industry as a whole that can be applied?

Risk factor tables include some such lessons



Sources and Consequences of Risk

� Mission and goals

� Decision drivers

� Organization management

� Customer / end user

� Budget / cost

� Schedule

� Project characteristics

� Development process

� Development environment

� Personnel and relationships

� Operational environment

� New technology

� Cost overruns

� Schedule slips

� Inadequate functionality

� Canceled projects

� Sudden personnel changes

� Customer dissatisfaction

� Loss of company image

� Demoralized staff

� Poor product performance

� Legal proceedings

Categories of SourcesCategories of Sources Project ConsequencesProject Consequences

testing concerns



Critical Success FactorsA product’s critical success factors (CSFs) are related to:

• business needs for its development

• coverage of all its intended user constituencies

• fitness for use in the intended context

• lack of dissatisfiers

• competitive advantage

– price?

– delighters?



CSF: Business Needs (Why?)Typical business reasons for new systems or changes:

• cost reduction

– reducing time in the field reduces costs

• increased efficiency of work or resource

– a better interface makes one person capable of doing the job of two

• developing new markets

– using a “smart card” allows very small business to get into the credit card market

• improved resource management

– electronic data management (EDM) systems allow insurance claims to be processed in hundreds of different locations, depending on work load

What Is The Customer Going To Get Out Of The Use Of The

Product?



CSF: User Constituencies (Who?)Answer the questions:

• given the business needs, what goals will the product help achieve?

• who will have to use the product (different user constituencies) to achieve those goals?

At least three levels of need:

• need to increase the bottom line

– typical user constituency: upper management

• need to gather supervisory data

– typical user constituency: middle management

• need for an efficient interface

– typical user constituency: end user

• other?



CSF: Fitness for Use (How?)“Fitness for use”

• the product may meet all stated requirements but not support solving a real need or problem for a given user constituency

• testing features does not cover the workflows

Test in the context of the job

Test the product as if you would have to perform the job yourself

Use your expertise in testing to extend the possibilities of use cases



Exercise: Critical Success FactorsUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do the exercise named Product Critical Success

Factors in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: Critical Success FactorsCan testing activities or techniques bring quality to the

product?

Has focusing on the Critical Success Factors helped you

identify potential problems?



Characteristics of Good Risk Statements

State specific conditions, easy to detect

State specific consequences, which can be measured

Are good enough to proceed to planning • good risk statements nearly write the action plan

Address risks, not project tasks in plan that are not yet done

Address potential problems, not current problems • Risks are possible future events

• Handle current problems another way

Write several risk statements as a class



Exercise: Product RiskUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do the exercise named Product Risk in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: Product RisksAre different testing activities or techniques applicable

to different risks?

How does testing help reduce project risks?



High-Level Testing GoalsEffectiveness:

• Defect detection

– percentage of total found in some time frame

– severity found after testing

• Other?

Efficiency:

• Resource usage

– time

– people

– machines

• Reporting

– time spent reproducing the defect by the developers

• Other?



Setting GoalsBudgeting Resources:

• You have $200

• You want to:

– Go to the ball game

– Treat your significant other to his/her favorite meal

– Buy a new set of tires

– Pay off your car insurance

– Join a health club

– Raise your daughter’s allowance

– And so many more things!

How do you prioritize these?



Exercise: High LevelTesting GoalsUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do Activity 3 of the exercise named High Level

Testing Goals in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: High Level Testing GoalsWhat is the benefit of stating testing goals?

What is the impact of testing goals on the project’s

plan?

What is the impact of the project’s plan on the selection

of testing goals?



Acceptance CriteriaFor each test selected, define:

• Environment tests would have had to run on

• Regression suites covered by the tests

• Functionality covered by the tests

• Performance testing goals reached

• Volume Testing goals achieved

• Reliability Testing (when applicable)

• Usability Testing (when applicable)

How can we tell that the work product is safe for releasing it to the user?



System Acceptance TestSystem Testing Phase Report

• Reports on

– tests performed

• performance

• volume

• stress

• regression

• functional

• others? ...

– tests results

• remaining deficiencies

– test coverage

• percentage of a given unit



System Acceptance CriteriaProbably only main deployment environment

• but NOT the development environment only

Usually all regression suites for the entire tests

• usually automated

Most, if not all, functionality

• focus on functionality not tested or changed after unit code

Performance Testing, Volume Testing

• goals MUST be met, no excuses

• deployment environment used in tests

Reliability Testing

• if applicable, statistically controlled

Usability Testing

• if critical, or if it leaves development organization



User Acceptance TestPurpose is to detect remaining defects

• focus might change

Different things to different people

• another level of system acceptance

• emphatically focused on usability

• performed by users exclusively

• performed by user proxies, exclusively

• performed by the IV&V of the organization

• other? ...

Which is yours?



User Acceptance CriteriaSome general rules

• Cover all deployment environments

• Only do regression if regression suites are different

– or significant fixes and / or changes have happened after system acceptance

• Functionality focus should be on usual rather than exceptional

• Performance Testing should focus on throughput

• Volume Testing might be skipped

– unless significant fixes and / or changes have happened after system acceptance

• Reliability Testing

– only when thoroughly planned from day one

• Usability Testing

– probably the most emphatic effort goes here



Exercise: User Acceptance CriteriaUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do the exercise named User Acceptance Criteria in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: User Acceptance CriteriaHow do the business goals influence the testing

acceptance criteria?

Which are some of the unavoidable testing acceptance

criteria?

Are there any good reasons to change some testing

acceptance criteria after the test has been executed?



Risks from the ProjectRisks from the project come from:

Project Plan Schedule Constraints

• testing might be cut short if development is late

• testing might have all its tasks in the critical path

Model being followed by the project

• Simple Waterfall,

• Parallel Waterfall,

• Evolutionary,

• Prototyping,

• Spiral

Design Architecture

Resources

• missing critical skills

• budgetary shortcomings



Design ArchitectureFigure out what the Architecture is going to be

• Ask the designer

• Request information on the design elements early

If not traditional, plan accordingly

• Use scenarios profusely

• Try having testers join teams early

• Use testers insight of design to develop test cases

• Push for updated documentation

• Push for consistency reviews across documents

– Requirements traceability

– Formal reviews



Testing DeliverablesPlanning Assets

• Test Plan

Testing Assets

• Testing procedures

• Testing suites

• Testing templates

Reporting Assets

• Individual tests results

• Test statistics

• Acceptance report



Exercise: Project’s RisksUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do the exercise named Project’s Risks in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: Project RiskHow does the project schedule influence the testing

project’s schedule?

What other areas of a project should be explored for

risk?



Strategy ProblemsProblems that faulty test strategies can cause

• we spend too much time on just one phase

• we place all our effort at the end of the project

• we ignore regressions

• we test in the wrong configuration

• we receive work products that are unfit to test

• we get into endless arguments about product fitness to ship

• ...

Good testing strategies help!



Selecting a StrategyDecide on

• how much testing is required

• of what type

• when will it happen

• who will do it

• how will it happen, e.g.:

– Will integration be top-down or bottom-up?

– Will clear box be manual or automatic?



Defining a StrategyReview and rework the business goals

Review project variables and rework the Testing Phases

• Consider cost, time to market, personnel, product life expectancy, users, constraints

Emphasize the tasks that tie with the goals

• try to probe weak areas of the project

Points to ponder:

• regression (when, how much, which)

• coverage (how much, what type, when)

• deadlines (slipping deadlines, schedule compression)

• integration (how, when, by whom)

• assignment of responsibility (developers, testers, users)



Test Strategies (1)Analyze business case

• where is the payoff?

– think in terms of customer satisfaction

– identify particular functionality or killer faults

Probe the quality of the product with regard to it



Test Strategies (2)Analyze users

• by frequency of use

– sporadic, heavy, etc.

• by organizational level

– general managers, middle managers, end users, etc.

• by their knowledge of the software

– experts, newcomers, etc.

Build a profile of system usage

• sketch scenarios

• assign probabilities for each scenario

– e.g.., one out of eight times the plan will be run unchanged

Use this data to design the test cases to optimize testing coverage of most frequent paths



Test Strategies (3)Analyze time to market

• are you going to be pressed for time?

– => focus on existing functionality

– => test system rather than component

– => test typical rather than exceptional

Decide which tests can be run within the time constraints

• If some of the fundamental tests cannot be run, move tests forward



Test Strategies (4)Analyze cost

• how many staff/hours can you pay?

Figure out if the tests you have so far selected fit within the budget

If so, if you have room for more…

Analyze constraints

– performance

– precision

– volume

• find critical quantities

• analyze or set stress testing

…then include tests for them



Test Strategies (5)Analyze personnel

• who can you count on

– reinforce testing of the products of the project’s weaker links

• which of your documents are going to be weak for lack of experts

– requirements or specs <=> functional tests

– high-level design <=> integration

– modules <=> module testing

Analyze product life expectancy

• find the payoff of documented procedures, test case suites, results, etc..

– don’t overspend in a product that has a short life expectancy

– don’t under spend in a product that will be around long



Example Strategy (1)Business goal

• Keep and expand customer base

Internal translation to project

• Make sure that the user finds the entire current version’s functionality works as usual

Testing strategy

• Test old before new, in every phase

Note: Underlying assumption is

that you will not have time to do it all



Example Strategy (2)Business goal

Exceed customer’s expectations of product quality

Internal translation to project

• Fewer than 10% of total bugs caught by the user

Testing strategy

• Move functional test suites to developers before and during unit code and testing

Note: Underlying assumption is

that you will not have time to do it all



Limiting the Scope of the Testing Effort

Some things cannot be tested

• quality

• user-friendliness

• timeliness

• …

Some things you might not want to test

• regression on a new or relatively small enhancement

• performance

• stress

• …

Some things you might not have the ability to test

• reliability (e.g. MTTF)

• availability (e.g. (MTTF/(MTTF+MTTR)))

• …



Constraints on the LifecycleReview the phases against the Project’s constraints

• Can you accommodate the project plan schedule constraints?

• Is the model being followed by the project

– Simple Waterfall,

– Parallel Waterfall,

– Evolutionary,

– Prototyping,

– Spiral

allowing for the testing tasks you’ve set?

– e.g. might not have integration testing

• Can the tests selected be adjusted to the design architecture?

– three tiers might bring a whole set of problems

• Are the goals compatible with the project’s shortcomings?



Exercise: Testing LifecycleUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do Activity 1 of the exercise named Testing

Lifecycle in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: Testing LifecycleHow do the business goals influence the selection of

testing lifecycle?

Which are the unavoidable testing deliverables?

Are there any good reasons to avoid some testing

phases?



Identifying Test TasksReview the V-Model

Pick and choose the adequate phases to meet the goals

You have twenty days to visit all of Europe

You may never be able to go back

How do you budget your time?

Testing is always under-budgeted and over-committed



Risk Action PlanningDeal with high exposure risks first

• Research: Do we know enough about this risk?

• Accept: Can we live with it and do nothing about it?

• Manage: Can we take action?

• Avoid: Should we cancel the project or change the approach?

Balance the threat of the risk against the effort to avert it

• How great is the threat?

• How much does it cost to avert?



Risk Contingency PlansDevise contingency plans for

• High exposure risks, in case the mitigation strategy fails

• Any risk for which there is no possible mitigation action

Specify risk measures and trigger values

• Measures of time, resources to handle risk

• Measures of risk impact

• Trigger values that tell it is time to use contingency approach now

Agree with customer and management at project start how contingency plans will be funded and handled



Example Contingency TriggersFor risks leading to schedule slips

• Latest date to allow you to use alternative platforms

• Latest date to select another vendor

For risks requiring additional effort or time

• Latest date to have time to locate the resources

• Greatest amount of penalty or fine to incur

• Greatest amount of investment available for overrun

Limit for extra cost to the customer

Limit for learning time



Example of Action and Contingency

Risk Statement

• Since the project team is already behind schedule by two full weeks, we might not have time to cover all the high yield tests before the cutover date and the quality of the product will be seriously imperiled.

Risk Action

• Provide one of our test engineers as a testing consultant to the development team, so they can test and fix before they send the product to the Testing Team.

Contingency Plan

• If by the first of April, we do not have an integration test version of the product, drop the web testing suites and focus on regression so our customer can use a significantly improved current version for six months without a Web interface.



Example Contingency for LatenessPlan your testing activities in passes

• First Pass (mandatory):

– test all modules/components

– use most frequently used scenarios

– use few test cases

– use selected error cases

• Second Pass (supplementary):

– test only modules with fixes, do first pass on components

– cover most scenarios

– use test cases covering all data equivalence classes

– include test cases for “bad values”

• Third Pass (complementary):

– test only modules with fixes from second pass

– cover all test suite

– go for 100% clear case coverage



Exercise: Managing RiskUsing the exercise booklet, and working in teams of three, do the exercise named Managing Risk in the exercise booklet.




Debriefing: Managing Riskthis will be an exercise that for every risk identified in

the exercises make them think an action plan and/or a

contingency plan.



SummaryKey Activities in Defining the Testing Strategy

• identify test tasks and their goals

• rank test tasks by their goals

• define the limits of the testing effort

• detail testing tasks

• define testing tasks entry criteria

• define testing tasks acceptance criteria

Outputs to the process include

• individual test task goals

• phase acceptance criteria

• detailed testing project tasks

• all in the updated test plan



Next Steps

Set Completion Dates

Develop Action List

Review Results

Review Priorities and Expectations



Course ObjectivesIdentify testing project risks and refine the plan to include mitigation and contingency activities

• State testing goals and objectives

• Identify risks with regard to product and project characteristics

• State testing activities with acceptance criteria

• Select a testing lifecycle to match the products risks and the project's schedule



And now… let’s hear from you!

Thank you very much for your participation!

Please complete a course evaluation form

• very useful in improving the course

• most helpful if very honest

Please send us your comments as you work with this material

• email your instructor - contact info in student guide

• send us comments on what works and what doesn’t so we can improve the course



Related Courses from TeraQuestProject Launch Workshop

Project Planning and Tracking

Testing Management Workshop

Quality Assurance Workshop

Configuration Management Workshop

Peer Reviews and Inspections



Information about TeraQuestTeraQuest Metrics, Inc. Process assessment

P.O. Box 200490 Process improvement

Austin, Texas 78720-0490 SPI and KPA training

USA Risk management

Software measurement

1-512-219-9152 (phone)

1-512-219-0587 (fax)

TeraQuest Web site: http://www.teraquest.com

Email questions to: [email protected]

Date post:	18-Dec-2014
Category:	Technology
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