More Decoder Rings

Diligent Reader David asks that I add a few more terms to my Test Taxonomy Decoder Ring:

• Smoke Test. Also known as a Build Verification Test (BVT). A short, fast, and simple test meant to determine whether a daily build is so broken that it's not worth even installing, let alone testing. The term originally comes from the practice of testing an airtight enclosure by setting off a smoke bomb inside it to see if/where it leaks; also from a basic hardware test where the test fails if the device under test catches fire (thus causing smoke, hence the name).
• Acceptance Test. A test which determines whether a product is of sufficient quality to be accepted for...some use. Most commonly used as a synonym for "customer acceptance test" - i.e., a User Scenario Test.
• Regression Test. A test designed to prove that a specific sequence of actions no longer results in a previously found bug. Note that this does not prove that the bug is fixed!
• Performance Test. A test which measures the time required to complete an action, the product's responsiveness in a specific situation. For example: "How long does it take from the time the user clicks OK to the Open Document until the document is fully loaded and usable?"
• Load Test. A test which measures how many users a web site, service, or server can handle while staying responsive and alive. For example: "How many simultaneous users can our website serve before web page load time exceeds three seconds?" or "Verify query response time is under one second given five thousand simultaneous users".
• Exploratory Testing. Designing and executing a test simultaneously, or in a nearly simultaneous spin loop. Manual tests are often exploratory (even when they are supposed to be tightly scripted); I have yet to see an automated test that was truly exploratory. Compare to Scripted Testing.
• Scripted Testing: Executing a test which was designed some time (typically much) earlier, deviation from which may be frowned upon. Most automated tests are scripted tests; manual tests can be scripted as well. Compare to Exploratory Testing.

Note that the distinction between Exploratory Testing and Scripted Testing can be difficult to discern. See James Bach's article "What Is Exploratory Testing?" for more information on the similarities and differences between the two.

Are there terms you would like decoded? Let me know!

Posted by The Braidy Tester at 07:30 AM  Permalink