You Are Not Done Yet: Platform

You are not done testing unless...you have considered which platforms to include in and which to omit from your test matrix. The set of supported platforms tends to vary widely across contexts - a consumer application will likely have a different set of supported platforms than does an enterprise line of business application. Even if you officially support only a few specific platforms, it can be useful to understand what will happen if your application is installed or executed on other platforms. Platforms to consider include:

• All supported versions of Windows; at a minimum: Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP<latest>, Windows Server 2003 SP<latest>, Windows Vista SP<latest>
• Apple OS X.<latest>
• Your favorite distribution of Linux
• Your favorite flavor of Unix
• 32-bit version of the operating system running on 32-bit hardware
• 32-bit version of the operating system running on 64-bit hardware
• 64-bit version of the operating system running on 64-bit hardware
• The various SKUs of the operating system
• Interoperability between different SKUs of the operating system
• Interoperability between different operating systems (e.g., using a Windows Vista machine to open a file which is stored on a Linux network share)
• All supported browsers and browser versions; at a minimum: Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Opera, FireFox
• With and without anti-virus software installed
• With and without firewall software installed

Also peruse the Windows Logo requirements. Even if you aren't pursuing logo compliance (or your application doesn't run on Windows!) these are a useful jumping off point for brainstorming test cases!

Posted by The Braidy Tester at 07:30 AM  Permalink