Software Testing: Concepts and Operations

3 A Software Testing Lifecycle

Testing is the process of executing a software product on sample input data and analyzing its output. Unlike other engineering products, which are usually fault-free, software products are prone to be faulty, due to an accumulation of faults in all the phases of their lifecycle (faulty specifications, faulty design, faulty implementation, etc.). Also, unlike other engineering products, where faults arise as a result of product wear and/or decay, the faults that arise in software products are design faults, which are delivered with the new product.

3.1 A SOFTWARE ENGINEERING LIFECYCLE

The simplest model of a software product lifecycle views the process of developing and evolving the product as a set of phases proceeding sequentially from a requirements analysis phase to a product operation and maintenance phase. While this process model is widely believed to be simplistic, and not to reflect the true nature of software development and evolution, we adopt it nevertheless as a convenient abstraction. If nothing else, this process model enables us to situate software testing activities in their proper context within the software engineering lifecycle. For the sake of argument, we adopt the following sequence of phases:

• Feasibility Analysis: Feasibility analysis is the phase when the economic and technical feasibility of the development project is assessed, and a determination is made of whether to proceed with the development project, within ...