Monash University Handbook 2010 Undergraduate - Unit

Synopsis

This unit covers the products, processes, techniques and tools for system validation & verifications including acceptance tests. Commercial Testing Tools from Rational, HP and other open-source tools will be used to apply in practice knowledge learnt about software testing from a theoretical perspective. Inspection and testing methodologies, analysis of artifacts, robustness, performance analysis configuration management, quality assurance plan and standards, compliance, assessment, certification issues are covered. It shows how to predict, analyse and control defects in complex software systems.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit students will have -
A knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of validation & verification methods in the system life cycle;
• key issues in software testing, testing levels and testing activities;
• testing techniques - based on testers experience - adhoc testing, exploaratory testing - specification-based - equivalence partioning, boundary-value analysis, finite-state machine based, random testing - code-based - control-flow & data-flow technique - falut-based - error seeding, mutation testing - usage-based - reliability measures, operational profile - based on type of apps - GUI, web based, OO, component testing, testing concurrent/distributed/real-time/embedded systems -selection & combination of techniques;
• test related measures - evaluation of software under test - fault density, types of faults - evaluation of tests done - criteria such as coverage, thoroughness; mutation score;
• empirical work, replication experiments vs case study.

• adhere to software quality engieering principles;
• recognise the importance of adhering to software engineering principles of Validation and Verification and standards in the design and development of test methods;
• have an understanding of inspection and debugging approaches, configuration management, performance, and quality standards issues.

• use open source IDEs such as Eclipse and unit testing and coverage tools such as JUnit and djUnit, commercial validation tools such as TestStudio from Rational and TestDirector from Mercury Interactive, and other similar products to help detect software system defects;
• gain experience in Performance and Load Testing with testing tools from these vendors;
• appreciate how assertion mechanisms impact reasoning;
• be able to analyse and control defects in complex systems.

Assessment

Assignments: 80%; Demonstration: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Sita Ramakrishnan

Contact hours

2 hrs lectures/wk

Prerequisites

FIT2004, FIT2024, FIT3042, FIT3077, FIT3086
or
CSE2201, CSE2304, CSE2305, CSE3308, BUS2176, CSE2391 (or CSE3391), CSE2395 (or CSE3395),
or
students must be enrolled in FIT Masters program at Monash

Prohibitions

CSE4431

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at:

http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/units/fit4004/