Test Cases: Requirements Management Evangelist Rational Software
Generating Test Cases From Use Cases
by Jim Heumann
Requirements Management Evangelist Rational Software
In many organizations, software testing accounts for 30 to 50 percent of software development costs. Yet most people believe that software is not well tested before it is delivered. That contradiction is rooted in two clear facts: First, testing software is a very difficult proposition; and second, testing is typically done without a clear methodology.
A widely-accepted tenet in the industry -- and an integral assumption in the Rational Unified Process® (RUP®) -- is that it is better to start testing as early in the software development process as possible. Delaying the start of testing activities until all development is done is a high-risk way to proceed. If significant bugs are found at that stage (and they usually are), then schedules often slip.
Haphazard methods of designing, organizing, and implementing testing activities and artifacts also frequently lead to less-than-adequate test coverage. Having a straightforward plan for how testing is done can help increase coverage, efficiency, and ultimately software quality.
In this article, we will discuss how using use cases to generate test cases can help launch the testing process early in the development lifecycle and also help with testing methodology.
In a software development project, use cases define system software requirements. Use case development begins early on, so real use cases for key product functionality are available in early iterations. According to the RUP, a use case "…fully describes a sequence of actions performed by a system to provide an observable result of value to a person or another system using the product under development." Use cases tell the customer what to expect, the developer what to code, the technical writer what to document, and the tester what to test.
For software testing -- which consists of many interrelated tasks, each with its
by Jim Heumann
Requirements Management Evangelist Rational Software
In many organizations, software testing accounts for 30 to 50 percent of software development costs. Yet most people believe that software is not well tested before it is delivered. That contradiction is rooted in two clear facts: First, testing software is a very difficult proposition; and second, testing is typically done without a clear methodology.
A widely-accepted tenet in the industry -- and an integral assumption in the Rational Unified Process® (RUP®) -- is that it is better to start testing as early in the software development process as possible. Delaying the start of testing activities until all development is done is a high-risk way to proceed. If significant bugs are found at that stage (and they usually are), then schedules often slip.
Haphazard methods of designing, organizing, and implementing testing activities and artifacts also frequently lead to less-than-adequate test coverage. Having a straightforward plan for how testing is done can help increase coverage, efficiency, and ultimately software quality.
In this article, we will discuss how using use cases to generate test cases can help launch the testing process early in the development lifecycle and also help with testing methodology.
In a software development project, use cases define system software requirements. Use case development begins early on, so real use cases for key product functionality are available in early iterations. According to the RUP, a use case "…fully describes a sequence of actions performed by a system to provide an observable result of value to a person or another system using the product under development." Use cases tell the customer what to expect, the developer what to code, the technical writer what to document, and the tester what to test.
For software testing -- which consists of many interrelated tasks, each with its