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Static Testing

Static testing is a process of testing performed to expose faults that may occur from the stage of gathering of business requirement through the code construction and final deployment of the software without executing the application.

 

This is usually done by the two processes namely Reviews and Static analysis.

Reviews

 

Reviews is a process or meeting during which a work product, or set of work products is presented to project personnel, managers, users or other interested parties for comment or approval.

There are different levels of review, from the very informal through to the very formal, and are widely used with great benefits throughout the SDLC.

 

 

Why Review?

 

·          Benefits outweigh cost implications.

 

·          Effective at finding issues early in the design and development process

 

The importance of testing early in the SDLC as described by the V-Model is to detect the faults early so as fix them at a cheaper cost to the project. Reviews help to detect any faults early in the design and development process because they are not dependent on the delivered code. This in turn really helps to drive down the cost and improve the quality of the system.

 

For these reasons reviews are an important part of testing and are regarded as one of the best techniques of testing.

 

 

What to Review?

 

·          Requirements

 

·          Specifications

 

·          Designs

 

·          Code

 

·          Test Strategy

 

·          Test Plans

 

·          Test Conditions

 

·          Test Cases

 

·          User Manuals

 

Any other documents related to the system not mentioned also benefits from he process of review.

 

 

When to Review

 

·          Early in the development process – as soon as possible.

 

Review is an iterative process. User requirements, functional specification and technical specifications are usually incremental. The first review will usually raise some questions and issues. These will need to be resolved and the documents re-reviewed. It may be also be the case that all issues cannot be resolved before others can be addressed or having resolved one issue this in turn raises further issues.

 

There will be little benefit if the user requirements are reviewed after the system has been designed and the code written.

 

Cost of Review

 

Cost encompass all activities performed such as:

 

·          All preparatory work

 

·          Actual review activity

 

·          Follow up work

 

·          Report review

 

Cost of reviews can be contained within 15% of the overall development project.

 

 Benefits of Reviews

 

·          Quality of Product is improved

 

·          Process Improvement

 

·          Productivity Improvement

 

·          Reduced Project time scales

 

·          Reduced testing rework

 

·          Reduced level of faults

 

·          Reduced product life time cost

 

An error that is not found early in the SDLC can cause serious repercussions later if it remains undetected. If the fault is found early in the SDLC then it is one fault found but if not found then it could spawn six or more faults later.

By reviewing the user requirements we are making sure that we really understand what the users want and they are definitely going to get a better quality product as a result.

 

 

Review Types

 

Informal Review

 

·          Least formal of all reviews

 

·          Occurs anytime

 

·          Largely unplanned

 

·          Peer to Peer

 

·          Undocumented

 

·          Two-way communication

 

This review is also known as “Buddy” review. This review can occur at any time and this type of activity is largely unplanned.

 

Walkthrough

 

·          Led by an author

 

·          Presented to interested parties

 

·          Seen as an educational exercise or activity

 

·          It is a guided tour of the review item

 

It is a presentation of the said document to a group of peers: normally there is no management involvement. The author will effectively take you through the document explaining everything as they go.

 

Formal Technical Review

 

·          Always Planned

 

·          Is always documented

 

·          Peers and subject specialist are always present

 

·          Most appropriate for user specs, functional specs and technical specs.

 

It is very important you get the right people involved in the review. It should include those who have real input to the content of the document and subject specialist should be sought where relevant.

 

Inspections

 

·          Led by trained moderator

 

·          Extensive use of formal processes like check list, entry and exit criteria

 

·          Each participant has a specific role

 

·          The document is read aloud and followed word for word

 

Inspections are the most formal and most detailed of all reviews. A moderator leads it and it is essential hat they are well trained for the inspection duty.

 

 

Goals of Review

 

·          The validation and verification of the review item against specified standards or criteria

 

·          To achieve a consensus of opinion

 

·          To improve the quality of the Item being reviewed

 

 

Review Activities

 

·          Planning

 

·          Overview meeting

 

·          Preparation

 

·          Review meeting

 

·          Report on review

 

·          Follow up meetings

 

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