Testing Terms: A - H
Note: Definitions heavily based on those used by the International Software Testing Qualifications Board [ISTQB].
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Accessibility Testing: Testing to determine the ease by which users with disabilities can use a component or system.
Actual Result: The behavior produced/observed when a software component or system is tested.
Ad Hoc Testing: Testing carried out informally; no formal test preparation takes place, no recognized test design techniques or levels are used; there are no expectations for results and arbitrariness guides the test execution activity.
Agile Testing: Testing practice for a project using agile software development methodologies, incorporating techniques and methods, such as extreme programming [XP], treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing the test-first design paradigm.
Automated Testing: Technique that uses automated testware [software] to control environment setup, record and execute test scripts, and generate testing results reports.
Availability: The degree to which a component or system is operational and accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a percentage.
Black Box Testing: A method of testing that verifies the software without the tester having specific knowledge regarding the software's internal structure or design.
Boundary Value: An input or output value which is the minimum or maximum value of a range that can be entered.
Code: Computer instructions and data definitions expressed in a programming language or in a form output by either an assembler, compiler or other translator.
Compatibility Testing: Testing technique that validates how well a software performs within a particular hardware, software, operating system or network environment.
Compliance Testing: The process of testing to determine the compliance of the component or system.
Conversion Testing: Testing of software used to convert data from existing [legacy] systems for use in replacement systems.
Coverage: The degree, expressed as a percentage, to which a specified item has been tested.
Data Quality: An attribute of data that indicates correctness with respect to some predefined criteria, e.g., business expectations, requirements on data integrity, data consistency.
Debugging: The process of finding, analyzing and removing the causes of failures in software.
Defect: A flaw in a component or system that causes the component or system to fail to perform its required function.
Defect Management: The process of recognizing, investigating, taking action and disposing of defects. It involves recording defects, classifying them and identifying the impact.
Defect Report: A document reporting on any flaw in a component or system that can cause the component or system to fail to perform its required function.
End-to-End Testing: Testing of a complete application environment in a situation that mimics real-world use.
Entrance Criteria: The set of generic and specific conditions for permitting a test phase to proceed. The purpose of entry criteria is to prevent a task from starting which would entail more (wasted) effort.
Exit Criteria: The set of generic and specific conditions, agreed upon with the stakeholders, for permitting a process to be officially completed. The purpose of exit criteria is to prevent a task from being considered completed when there are still outstanding parts of the task which have not been finished.
Expected Result: The behavior predicted by the specification, or test script step, of the component or system under specified conditions.
Extreme Programming: A software engineering methodology used within agile software development whereby core practices are performed in pairs, doing extensive code review, unit testing of all code, and simplicity and clarity in code. See also Agile Testing.
Fail: A test is deemed to fail if its actual result does not match its expected result.
Functional Requirement: A requirement that specifies a function that a component or system must perform.
Functional Testing: Software tests based on its functional requirements. It ensures that the software physically works the way it was intended, and that all required options are present.
Links for Testing Terms: (I - R) (S - Z)