Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing

3.9. Exercises

1. You are responsible for the System Test phase for a calculator program, as discussed in Chapters 1 and 2. Write a test case for the multiplication feature (assume standard rather than scientific mode) in three formats:

   1. The sequential-step template.

   2. The screen-oriented template.

   3. The IEEE 829 template.

   How do the three test cases compare?

2. The other dyadic operators (those that take two operands like addition, division, and subtraction) can be tested using the same format. How would you change your approach for the unary operators (those that take one operand like square root, inverse, and change sign)?

3. The expected result for a calculator must be known very precisely to ascertain pass or fail status for tests of mathematical correctness. What if we were testing the user interface (appearance, functionality, etc.) of the calculator? Can we describe precisely all the attributes that make a user interface good? Comment on whether we can describe precise pass and fail criteria for user interface tests, and whether pass or fail status is an absolute for user interface tests.