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

9.9. Exercises

1. What is the difference between "Quality Control" and "Quality Assurance" for software systems? Give an example of each.^[]

   ^[] This exercise was contributed by Dr. Deepti Suri of Milwaukee School of Engineering.

2. For the following three exercises, find a partner or a small group of people who will role-play a project management team for you. In each case, you will be presenting a test status report that indicates a project in trouble. Present the status report using the dashboard charts and a verbal explanation. (The dashboard charts are available at www.rexblackconsulting.com for convenience, and show a variation on the quality risk coverage chart that uses absolute numbers instead of percentages.) While each of the three exercises is in a slightly different situation, some common elements apply. The project is our familiar Speedy Writer example, the browser-based word processing application. Second, the development team ran the Component and Integration Test phases, Component Test from December 11 through December 29 and Integration Test from December 18 through January 12. The project is now in the System Test phase. Cycle one ran from January 8 through January 14, and today is January 15. The System Test Phase Exit Meeting is planned for January 29, which leaves two more one-week test cycles.

• Too many bugs. In the first scenario, the dashboard for which is shown in Figures 9.7 through 9.10, the Test team is working productively and finding a few more bugs than expected. ...