ISTQB FOUNDATION 4.0 | Tutorial 2 | 1.1 What is Testing | ISTQB Foundation Tutorials | TM SQUARE

Summary

This tutorial delves into the fundamentals of software testing, explaining the concept as an essential part of product validation. It discusses the history and evolution of testing, emphasizing the human tendency to overlook errors in one's own work. The video clarifies misconceptions about testing, highlighting its multifaceted nature beyond writing and executing test cases. It outlines key objectives of testing, including evaluating work products, identifying defects, ensuring coverage, reducing risk, and building product quality confidence. The tutorial also distinguishes between testing and debugging, asserting that while testers find defects, developers analyze and fix them. Aimed at demystifying testing, it encourages continuous learning and understanding in the field.

Takeaways

• 😀 Testing is a fundamental concept that has been part of our daily life activities, not just a formalized process.
• 🔍 The role of a test engineer is to validate whether a product works as expected, which applies to both physical products and software applications.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Historically, developers were responsible for testing their own work, but this led to many defects leaking to the market due to human error and psychology.
• 🧐 Humans are prone to error and typically cannot find all their mistakes, but are good at identifying errors in others' work, highlighting the need for separate testers.
• 📚 Testing involves more than just writing and executing test cases; it also includes static reviews of work products like requirements and design documents.
• 🛠️ Testing is not solely a technical activity; it requires proper planning, management, estimation, monitoring, and control.
• 🎯 Testing has multiple objectives, including evaluating work products, triggering failures to find defects, ensuring test coverage, reducing risk, verifying requirements, and complying with standards and regulations.
• 📈 Testers are responsible for providing information to stakeholders to enable informed decisions and building confidence in the product's quality.
• 🚫 Testing and debugging are distinct activities; testers find defects, while developers analyze, root cause, and fix them.
• 🤖 In the context of automation testing, testers can also perform debugging on their scripts, as they are responsible for writing and maintaining them.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of software testing?

The primary goal of software testing is to validate whether a product is working as expected, ensuring it meets the user needs and requirements, and identifying potential defects before the product is released to the market.

Why is it important to have separate roles for developers and testers?

Separate roles for developers and testers are important because humans are prone to errors and often cannot find all their own mistakes. Having someone else test the work can help identify defects that the original developer might have missed.

What are some common misconceptions about software testing?

Some common misconceptions include the belief that testing is only about writing and executing test cases, that testing focuses entirely on dynamic interaction with the system, and that anyone can become a tester without the necessary skills and technical knowledge.

What are the key objectives of testing?

The key objectives of testing include evaluation of work products, triggering failures and finding defects, ensuring required coverage of the test object, reducing the level of risk, verifying specified requirements are fulfilled, complying with contractual, legal, and regulatory requirements, providing information to stakeholders, building confidence in product quality, and validating the completeness and expected functionality of the test object.

What is the difference between testing and debugging?

Testing is focused on finding defects, whereas debugging involves analyzing the defect to understand its root cause and fixing it. Testers are responsible for identifying issues, while developers handle the resolution and correction of those issues.

Why is it necessary for testers to review requirements and other documentation?

Testers need to review requirements and documentation to understand what is expected of the product, which informs the creation of test cases. Additionally, this review process can help identify anomalies or inaccuracies in the documentation itself.

What is the role of a test manager in the testing process?

A test manager is responsible for planning, managing, estimating, monitoring, and controlling the testing process. They ensure that testing activities are properly coordinated and that the testing team has the necessary resources and direction.

How does the testing process begin?

The testing process begins with requirement gathering, where testers get involved in reviewing and understanding the requirements. This early involvement helps in identifying any issues or ambiguities in the requirements that could impact testing.

What is the significance of test case review in the testing process?

Test case review is significant as it helps ensure that the test cases are thorough, cover all necessary aspects of the product, and are free from errors. Reviews can also help identify any gaps or redundancies in testing.

Why is it important for testers to build confidence in the product quality?

It is important for testers to build confidence in the product quality because their sign-off is crucial for the product's release to the market. Testers need to be confident that the product meets the required standards and is ready for the end-users.

How does the concept of 'humans being good at finding mistakes in others' work' apply to testing?

This concept applies to testing in the sense that having someone other than the developer review and test the product can lead to more effective defect detection. Testers, who did not create the original work, may be more likely to spot issues that the developers might have overlooked.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Introduction to Software Testing

The video script introduces the concept of software testing as a fundamental aspect of quality assurance in product development. It emphasizes that testing has always been a part of our daily activities, such as tasting food while cooking to ensure it meets expectations. The role of a test engineer is to validate whether a product functions as intended. The script also touches on the history of testing, explaining how developers initially performed their own testing, which led to many defects reaching the market. The realization that humans are prone to error and are better at finding mistakes in others' work led to the separation of development and testing roles. The tutorial clarifies misconceptions about testing, such as it being limited to writing and executing test cases, and highlights the importance of testing in requirement gathering, design reviews, and various other stages of the product development lifecycle.

05:01

🎯 Key Objectives and Misconceptions of Testing

This paragraph delves into the key objectives of software testing, which include evaluating work products, triggering failures to identify defects, ensuring required test coverage, reducing software quality risks, verifying compliance with requirements and regulations, and providing stakeholders with information for informed decision-making. It also discusses the importance of building confidence in product quality and validating completeness and expected functionality. The script dispels the myth that testing is the easiest job in technology and stresses the need for skills and technical knowledge. It highlights the multifaceted nature of testing, which extends beyond finding defects to include planning, management, estimation, monitoring, and control.

10:02

🛠️ Testing vs. Debugging: Distinct Processes

The final paragraph clarifies the difference between testing and debugging, two processes that are often confused. Testing is the responsibility of the test engineer, whose job is solely to find defects without contributing to their fixing. Debugging, on the other hand, involves analyzing the defect to understand its nature, performing root cause analysis, and fixing the defect, which is typically a developer's role. The script also addresses the question of whether debugging scripts in automation testing is considered testing or debugging, concluding that if a tester is analyzing and fixing their own script, they are performing debugging in that context. The tutorial concludes by inviting viewers to ask questions and continue learning about the intricacies of software testing.

Keywords

💡Testing

Testing is the process of evaluating a system or component to determine if it meets specified requirements. In the context of the video, testing is not just about finding defects but also involves validating that a product works as expected. The script mentions that testing is part of day-to-day life activities, like tasting food while cooking to ensure it meets expectations, which illustrates the fundamental concept of testing in everyday scenarios.

💡Test Engineer

A Test Engineer is a professional responsible for validating whether a product meets its intended specifications. The video emphasizes that the role of a Test Engineer is crucial in ensuring product quality by finding defects that developers might overlook due to human error-prone nature. The script also highlights that Test Engineers are involved in various stages of the software development lifecycle, not limited to executing tests.

💡Defect Leakage

Defect Leakage refers to the occurrence of defects that escape the development phase and reach the market or later stages of testing. The script explains that having the same person perform development and testing activities can lead to defect leakage, as it is a common human tendency not to find all one's own mistakes, thus the need for separate Test Engineers.

💡Human Psychology

The script discusses human psychology in the context of why individuals cannot find all their own mistakes and are better at finding errors in others' work. This concept is fundamental to understanding why testing requires a separate individual or team, as it is difficult for developers to be completely objective about their own work.

💡Work Product

A work product in the context of software testing refers to any tangible output of the software development process, such as documentation, diagrams, or algorithms. The video mentions that Test Engineers are responsible for evaluating these work products for anomalies, which is an essential part of ensuring the quality of the final product.

💡Test Objectives

Test Objectives are the goals or purposes that testing aims to achieve. The video outlines multiple objectives, including evaluating work products, triggering failures to find defects, ensuring required coverage, reducing risk, and verifying compliance with requirements. These objectives guide the testing process and help Test Engineers focus on what is crucial for product quality.

💡Coverage

Coverage in testing refers to the extent to which test cases cover the functionality of a software application. The script emphasizes the importance of writing an appropriate number of test cases to achieve the required coverage, ensuring that all aspects of the product are tested and defects are identified.

💡Risk Reduction

Risk Reduction is the process of identifying and mitigating potential issues that could affect the quality of the software. The video explains that Test Engineers are responsible for reducing the level of risk associated with inadequate software quality, which is a key objective of testing.

💡Stakeholder

A Stakeholder in the context of software testing is any individual or group that has an interest in the project's outcome. The video mentions that Test Engineers must provide information to stakeholders to allow them to make informed decisions, highlighting the importance of communication in the testing process.

💡Debugging

Debugging is the process of identifying, analyzing, and correcting defects in a software application. The video clarifies that debugging is different from testing, with the latter focused on finding defects and the former on analyzing and fixing them. The script also touches on the fact that Test Engineers may engage in debugging when it comes to automation scripts they have written.

Highlights

Testing is a fundamental concept that has been a part of daily life activities, not just in software or appliances.

A test engineer's responsibility is to validate whether a product works as expected, including software applications.

The history of testing shows it existed long before formal testing roles, with developers also performing testing duties.

It was recognized that the same person developing and testing software led to many defects reaching the market.

Human psychology plays a role in testing; people are prone to errors and often cannot find all their mistakes.

Humans are also better at finding mistakes in others' work, which justifies the need for a separate test engineer.

Testing is not limited to writing test cases and executing them; it involves a broader set of activities.

Testers are involved from the requirement gathering phase, reviewing and understanding requirements for test case creation.

Testing also includes reviewing various work products like documentation and designs to find anomalies early.

Test management involves planning, estimation, monitoring, and controlling, which are crucial for the testing process.

Testing has multiple objectives, including evaluation of work products, triggering failures, ensuring coverage, and risk reduction.

Testers ensure that specified requirements are met and that the test object complies with contractual, legal, and regulatory requirements.

Providing information to stakeholders to make informed decisions is a key responsibility of testers.

Building confidence in product quality is essential, and testers must be confident in the product before release.

Testing and debugging are different activities; testers find defects, while debugging involves analyzing and fixing them.

Automation testing involves both testing the script (for defects) and debugging the script (to fix issues).

The tutorial emphasizes the importance of understanding the difference between testing and debugging in software development.

Transcripts

Hello friends and greetings for the day

welcome back to another tutorial on

istqb Foundation certification tutorials

we are getting started with chapter one

and as a part of the chapter one which

is fundamentals of testing we shall be

talking about the very first topic of

this chapter today that is what is

testing and as part of this particular

segment we shall cover more about the

basic introduction to what is

testing

[Music]

well in order to talk about the

fundamental of testing Concepts testing

is there from a long time it's just that

like we did not recognize it probably

much earlier but it's just that it was a

part of our day-to-day life activities

in fact when you do something you do

taste it right for example when you

cooking something new you would love to

make a taste of it to make sure that it

is tasting as you expected or not and

exactly that particular way of concept

is being applied into the segment of any

product or any applications testing so

being A tes engineer our

responsibilities are to validate whether

a product is working as expected or not

now here I'm using the word product it

does not mean that it is only limited to

an appliances or any hardcore product

which you might be using in your

day-to-day world we are also talking

about any such application or software

which we build today right so a bit

history of what testing is and how does

it come into the market of course

initially we did not have anyone called

as testing genius but of course testing

is existed long back when the

development was done by the developers

and the developers were also responsible

to do testing too but of course due to

the you know same person performing

these activities that led to a lot of

defect leakage and it's a very common

understanding right at the beginning

which I would like to share with you

that we understood based on the analysis

of this that why are we leaking so many

defects to the market we understood that

it's a very hum very common human

tendency and psychology that you cannot

find all your mistakes now there are a

few things about human psychology which

are very simple and straightforward to

understand number one human is error

prone which you will agree to it second

that human cannot find all their

mistakes of course they can find some of

them but not all the mistakes what they

make every single day or in every single

book and third humans are equally good

at finding mistakes in somebody's else

work now that could be a little funny to

talk about but I think I'm pretty much

making sense to all of you now that's

where we thought testing let it happen

of course it has to happen we cannot

excuse it but let let's have someone

else do it even if I relate this to your

graduation examination and I'm I'm not

sure how many of you really got some

time to revise your paper before

submission but one once you know the

teacher looked at it uh they could very

well find out the mistake no matter how

many times you revised it before

submission you were not capable of

finding all your mistakes now that

certainly justifies that what's the need

of being a tester and at the same time

was the need of having someone else as a

test engineer not the person who

developed it so many people assume that

hey that sounds a very simple thing and

can anybody just do that answer is no

not at all testing is just not limited

to writing test cases and executions

many people think about that testing is

just a set of activity which involves

writing test cases and executing them

another misconception about testing is

that testing focuses entirely on the

verifying the test object whereas it's

not just Dynamic that means it's just

not about interacting with the system

and Performing the test it also deals

with statically reviewing the work

products which we right so the Journey

of testing starts right from the

requirement Gathering and we as a tester

get involved in reviewing the

requirements in other words we are

actually understanding the requirement

for writing our test cases but as a

return of that or as a byproduct we do

find anomalies in the written

documentations too similarly a tester do

get involved in design review does get

involved in the test case review test

plan review project plan review code

review today and everywhere no matter

what kind of effect what kind of work

product we are talking about we do have

a review happening for such products

which are critical to have any anomalies

at the beginning of the day also testing

is not only the technical activity it

also needs to be properly planned

managed estimated monitored and

controlled which of course is a

responsibility of the manager and the

management takes care of it but uh

testing is just not limited to writing

test cases and executing them so people

who are thinking at this point of time

that hey testing can be done by anyone

or if there's someone who told you that

testing is the most easiest job in

technology and someone who doesn't have

anything to do can become a tester let

me tell you it's not that simple you

need to learn things you need to

understand things and need to make

things happen according to the

expectation and for that you need skills

and Technical knowledge well the next

topic importantly what we are talking

about is test objectives that means what

are the key objectives of testing as a

part of the process and of course many

people think that testing is mainly from

the perspective of validating the

product finding the defects meeting the

expected requirement meeting the user

needs and sometime they do get confused

or sometime they do conclude things

together stating that is it uh the

combination of all the things and answer

is absolutely yes testing has multiple

objectives and a tester is responsible

to meet all of them but yeah there would

be some of the things which may not be

applicable to your product depending on

your organization depending on your

product characteristics or maybe your

project characteristics so it is very

important to just keep those things in

mind which your project or product or

organization deals with but at in a

nutshell all these on the screen are

basically your key objectives of testing

and being a test engineer you are

responsible to meet them so the

objectives include mainly that is the

evaluation of the work products the

journey starts right from there as we

talk about about different work products

being written now work product here are

documentations including the diagrams

like uh you can say business models or

flowcharts algorithms every single thing

is a work product for me to get

evaluated so V testers are responsible

to review them and raise any kind of

anomalies and queries and doubts or

clarification related to that second

triggering the failures and finding

defects of course uh our in overall

intention and objective is to conduct as

many fa failures as possible as a part

of the life cycle or test activities and

to make sure that we identify the

potential defects and let the developer

know about it so that they can fix it of

course when we talk about ensuring

required coverage of a test object

object which means writing the number of

test cases which are desirable to cover

the required expectation has to be

written so the coverage measurement is

equally important it's not that for a

particular requirement I can just write

few test cases whatever I think like and

that would enough now you need to write

appropriate number of test cases which

gives you the required coverage for that

particular functionality or feature or

test object reducing the level of risk

of inadequate software quality now of

course the risk also is getting covered

and again these words will be discussed

in detail in chapter 5 so just stay calm

and we will be talking about it in more

detail but as a part of testing our

responsibility is also to reduce the

level of risk because sometime we just

can't blindly mitigated risk also

verifying whether specified requirement

have been fulfilled which is key

expectation of testing we assure that

the user needs and expectations are met

verifying what a test object complies

with contractual legal and Regulatory

requirement uh this is what I was

referring to when I said that it's not

necessary every organization every

single product has to go through the

standards the contracts or legal

requirements but there are many products

in the market today for for example if

you talk about embedded systems you talk

about automotive aviations and banking

they do get involved with many standards

legals and other contractual

requirements of course contractual could

be for anyone but legal and uh standards

are specifically driven by some of the

products also verifying that test object

uh complies with that and then providing

information to stakeholder to allow them

to make inform uh make informed

decisions that means our key respon

responsibility is to consistently let

other stakeholders know that what are we

doing at this point of Time how are we

progressing so that they can make

appropriate decisions about the progress

and releases building confidence in the

product quality which is of course one

of our key responsibility if we as a

tester do not have the confidence of

releasing the product to the market then

we cannot let the organization do that

so as a tester until unless you have the

confidence of you know letting the

product go into the market nobody else

would do that so your sign off is very

important it's just like until unless as

a ground staff you don't show a thumbs

up to the pilot the pilot cannot move

the aircraft so that's your value at

this point of time and also validating

whether the test object is complete and

works as expected by the stakeholder so

completeness check should also be

performed that means uh some of the

requirements can be under tested or some

of the requirements may be missed out

with uh as a part of the testing so so

we must keep assuring at every single

point that all our requirements have

been covered completed and they are

behaving as per the stakeholder needs

well another important thing here we

talking about is testing and debugging

quite often people think a lot different

about testing and debugging and uh

sometime people who are not from the

testing background they think testing

and debugging are almost similar why

because testing is all about finding

defects and debugging as a term also

says bug bugs D debug so it's about

removing defects so isn't that testing

and debugging are somewhat or almost

similar and that's where testing team

wants to or istqb wants you to learn

about this at this point of time that

testing and debugging are not same

testing and debugging are different a

testing team or test engineer is someone

who is responsible only to find defects

they don't have any kind of contribution

in terms of fixing a defect where

whereas debugging is something as a

process which deals with analyzing the

defect being reported getting into the

root cause of that because it's not

necessary what you see is only the

problem sometime there could be

something else as an element

contributing to the failure so a

developer has to go through the root

cause analysis to find out the exact

reason behind that failure or the defect

and then fix it so fixing that is

certainly not something which just you

know can be done by a test engineer so

in key differences testing is only

responsible for finding out a defect or

finding a defect whereas debugging deals

with uh the analysis of the defect that

means understanding what is the defect

all about getting into the root cause

analysis finding the root cause and

another important thing is fixing the

def so it's very very crucial that we

understand the difference between this

so testing and debugging are separate

activities and uh does deal with

important things which are related to uh

performing these activities so another

important question what I quite often

quite often hear from people is that hey

when it comes to automation testing do

we call it as testing the script or

debugging the script so sometime is it

possible that we can also do debugging

answer is of course yes it's not about

the role or the designation in your

organization it's about the process

right the process says what exactly you

are doing so if you are just finding

defs you are doing testing no matter who

you are a developer also does testing T

in in terms of unit testing a tester

also performs testing when it comes to

system testing when it comes to code a

developer performs debugging we don't do

anything but when it comes to automation

script which we have written so we are

the developer of the code right in that

context we are the people who are also

responsible to fix our automation script

ourself and that time when we are

analyzing the script and fixing any kind

of syntax errors or any kind of other

anomalies in the script we call call it

as debugging so execution is called as

automation testing but fixing the script

is debugging so in that regards it's

just not limited to developer it can be

done by tester also given that they are

responsible for writing and maintaining

automation test so I think that was all

we had from this particular tutorial

team and you have got a good

understanding of the same should you

have anything else we can talk if you

can just let me know by dropping a

comment so that's all from this

particular tutorial team should you have

anything else feel free to comment below

I'm always there to address your queries

answer them well till then keep learning

keep exploring keep understanding the

context thanks for watching the video

team and happy

[Music]

learning