Measuring software testing efficiency using two-way assessment technique

Software has become a driving force. Its impact on our society continues to be profound. Customers have come to rely on the functionality and accuracy of software. A bug free software is an illusion and infinite testing is simply not a viable option.. But with scientific software development technology, quality control and systematic testing, number of bugs could be minimized. Software testing is an important activity to improve software quality. However, it is well known that it is costly (Yang et al, 2008; Bertolino, 2008). Thus, there has always been a need to increase the efficiency of testing while, in parallel, making it more effective in terms of finding & removing defects. Measuring critical attributes of software testing process enables software developers with further insight in to software testing process. Thereafter, optimal utilization of their resources for testing purpose. In this paper, we propose a two way assessment framework for software developers to find out overall utility from the testing process that can serve as an important indicator of the efficiency and effectiveness of software testing process. It illustrates a two way assessment technique, which can be adopted to inculcate a culture of continuous improvement in the overall software testing lifecycle. The framework takes into consideration 1). Managements/Developers perspective to highlight the importance of various attributes of testing; & 2). Testers/Team Members perspective, to assess functioning and working of each of the attribute.

[1]  Barry Boehm,et al.  Top 10 list [software development] , 2001 .

[2]  Steven R. Rakitin,et al.  Software verification and validation for practitioners and managers , 2001 .

[3]  Marnie L. Hutcheson,et al.  Software testing fundamentals - methods and metrics , 2003 .

[4]  Roger S. Pressman,et al.  Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach , 1982 .

[5]  T. Saaty.  Axiomatic foundation of the analytic hierarchy process , 1986 .

[6]  Anita D. Carleton,et al.  Case studies of software-process-improvement measurement , 1994, Computer.

[7]  Jeff Tian,et al.  Software quality engineering - testing, quality assurance, and quantifiable improvement , 2005 .

[8]  Sandro Morasca,et al.  Towards a theoretical framework for measuring software attributes , 1997, Proceedings Fourth International Software Metrics Symposium.

[9]  Barry W. Boehm,et al.  Software Defect Reduction Top 10 List , 2001, Computer.

[10]  Ljubomir Lazic.  Software testing optimization by advanced quantitative defect management , 2010, Comput. Sci. Inf. Syst..

[11]  Elfriede Dustin,et al.  Effective software testing : 50 specific ways to improve your testing , 2002 .

[12]  T. R. Gopalakrishnan Nair,et al.  Defect Management Strategies in Software Development , 2012, ArXiv.

[13]  Cem Kaner,et al.  Software Engineering Metrics: What Do They Measure and How Do We Know? , 2004 .

[14]  Jooyoung Seo,et al.  Tailoring test process by using the component-based development paradigm and the XML technology , 2000, Proceedings Seventh Asia-Pacific Software Engeering Conference. APSEC 2000.

[15]  P. K. Kapur,et al.  Critical success factor utility based tool for ERP health assessment: a general framework , 2014, Int. J. Syst. Assur. Eng. Manag..

[16]  C. Robert Carlson,et al.  Developing a Testing Maturity Model for software test process evaluation and improvement , 1996, Proceedings International Test Conference 1996. Test and Design Validity.

[17]  Nikos E. Mastorakis,et al.  Cost effective software test metrics , 2008 .

[18]  Tsutomu Ishida,et al.  Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering , 1995 .