Lecture 3 - Test Cases and Test Suites -> Quick Intro -> Test Case Structure -> Results Of The Test Case Execution -> Useful Attributes Of The Test Case -> Data-Driven Test Cases -> Maintainability Of Test Cases -> The Number Of Expected Results Inside One Test Case -> Bad Test Case Practices -> Test Suites -> States Of A Test Case -> The Importance Of Creativity -> Three Important Factors That Affect Test Cases -> ChecklistsEach start-up is different, so you can be very creative in making your test cases as effective as possible, wherever you work. Let’s look at three important factors that can affect both the formal and actual sides of your test cases:
1. Importance of the project
2. Complexity of the project
3. Stage of the project
1. IMPORTANCE OF THE PROJECT
Let’s look at two hypothetical bugs. Please note that these bugs never occurred in reality; I made them up for the sake of illustration.
YouTube bug: 10% of the ending of the video clip is missing after an .avi file upload.
PayPal bug: 10% of an amount is missing after a bank-to-PayPal transfer.
I bet most of us would be somewhat annoyed in the first case and REALLY pissed off in the second case.
Here is another perspective:
– Can users sue YouTube for a faulty upload causing a loss in playback time? No.
– Can users sue PayPal for a faulty transfer causing a loss in money? Yes.
So, while YouTube is an amazing project, it deals with entertainment, and if it doesn’t function it’s upsetting, but you are just a click away from other similar Web sites.
It’s totally different for PayPal, where people’s finances are involved. If money is lost, a transfer is delayed, or an account is blocked, it can have really negative consequences for both the user and the company.
2. COMPLEXITY OF THE PROJECT
Some projects are super simple (ShareLane) and some projects are super complex (PayPal). Complexity is rooted in the technologies used, the number of lines of code, integration with vendors, etc. As a rule, projects of high importance are highly complex.
3. STAGE OF THE PROJECT
A project can be at an early stage when only a general idea and a simple prototype exist or at its maturity when hundreds of folks are employed and millions of users enjoy the product. A product in its early stage usually has low importance and low complexity.
Depending on these three factors, we develop our testing strategies, and these will also include the standards and requirements for the formal side of test cases. Today we have learned several good approaches to test case generation and management, but in many start-ups the above 3 factors will simplify test case related activities. As a rule, during the first months of a start-up’s existence (i.e., when importance and complexity are low) it’s totally okay to have all or the majority of test cases in form of checklists. Next ->
Lecture 3 - Test Cases and Test Suites -> Quick Intro -> Test Case Structure -> Results Of The Test Case Execution -> Useful Attributes Of The Test Case -> Data-Driven Test Cases -> Maintainability Of Test Cases -> The Number Of Expected Results Inside One Test Case -> Bad Test Case Practices -> Test Suites -> States Of A Test Case -> The Importance Of Creativity -> Three Important Factors That Affect Test Cases -> Checklists
