< < < Back to Main Page	By Hammad Shahid

In a simple vein, rapid testing means testing software faster than you do now, while maintaining or improving your standards of quality. Before proceeding our topic further, lets define some basic terms and concepts. The logical place to start is with software testing. Software testing is a process of analyzing and operating software for the purpose of finding bugs. Considering just the definition of Testing, we find four terms, which should be described one by one. These are process, analyzing, operating and bug. The word process is used to highlight that testing involves planned, orderly activities. This point is important if we are concerned with rapid development, which means developing software faster than you do now. Test activities that are associated with analyzing the products of software development are called static testing. Static testing includes code inspections, walkthroughs, and desk checks. In contrast, test activities that involve operating the software are called dynamic testing. Both move forward shoulder to shoulder, and each type has a unique approach to detecting bugs. The final point to consider in the definition of software testing is the meaning of ‘bug.’ A bug is born when a person makes an error in some activity that relates to software development. This error gets embedded in that person’s work product as a fault. Make and Break the product code, clearly recall the long quarrel that has been started between Developers and Testers once invention of testing occurred. The developer is trying to 'make' code. The tester is trying to 'break' the code. And both knows better that the goal of the developer is to create bug-free code that satisfies the software design and meets the customer’s requirements WHILE the goal of tester is to analyze or operate the code to expose the bugs that are hidden in the code as it is integrated, configured, and run in different environments. Above all, as every test manager knows, the right people are essential ingredient to rapid testing. There are several studies that show productivity differences of 10:1 or more in software developers. The same is true with test engineers—not everyone has the skills, experience, or temperament to be a good test engineer. Rapid testing particularly needs people who are disciplined, flexible, who can handle the pressure of an aggressive schedule, and who are able to be productive contributors through the early phases of the development life cycle. So our discussion ends on accepting the fact that rapid testing is a structure that is built on a foundation of four components, which are illustrated in the figure In the end, I must say, "getting less rate of valid defects during testing phase is not a good sign for the enhancement of the product. With immediate effects, we need to know Rapid Testing techniques to achieve our target. The challenge is to satisfy the needs of our customers without sacrificing the other."

.

< < < Back to Testing