Testing Process

Testing Life Cycle
A good testing life cycle begins during the requirements elucidation phase of software development, and concludes when the product is ready to install or ship following a successful system test.
A formal test plan is more than an early step in the software testing process--it's a vital part of your software development life cycle. This presents a series of tasks to help you develop a formal testing process model, as well as the inputs and outputs associated with each task. These tasks include.

• review of program plans
• development of the formal test plan
• creation of test documentation (test design, test cases, test software, and test producers
• acquisition of automated testing tools
• test execution
• updating the test documentation
• tailoring the model for projects of all sizes

What is bug?
A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. Bugs arise from mistakes and errors, made by people, in either a program's source code or its design. A program that contains a large number of bugs, and/or bugs that seriously interfere with its functionality, is said to be buggy. Reports about bugs in a program are referred to as bug reports, also called PRs (problem reports), trouble reports, CRs (change requests), and so forth.
Bugs can have a wide variety of effects, with varying levels of inconvenience to the user of the program. Some bugs have only a subtle effect on the program's functionality, and may thus lie undetected for a long time. More serious bugs may cause the program to crash or freeze. Other bugs lead to security problems; for example, a common type of bug which allows a buffer overflow may allow a malicious user to execute other programs that are normally not allowed to run.
Bug tracking procedure
An issue (bug) tracking system (ITS) is a software application that allows an enterprise to record and follow the progress of every problem or "issue" that a computer system user identifies until the problem is resolved. With an ITS, an "issue", which can be anything from a simple customer question to a detailed technical report of an error or bug, can be tracked by priority status, owner, or some other customized criteria.
An ITS generally provides the user with a way to report an issue, track progression towards its resolution, and know who is responsible for resolving the issue. It also allows the manager of the system to customize the tracking procedure so that unnecessary documentation on the part of the problem solvers does not become a waste of time.
Bug Life Cycle
Input when reporting a bug; be as detailed as possible regarding execution, environment, how the bug can be replicated and any other relevant information.
eg.
- Program that caused the error
- Code or program that is not part of the package
- Package sample
- Error messages, error codes
- Message transmission confirmation
- Server or service settings
- NEW
- NEW -> ASSIGNED
- ASSIGNED -> RESOLVED
- RESOLVED -> VERIFIED
- VERIFIED -> CLOSED

Bug Entry Details

1. Select a Product
2. Specify a Version
- 1.0.pre1
- 1.0.pre2
3. Which Component?
- API
- Server
- Other
4. Which Platform?
- All
- HP
5. Which OS
Ex: - Windows / 98 / ME / 2000 / NT / XP
6. Indicate a Priority
Available Levels of Priority
- P1 Most Critical
- P2
- P3
- P4
- P5 Least Critical
7. Initial Owner
8. Cc:
9. URL:
10. Bug Summary
11. Additional Comments
12. Specify Inspection Group