This lesson is about how to know, whether the software passed or failed the test. That’s easy, right? Well, watch the video and you will understand this can be quite difficult to say.
In this video you will learn about:
How to determine whether a program has passed or failed a test. The main reading, "Testing Without a Map" by Michael Bolton, introduces the concept of Oracle heuristics. Traditionally, Oracles are tools to assess whether a program passed or failed, but the paper argues that real Oracles are challenging to achieve. The complexity arises from the variability in reference programs, making comparisons difficult. The discussion emphasizes the importance of judgments in testing and the fallibility of test data. Doug Hoffman's insights on monitoring relevant aspects and the limitations of heuristics in automation are highlighted, stressing the need for a nuanced approach.
Discussed terminology:
Passed or Failed?
Specification of the expected result
Specification of the test environment
Specified and unspecified test conditions
Inputs and outputs
Heuristics
Recommended reading for this chapter is here:
It contains some useful tips for exploratory testing - something we are using when the specification is not complete yet when we are in front of new software and we need to understand it and find some major issues quickly