The Systems Life Cycle: Testing (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE ICT)
Revision Note
What is the system life cycle?
The system life cycle is a structured process that guides the planning, creation, testing, and deployment of an information system
Ensures systems are systematically developed, meeting needs of stakeholders, minimising risks and maximising efficiency
The third stage is testing, the purpose is to:
Verify that the system meets all requirements, functions correctly, and is free of bugs through various testing methods.
Test Strategies
What are test strategies?
A test strategy is a method of testing a completed system to ensure all parts work as intended
Systems are designed in a modular format
Each module needs to be tested independently
Testing is done again once all modules are joined together
The results of testing may indicate changes need to be made, testing is repeated once all changes have been made
Test designs
Test design | Why? |
|---|---|
Data structures | Test all data is stored correctly |
File structures | Test all data is stored in the correct format |
Input formats | Test that data can be entered correctly |
Output formats | Tests that screen output and reports are in the correct format |
Validation routines | Tests that the system rejects unreasonable data being inputted |
Test plans
A test plan is designed and implemented to ensure thorough testing of a system, it includes:
Test data: specific data used for testing purposes
Expected outcomes: predicted results based on test data
Actual outcomes: results obtained from testing
Remedial action: steps taken to fix identified issues
Test Data
What is test data?
Test data is specific data used for testing purposes
There are four main categories of test data that would be used whilst performing final testing on a system
Normal
Extreme
Abnormal
Live
Normal data
Normal test data is data that should be accepted in the system
Normal data has a known outcome
Extreme data
Extreme data is data that is on the limits of what is acceptable
Abnormal data
Abnormal data is data outside of the limits of what is acceptable
Abnormal data should be rejected by the system
Live data
Live data is data from the old system used on the new system
Live data has known outcomes, so it can be compared to the new system to ensure the new system works
Worked Example
The European Space Agency (ESA) is building a new space telescope to orbit the Earth and search for distant galaxies. The ESA is using computer controlled robots to build the lens of the telescope. A new computer system will operate the space telescope; the new computer system is made up of several modules.
Describe how the new computer system is to be tested before it is fully operational.
[4]
Answer
four of:
Each module has to be tested independently to ensure it functions correctly [1]
Modules need to be tested together [1]
Data needs to be transferred from module to module to check for data clashes [1]
Errors need to be noted and corrections made [1]
Then tested again [1]
The system as a whole needs to be fully tested under controlled conditions [1]
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