September 2005 Entries
Informal V&V Techniques Informal techniques are among the most commonly used. They are called informal because they rely heavily on human reasoning and subjectivity without stringent mathematical formalism. The informal label should not imply, however, a lack of structure or formal guidelines in their use. In fact, these techniques should be applied using well-structured approaches under formal guidelines. They can be very effective if employed properly. The following techniques are discussed...
Checklist for Design Reviews Reviews for software design focus on data design, architectural design, and procedural design. In general, two types of design reviews are conducted. The preliminary design review assesses the translation of requirements to design of data and architecture. The second review, often called design walkthrough, concentrates on the procedural correctness of algorithms as they are implemented within program modules. Below you can find two checklists, one for each kind of design...
Checklist for Acceptance Testing In addition to the questions concerning software testing in general, the following questions should be answered in case of acceptance testing. Test Preparation Has the plan for acceptance testing been submitted? Have all possible interactions been described? Are all input data required for testing available? Is it possible to automatically document the test runs? Have the customer specific constraints been considered? Have you defined acceptance criteria (e.g. performance,...
Checklist for Code Reviews The following checklist contains general questions to keep in mind when reviewing code. It assumes that a design walkthrough has been conducted and that algorithm correctness has been established as part of the design review. Has the design properly been translated into code? (The results of the procedural design should be available during this review.) Are there misspellings and typos? Has proper use of language conventions been made? Is there compliance with coding standards...