Guideline: Tips - Execute The Tests (AST)

Executing dynamic explicit tests

A quick way of helping inexperienced testers on their way is to carry out this activity in pairs. Team up an inexperienced tester with an experienced one [Kaner, 2001]. In this, one tester is responsible for the test. He involves another tester, with one of them operating the keys and the other thinking about the things to be tested, observing, taking notes and researching. By thinking aloud, the testers together generate many more ideas than they would separately. They also help each other not to lose sight of the test goal because of unimportant details. Coaching in pairs is certainly to be recommended, particularly in the beginning. Testing in pairs is less successful if the individuals are very introverted or very assertive.

Faults located together

Faults have a tendency to clustered together within a test object. If a fault occurs in a particular function, screen, operation or other part, the chances are that other faults are there as well. There are various causes for this. For example, the particular part may contain more complex code, so the likelihood of the programmer making a mistake is greater. Alternatively, a particular part may have been created by an inexperienced programmer, or by one who was having an off day. It is therefore advisable, when a fault is found, always to search the area for other faults.