The software development process
1.some efforts go into a software product
Schedules product review design documents test plan software code
Usability data customer surveys Product specification
competitive information look and feel specifications software architecture
feedback from previous versions
2.some parts are easy to forget to be tested.
Help files readme file user's manual error message icons and art
Samples and examples labels and stickers product support info
Ads and marketing material setup and installation
3.Big-bang model
A huge amount of matter is put together,a lot of energy is expended and out comes the
perfect software product.....or it doesn't.
The beauty of the bigbang method is that it's simple.There is little if any planning,
scheduling,or formal development process.All the effort is spent developing the software and
writing the code.
In most cases,there is little to no formal testing done under the big-bang model.
If testing does occur,it's squeezed in just before the product is released.
4.code-and-fix model
The code-and-fix model is usually the one that project teams fall into by default if they
don't consciously attempt to use something else.It's a step up from the big-bang model,
in that it at least requires some idea of what the product requirements are.
That pretty much sums up this model.Ateam using this approach usually starts with a rough
idea of what they want, does some simple design,and then proceeds into a long repeating cycle
of coding,testing,and fixing bugs.
As a tester on a code-and-fix project,you need to be aware that you will be in a constant
state of cycling.You may not finished testing the previous release when the new one arrives,
and the new one may have new or changed features.
5.waterfall model
A project using the waterfall model moves down a series of steps starting from an initial
idea to a final product.At the end of each step,the project team holds a review to determine
if they're ready to move to the next step.If the project isn't ready to progress, it stays at
that level until it's ready.
There's a large emphasis on specifying what the product will be.The steps are discrete.
There's no way to back up.
From a testing perspective,the waterfall model offers one huge advantage over the other
models presented so far.Everything is carefully and thoroughly specified.The test group can
create an accurate plan and schedule.There's no question about whether something is a feature
or a bug.
But comes a large disadvantage,because testing occurs only at the end,a fundamental
problem could creep in early on and not be detected until days before the scheduled product
release.
6.spiral model
The general idea behind the spiral model is that you don't define everything in detail at
the very begining.You start small,define your important features,try them out, get feedback
from yours customers,and then move on to the next level. You repeat this until you have your
final product.
As a tester, you will get a chance to influence the product early by being involved in the
preliminary design phases.You'll see where the project has come from and where it's going.And
at the very end of the project, you won't feel as rushed to perform all you testing at the last
minute.You're been testing all along,so the last push should only be a validation that
everything is okay.