Software testing A—Z

Item Description
Formal testing conducted to enable a user, customer or other authorised
Acceptance Testing
entity to determine whether to accept a system or component.
The behaviour actually produced when the object is tested under specified
Actual Outcome
conditions.
Ad hoc testing Testing carried out using no recognised test case design technique
Self contained processes that run in the background on a client or server
Agents and that perform useful functions for a specific user/owner. Agents may
monitor exceptions based on criteria or execute automated tasks.
Data that is results from applying a process to combine data elements.
Aggregated Data
Data that is summarized.
Algorithm A sequence of steps for solving a problem.
Simulated or actual operational testing at an in-house site not otherwise
Alpha Testing
involved with the software developers
An information system containing key attributes of applications deployed
Application Portfolio in a company. Application portfolios are used as tools to manage the
business value of an application throughout its lifecycle.
a test case design technique for a component in which test cass are
Arc Testing
designed to execute branch condition outcomes
Artificial Intelligence The science of making machines do things which would require
(AI) intelligence if they were done by humans.
Component of a business process. Assets can include people,
Asset accommodation, computer systems, networks, paper records, fax
machines, etc.
A variable that takes on values that might be numeric, text, or logical
Attribute
(true/false). Attributes store the factual knowledge in a knowledge base
 The use of software to perform or support test activities, e.g. test
management, test design, test execution and results checking.
There are many factors to consider when planning for software test
Automation automation. Automation changes the complexion of testing and the test
organisation from design through implementation and test execution.
There are tangible and intangible elements and widely held myths about
benefits and capabilities of test automation.
Ability of a component or service to perform its required function at a
stated instant or over a stated period of time.
Availability It is usually expressed as the availability ratio, i.e. the proportion of time
that the service is actually available for use by the Customers within the
agreed service hours.

Item Description
BS 7925-2 Glossary of British Standard Test terms
The process of determining the value of a goal by looking for rules
Backward chaining that can conclude the goal. Attributes in the premise of such rules
may be made subgoals for further search if necessary.
An aid to organisational performance management. It helps to focus,
Balanced Scorecard not only on the financial targets but also on the internal processes,
customers and learning and growth issues.
Documents or other outputs identified which should be tested at each
stage of development
A snapshot or a position which is recorded. Although the position
Baseline
may be updated later, the baseline remains unchanged and available
as a reference of the original state and as a comparison against the
current position.
A sequence of one or more consecutive, executable statements
Basic Block
containing no branches
A set of test cases derived from the code logic which ensure that
Basic test set
100% branch coverage is achieved
Behaviour The combination of input values and preconditions and the required
response for a function of a system. The full specification of a
 function would normally comprise one or more behaviours
Operational testing at a site not otherwise involved with the software
Beta Testing
developers
Integration testing where no incremental testing takes place prior to
Big-bang testing
all the system's components being combined to form the system
Test case selection based on an analysis of the specification of the
Black Box Testing
component without reference to its internal workings
A hierarchically organised database which allows information to flow
Blackboard
both in and out from the knowledge sources.
An approach to integration testing where the lowest level
Bottom up testing components are tested first, then used to facilitate the testing of
higher level components.
A conditional transfer of control from any statement to any other
statement in a component, or an unconditional transfer of control
Branch
from any statement to any other statement in the component except
the next statement, or
Branch Condition
A test case design technique in which test cases are design to execute
Combination
combinations of branch condition outcomes
Testing
Branch Condition The percentage of branch condition outcomes in every decision that
Coverage have been exercised by a test case suite
Branch Condition A test case design technique in which test cases are designed to
Testing execute branch condition outcomes
The percentage of branches thta have been exercised by a test case
Branch Coverage
suite
A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are
Branch Testing
designed to execute branch outcomes
A search strategy that examines all rules that could determine the
value of the current goal or subgoal before backtracking through
Breadth first search
other rules to determine the value of an unknown attribute in the
current rule.
Equipment and techniques used to match circuits to each other
Bridge
ensuring minimum transmission impairment.
Business Recovery Documents describing the roles, responsibilities and actions
Plans necessary to resume business processes following a business
 disruption.

Item Description
CAST Computer Aided Software Testing
Capture / A test tool which records test input as it is sent to the software under
Playback Tool test. The input cases stored can than be used to design test cases
Case-Based A problem-solving system that relies on stored representations of
Reasoning (CBR) previously solved problems and their solutions.
Cause Effect A graphical representation of inputs or stimuli (causes) with their
Graph associated outputs (effects), which can be used to design test cases
Cause Effect A test case design technique in which test cases are designed by
Graphing consideration of cause effect graphs
Allowing confidence levels obtained from user input and rule
Certainty
conclusions to be combined to increase the overall confidence in the
processing
value assigned to an attribute.
The process of confirming that a system or component complies with
Certification
its specified requirements and is acceptable for operational use
The procedure to ensure that all changes are controlled, including the
Change Control submission, analysis, decision making, approval, implementation and
post implementation of the change.
A statement of test objectives, and possibly test ideas. Test charters are
Charter
amongst other used in exploratory testing.
A category that generally describes a group of more specific items or
Classes
objects.
One expression in the If (premise) or Then (consequent) part of a rule.
Clause Often consists of an attribute name followed by a relational operator
and an attribute value.
An analysis method that determines which parts have not been
Code Coverage
executed and therefore may require additional attention
Designing tests based on objectives derived from implementation such
Code based testing as tests that execute specific control flow paths or use specific data
items
Compatibility Testing whether the system is compatible with other systems with
testing which it should communicate
Component A minimal software item for which a separate specification is available
Component
The testing of individual software components
Testing
Conclusion / The Then part of a rule, or one clause or expression in this part of the
Consequent rule.
Condition A Boolean expression containing no Boolean operators.
Condition
The evaluation of a condition to TRUE or FALSE
Outcome
A measure of the confidence assigned to the value of an attribute.
Confidence /
Often expressed as a percentage (0 to 100%) or probability (0 to 1.0).
Certainty factor
100% or 1.0 implies that the attribute's value is known with certainty.
Component of an infrastructure - or an item, such as a Request For
Change, associated with an infrastructure - that is (or is to be) under
Configuration the control of Configuration Management.
Item (CI) CIs may vary widely in complexity, size and type, from an entire
system (including all hardware, software and documentation) to a
single module or a minor hardware component.
The process of identifying and defining Configuration Items in a
system.
Configuration
e.g. recording and reporting the status of Configuration Items and
Management
Requests For Change, and verifying the completeness and correctness
of Configuration Items.
Conformance Some method of judging whether or not the component's action on a
Criterion particular specified input value conforms to the specification
Conformance The process of testing that an implementation conforms to the
Testing specification on which it is based
Planning to address unwanted occurrences that may happen at a later
Contingency
time. Traditionally, the term has been used to refer to planning for the
Planning
recovery of IT systems rather than entire business processes.
An abstract representation of all possible sequences of events in a
Control Flow
program's execution
Control Flow The diagrammatic representation of the possible alternative control
Graph flow paths through a component
Control Elements of a knowledge base other than the attributes and rules that
 control the user interface, operation of the inference engine and
information general strategies employed in implementing a consultation with an
expert system.
Conversion Testing of programms or procedures used to convert data from existing
Testing systems for use in replacement systems
Correctness The degree to which software conforms to its specification
The degree, expressed as a percentage, to which a specific coverage
Coverage
item has been exercised by a test case suite
Coverage Item An entity or property used as a basis for testing
A measure of success or maturity of a project or process. It can be a
state, a deliverable or a milestone. An example of a CSF would be 'the
Critical Success
production of an overall technology strategy'.
Factor(CSF)
Key areas of business activity in which favourable results are
necessary for a company to reach its goals.

Item Description
Data Definition An executable statement where a variable is assigned a value
Data Definition C- The percentage of data definition C-use pairs in a component
use coverage exercised by a test case suite
Data Definition C- A data definition and computation data use, where the data use uses
use pair the value defined in the data definition
A database about data and database structures. A catalog of all data
Data Dictionary elements, containing their names, structures, and information about
their usage.
Testing in which test cases are designed based on variable usage
Data Flow Testing
within the code
Extraction of useful information from data sets. Data mining serves to
Data Mining
find information that is hidden within the available data.
Data Use En executable statement where the value of a variable is accessed
Debugging The process of finding and removing the causes of failures in software
Decision A program point at which the control flow has two or more alternative
routes
The choice of one from among a number of alternatives; a statement
 indicating a commitment to a specific course of action.
Decision
A condition within a decision
Condition
Decision Coverage The percentage of decision outcomes exercised by a test case suite
The result of a decision which therefore determines the control flow
Decision Outcome
alternative taken
A delta, or partial, Release is one that includes only those CIs within
the Release unit that have actually changed or are new since the last
full or delta Release.
Delta Release For example, if the Release unit is the program, a Delta Release
contains only those modules that have changed, or are new, since the
last Full Release of the program or the last delta Release of certain
modules.
A belief maintenance system that considers evidence from a number of
Dempster-Shafer
sources, maintains information on the evidence, and combines the
Theory
pieces of evidence to produce a decision.
A search strategy that backtracks through all of the rules in a
Depth first search. knowledge base that could lead to determining the value of the
attribute that is the current goal or subgoal.
Physical, conceptual or mathematical models that describe situations
Descriptive Model
as they are or as they actually appear.
Designing tests based on objectives derived from the architectural or
Design Based
detail design of the software. This is excellent for testing the worst
Testing
case behaviour of algorithms
A document specifying the test conditions (coverage items) for a test
Design
item, the detailed test approach and identifying the associated high
specification
level test cases.
Desk Checking The testing of software by the manual simulation of its execution
Mathematical models that are constructed for a condition of assumed
Deterministic
certainty. The models assume there is only one possible result (which
Model
is known) for each alternative course or action.
Dirty Testing Testing which demonstrates that the system under test does not work
Domain Expert A person who has expertise in a specific problem domain.
Total period that a service or component is not operational, within an
Downtime
agreed service times.
E

Item Description
Item Description
Error A human action producing an incorrect result
A test case design tecnique where the experience of the tester is used to
Error Guessing postulate which faults might occur and to design tests specifically to
expose them
A document produced at the end of the test process summarizing all
Evaluation
testing activities and results. It also contains an evaluation of the test
report
process and lessons learned.
A statement which, when compiled, is translated into object code, which
Executable
will be executed procedurally when the program is running and may
statement
perform an action on program data.
Exhaustive
The last executable statement within a component.
testing
Exit point The last executable statement within a component.
Expected The behaviour predicted by the specification of an object under specified
outcome conditions.
A domain specific knowledge base combined with an inference engine
Expert system that processes knowledge encoded in the knowledge base to respond to a
user's request for advice.
Specialized domain knowledge, skills, tricks, shortcuts and rules-of-thumb
Expertise that provide an ability to rapidly and effectively solve problems in the
problem domain.

Item Description
A fault, if encountered, may cause a failure, which is a deviation of
Failure
the software from its expected delivery or service
A manifestation of an error in software (also known as a defect or a
Fault
bug)
A rule fires when the if part (premise) is proven to be true. If the rule
Firing a rule incorporates an else component, the rule also fires when the if part is
proven to be false.
Fit for purpose Validation carried out to demonstrate that the delivered system can be
testing used to carry out the tasks for which it was acquired.
Applying a set of previously determined facts to the rules in a
Forward chaining
knowledge base to see if any of them will fire.
All components of the Release unit that are built, tested, distributed
Full Release
and implemented together. See also delta Release.
Functional The document that describes in detail the characteristics of the
specification product with regard to its intended capability.
Fuzzy variables and Variables that take on multiple values with various levels of certainty
fuzzy logic and the techniques for reasoning with such variables.

Item Description
Search procedures that use the mechanics of natural selection and
Genetic Algorithms natural genetics. It uses evolutionary techniques, based on function
optimization and artificial intelligence, to develop a solution.
Geographic
Information A support system which represents data using maps.
Systems (GIS)
Testing based on an analysis of the internal structure of the
Glass box testing
component or system.
A designated attribute: determining the values of one or more goal
attributes is the objective of interacting with a rule based expert
Goal
system.
The solution that the program is trying to reach.
The process of determining the value of a goal by looking for rules
Goal directed that can conclude the goal. Attributes in the premise of such rules
may be made subgoals for further search if necessary.
A type of display format that enables the user to choose commands,
Graphical User
start programs, and see lists of files and other options by pointing to
Interface (GUI)
pictorial representations (icons) and lists of menu items on the screen.

Item Description
Harness A test environment comprised of stubs and drivers needed to conduct a test.
 The informal, judgmental knowledge of an application area that constitutes the
"rules of good judgment" in the field.
Heuristics Heuristics also encompass the knowledge of how to solve problems efficiently
and effectively, how to plan steps in solving a complex problem, how to
improve performance, etc.

Item Description
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a consistent and comprehensive
documentation of best practice for IT Service Management.
ITIL ITIL consists of a series of books giving guidance on the provision of
quality IT services, and on the accommodation and environmental
facilities needed to support IT.
Inference New knowledge inferred from existing facts.
Software that provides the reasoning mechanism in an expert system. In a
Inference
rule based expert system, typically implements forward chaining and
engine
backward chaining strategies.
The organisational artifacts needed to perform testing, consisting of test
Infrastructure
environments, test tools, office environment and procedures.
Inheritance The ability of a class to pass on characteristics and data to its decendants.
A variable (whether stored within a component or outside it) which is read
Input
by the component
Input Domain The set of all possible inputs
Input Value An instance of an input
Integration Testing performed to expose faults in the interfaces and in the interaction
testing between integrated components.
Intelligent Software that is given a particular mission, carries out that mission, and
Agent then reports back to the user.
Interface Integration testing where the interfaces between system components are
testing tested.
Component testing of individual components in isolation from
Isolation
surrounding components, with surrounding components being simulated
testing
by stubs.
The individual element to be tested. There usually is one test object and
Item
many test items.
J–K

Item Description
KBS Knowledge-Based System.
Key Performance The measurable quantities against which specific Performance Criteria
Indicator can be set.
Knowledge Knowledge refers to what one knows and understands.
Knowledge The gathering of expertise from a human expert for entry into an
Acquisition expert system.
Knowledge The notation or formalism used for coding the knowledge to be stored
Representation in a knowledge-based system.
The encoded knowledge for an expert system. In a rule-based expert
Knowledge base system, a knowledge base typically incorporates definitions of
attributes and rules along with control information.
Knowledge The process of codifying an expert's knowledge in a form that can be
engineering accessed through an expert system.
A domain specific knowledge base combined with an inference engine
Knowledge-Based
that processes knowledge encoded in the knowledge base to respond
System
to a user's request for advice.
An incident or problem for which the root cause is known and for
Known Error which a temporary Work-around or a permanent alternative has been
identified.

Item Description
Lifecycle A series of states connected by allowable transitions.
Linear A mathematical model for optimal solution of resource allocation
Programming problems.
A chronological record of relevant details about the execution of
Log
tests.
The process of recording information about tests executed into a test
Logging
log.

M
 Item Description
The ease with which the system/software can be modified to correct
Maintainability faults, modified to meet new requirements, modified to make future
maintenance easier, or adapted to a changed environment.
Maintainability Testing to determine whether the system/software meets the specified
testing maintainability requirements.
The planning, estimating, monitoring and control of test activities,
Management
typically carried out by a test manager.
Metric Measurable element of a service process or function.
A method to determine test case suite thoroughness by measuring the
Mutation analysis extent to which a test case suite can discriminate the program from
slight variants (mutants) of the program.

Item Description
N-Transitions A sequence of N+1 transitions
Natural Language A computer system to analyse, understand, and generate natural
Processing (NLP) human-languages.
Negative Testing Testing which demonstrates that the system under test does not work
A system modeled after the neurons (nerve cells) in a biological
nervous system.
A neural network is designed as an interconnected system of
Neural Network
processing elements, each with a limited number of inputs and
outputs. Rather than being programmed, these systems learn to
recognise patterns.
Non Functional
Testing of those requirements that do not relate to functionality. I.e.
Requirements
performance or usability
Testing
The process of reducing a complex data structure into its simplest,
most stable structure. In general, the process entails the removal of
Normalisation
redundant attributes, keys, and relationships from a conceptual data
model.
O

Item Description
A software structure which represents an identifiable item that has a
Object
well-defined role in a problem domain.
An adjective applied to any system or language that supports the use of
Object Oriented
objects.
Objective A reason or purpose for designing and executing a test.
Operational Testing conducted to evaluate a system or component in its operational
Testing environment
A mechanism to produce the predicted outcomes to compare with the
Oracle
actual outcomes of the software under test
Outcome The actual or predicted outcome of a test
A variable whether stored within a component or outside it which is
Output
written to by the component
Output Domain The set of all possible outputs
Output Value An instance of an output

Item Description
P-use A data use in a predicate
Projects in Controlled Environments, is a
project management method covering the
PRINCE2 organisation, management and control of
projects. PRINCE2 is often used in the UK for
all types of projects.
A program interruption that occurs when a
Page Fault page that is marked ‘not in real memory’ is
referred to by an active page.
Pair programming A software development approach whereby
lines of code (production and/or test) of a
 component are written by two programmers
sitting at a single computer.
This implicitly means ongoing real-time
code reviews are performed.
Two testers work together to find defects.
Pair testing Typically, they share one computer and trade
control of it while testing.
A test case design technique for a component
Partition Testing in which test cases are designed to execute
representatives from equivalence classes
A test is deemed to pass if its actual result
Pass
matches its expected result.
Decision rules used to determine whether a
Pass/fail criteria test item (function) or feature has passed or
failed a test.
A sequence of events, e.g. executable
Path statements, of a component or system from an
entry point to an exit point.
The percentage of paths that have been
Path coverage
exercised by a test suite.
Choosing a set of input values to force the
Path sensitising
execution of a given path.
A white box test design technique in which
Path testing
test cases are designed to execute paths.
A peer group discussion activity that focuses
on achieving consensus on the technical
Peer Review
approach to be taken. A technical review is
also known as a peer review.
The degree to which a system or component
accomplishes its designated functions within
Performance
given constraints regarding processing time
and throughput rate.
Performance indicator A metric, in general high level, indicating to
what extent a certain target value or criterion
is met. Often related to test process

Performance testing
Performance testing tool
Load generation can simulate either
multiple users or high volumes of input
data. During execution, response time
measurements are taken from selected
transactions and these are logged.
Performance testing tools normally
provide reports based on test logs and
graphs of load against response times.
Phase
Plan
Policy
Portability testing
Postcondition
Precondition
Predicted outcome
improvement objectives, e.g. Defect Detection
Percentage (DDP).
The process of testing to determine the
performance of a software product.
A tool to support performance testing and that
usually has two main facilities: load
generation and test transaction measurement.
A distinct set of test activities collected into a
manageable phase of a project, e.g. the
execution activities of a test level.
A document describing the scope, approach,
resources and schedule of intended test
activities.
A high level document describing the
principles, approach and major objectives of
the organization regarding testing.
The process of testing to determine the
portability of a software product.
Environmental and state conditions that must
be fulfilled after the execution of a test or test
procedure.
Environmental and state conditions that must
be fulfilled before the component or system
can be executed with a particular test or test
procedure.
The behaviour predicted by the specification
of an object under specified conditions.
 The level of (business) importance assigned to
Priority
an item, e.g. defect.
A specific problem environment for which
Problem Domain
knowledge is captured in a knowledge base.
Process that minimizes the effect on
Customer(s) of defects in services and within
Problem Management
the infrastructure, human errors and external
events.
A set of interrelated activities, which
Process
transform inputs into outputs.
A black box test design technique in which
Process cycle test test cases are designed to execute business
procedures and processes.
Rules are called production rules because new
Production rule
information is produced when the rule fires.
A project is a unique set of coordinated and
controlled activities with start and finish dates
Project undertaken an objective conforming to
specific requirements, including the
constraints of time, cost and resources.
A test plan that typically addresses multiple
Project test plan
test levels.
A strategy in system development in which a
scaled down system or portion of a system is
Prototyping
constructed in a short time, tested, and
improved in several iterations.
A series which appears to be random but is in
Pseudo-random fact generated according to some prearranged
sequence.

Item Description
The totality of functionality and features of a software product that bear
Quality
on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Quality Part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality
assurance requirements will be fulfilled.
Quality
A feature or characteristic that affects an item’s quality.
attribute
Coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to
quality.
Quality
Direction and control with regard to quality generally includes the
management
establishment of the quality policy and quality objectives, quality
planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.
Generically query means question. Usually it refers to a complex SQL
Query
SELECT statement.
Queuing time is incurred when the device, which a program wishes to
Queuing Time use, is already busy. The program therefore has to wait in a queue to
obtain service from that device.

Item
ROI
If we are starting a fresh project, we
might compute the value of testing and
divide by the cost of the testing to
compute the return.
Random testing
This technique can be used for testing
non-functional attributes such as
reliability and performance.
Re-testing
Recoverability
Description
The return on investment (ROI) is usually
computed as the benefits derived divided by the
investments made.
A black box test design technique where test
cases are selected, possibly using a pseudo-
random generation algorithm, to match an
operational profile.
Testing that runs test cases that failed the last
time they were run, in order to verify the success
of corrective actions.
The capability of the software product to re-
establish a specified level of performance and
 recover the data directly affected in case of
failure.
Testing of a previously tested program following
modification to ensure that defects have not
Regression testing been introduced or uncovered in unchanged
areas of the software, as a result of the changes
made.
It is performed when the software or its
environment is changed.
Conditions such as is equal to or is less than that
link an attribute name with an attribute value in
Relational operator
a rule's premise to form logical expressions that
can be evaluated as true or false.
A document identifying test items, their
configuration, current status and other delivery
Release note information delivered by development to testing,
and possibly other stakeholders, at the start of a
test execution phase.
Is the probability that software will not cause the
Reliability failure of a system for a specified time under
specified conditions
An attribute of a test indicating whether the
Repeatability same results are produced each time the test is
executed.
The capability of the software product to be
used in place of another specified software
Replaceability
product for the same purpose in the same
environment.
The degree to which a requirement is stated in
terms that permit establishment of test designs
Requirements (and subsequently test cases) and execution of
tests to determine whether the requirements have
been met.
Requirements-based testing An approach to testing in which test cases are
designed based on test objectives and test

e.g. tests that exercise specific functions
or probe non-functional attributes such
as reliability or usability.
Resource utilization
For example the amounts of main and
secondary memory used by the program
and the sizes of required temporary or
overflow files, when the software
performs its function under stated
conditions.
Result
Resumption criteria
Review
Reviewer
Risk
Risk management
See The Risk Management Guide.
Robustness
conditions derived from requirements.
The capability of the software product to use
appropriate amounts and types of resources.
The consequence/outcome of the execution of a
test. It includes outputs to screens, changes to
data, reports, and communication messages sent
out.
The testing activities that must be repeated when
testing is re-started after a suspension.
A detailed check of the test basis to determine
whether the test basis is at an adequate quality
level to act as an input document for the test
process.
The person involved in the review who shall
identify and describe anomalies in the product or
project under review. Reviewers can be chosen
to represent different viewpoints and roles in the
review process.
A factor that could result in future negative
consequences; usually expressed as impact and
likelihood.
Systematic application of procedures and
practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing,
prioritizing, and controlling risk.
The degree to which a component or system can
 function correctly in the presence of invalid
inputs or stressful environmental conditions.
Roll in roll out (RIRO) Used on some systems to describe swapping.
An underlying factor that caused a non-
conformance and possibly should be
Root cause
permanently eliminated through process
improvement.
A statement of the form: if X then Y else Z. The
if part is the rule premise, and the then part is
Rule
the consequent. The else component of the
consequent is optional.
The rule fires when the if part is
determined to be true or false.
The encoded knowledge for an expert system. In
a rule-based expert system, a knowledge base
Rule Base
typically incorporates definitions of attributes
and rules along with control information.

Item Description
The process of testing to determine the safety of a software
Safety testing
product.
The capability of the software product to be upgraded to
Scalability
accommodate increased loads.
A scheme for the execution of test procedures. The test
Schedule procedures are included in the test execution schedule in their
context and in the order in which they are to be executed.
The person who has to record each defect mentioned and any
suggestions for improvement during a review meeting, on a
Scribe
logging form. The scribe has to make ensure that the logging
form is readable and understandable.
Commonly used to refer to a test procedure specification,
Script
especially an automated one.
Security Attributes of software products that bear on its ability to prevent
unauthorized access, whether accidental or deliberate, to
 programs and data.
The degree of impact that a defect has on the development or
Severity
operation of a component or system.
The representation of selected behavioral characteristics of one
Simulation
physical or abstract system by another system.
Using a model to
mimic a process.
A device, computer program or system used during testing, which
Simulator behaves or operates like a given system when provided with a set
of controlled inputs.
A subset of all defined/planned test cases that cover the main
functionality of a component or system, to ascertaining that the
Smoke test
most crucial functions of a program work, but not bothering with
finer details.
A daily build and
smoke test is among
industry best practices.
The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected
Stability
effects from modifications in the software.
A diagram that depicts the states that a component or system can
State diagram assume, and shows the events or circumstances that cause and/or
result from a change from one state to another.
A grid showing the resulting transitions for each state combined
State table with each possible event, showing both valid and invalid
transitions.
A black box test design technique in which test cases are designed
State transition testing
to execute valid and invalid state transitions.
An entity in a programming language, which is typically the
Statement
smallest indivisible unit of execution.
The percentage of executable statements that have been exercised
Statement coverage
by a test suite.
A white box test design technique in which test cases are
Statement testing
designed to execute statements.
Analysis of software artifacts, e.g. requirements or code, carried
Static analysis
out without execution of these software artifacts.
 A test design technique in which a model of the statistical
Statistical testing distribution of the input is used to construct representative test
cases.
A high-level document defining the test levels to be performed
Strategy and the testing within those levels for a programme (one or more
projects).
Testing conducted to evaluate a system or component at or
Stress testing
beyond the limits of its specified requirements.
Coverage measures based on the internal structure of the
Structural coverage
component.
A skeletal or special-purpose implementation of a software
Stub component, used to develop or test a component that calls or is
otherwise dependent on it. It replaces a called component.
An attribute which becomes a temporary intermediate goal for the
inference engine. Subgoal values need to be determined because
Subgoal
they are used in the premise of rules that can determine higher
level goals.
The capability of the software product to provide an appropriate
Suitability
set of functions for specified tasks and user objectives
The criteria used to (temporarily) stop all or a portion of the
Suspension criteria
testing activities on the test items.
Use of symbols, rather than numbers, combined with rules-of-
Symbolic Processing thumb (or heuristics), in order to process information and solve
problems.
A black box test design technique in which test cases are designed
Syntax testing based upon the definition of the input domain and/or output
domain.
A collection of components organized to accomplish a specific
System
function or set of functions.
Testing the integration of systems and packages; testing interfaces
System integration
to external organizations (e.g. Electronic Data Interchange,
testing
Internet).

Item Description
 A peer group discussion activity that focuses
on achieving consensus on the technical
Technical Review
approach to be taken. A technical review is
also known as a peer review.
A specific set of test data along with expected
Test Case
results for a particular test condition
A five level staged framework for test process
improvement, related to the Capability
Test Maturity Model (TMM)
Maturity Model (CMM) that describes the key
elements of an effective test process.
A continuous framework for test process
improvement that describes the key elements
Test Process Improvement (TPI)
of an effective test process, especially targeted
at system testing and acceptance testing.
The implementation of the test strategy for a
Test approach
specific project.
It typically includes the decisions made
that follow based on the (test) project’s
goal and the risk assessment carried out,
starting points regarding the test process
and the test design techniques to be
applied.
The use of software to perform or support test
Test automation activities, e.g. test management, test design,
test execution and results checking.
There are many factors to consider when
planning for software test automation.
Automation changes the complexion of
testing and the test organisation from
design through implementation and test
execution.
There are tangible and intangible elements
and widely held myths about benefits and
capabilities of test automation.
Test case specification A document specifying a set of test cases
 (objective, inputs, test actions, expected
results, and execution preconditions) for a test
item.
A statement of test objectives, and possibly
Test charter test ideas. Test charters are amongst other used
in exploratory testing.
A test tool to perform automated test
Test comparator
comparison.
The process of identifying differences between
the actual results produced by the component
Test comparison
or system under test and the expected results
for a test.
Test comparison can be performed during
test execution (dynamic comparison) or
after test execution.
An item or event of a component or system
that could be verified by one or more test
Test condition
cases, e.g. a function, transaction, quality
attribute, or structural element.
Data that exists (for example, in a database)
before a test is executed, and that affects or is
Test data
affected by the component or system under
test.
A type of test tool that enables data to be
selected from existing databases or created,
Test data preparation tool
generated, manipulated and edited for use in
testing.
A document specifying the test conditions
(coverage items) for a test item, the detailed
Test design specification
test approach and identifying the associated
high level test cases.
 A tool that support the test design activity by
generating test inputs from a specification that
Test design tool may be held in a CASE tool repository.
e.g. requirements management tool, or from
specified test conditions held in the tool itself.
An environment containing hardware,
instrumentation, simulators, software tools,
Test environment
and other support elements needed to conduct
a test.
A document produced at the end of the test
process summarizing all testing activities and
Test evaluation report
results. It also contains an evaluation of the
test process and lessons learned.
The process of running a test by the
Test execution component or system under test, producing
actual result(s).
The period of time in a software development
life cycle during which the components of a
software product are executed, and the
Test execution phase
software product is evaluated to determine
whether or not requirements have been
satisfied.
A scheme for the execution of test procedures.
The test procedures are included in the test
Test execution schedule
execution schedule in their context and in the
order in which they are to be executed.
The method used to perform the actual test
Test execution technique
execution, either manually or automated.
A type of test tool that is able to execute other
Test execution tool software using an automated test script, e.g.
capture/playback.
A test environment comprised of stubs and
Test harness
drivers needed to conduct a test.
Test infrastructure The organisational artifacts needed to perform
testing, consisting of test environments, test
 tools, office environment and procedures.
The individual element to be tested. There
Test item
usually is one test object and many test items.
Test level A group of test activities that are organized
and managed together. A test level is linked to
the responsibilities in a project.
Examples of test levels are component test,
integration test, system test and acceptance
test.
A chronological record of relevant details
Test log
about the execution of tests.
The person responsible for testing and
evaluating a test object. The individual, who
Test manager
directs, controls, administers plans and
regulates the evaluation of a test object.
Test object The component or system to be tested.
A formula based test estimation method based
Test point analysis (TPA)
on function point analysis.
A document specifying a sequence of actions
Test procedure specification for the execution of a test. Also known as test
script or manual test script.
The fundamental test process comprises
Test process planning, specification, execution, recording
and checking for completion.
Execution of a test on a specific version of the
Test run
test object.
A document that consists of a test design
Test specification specification, test case specification and/or test
procedure specification.
A high-level document defining the test levels
Test strategy to be performed and the testing within those
levels for a programme (one or more projects).
Test suite A set of several test cases for a component or
system under test, where the post condition of
one test is often used as the precondition for
 the next one.
Test type A group of test activities aimed at testing a
component or system regarding one or more
interrelated quality attributes.
A test type is focused on a specific test
objective, i.e. reliability test, usability test,
regression test etc., and may take place on one
or more test levels or test phases.
The capability of the software product to
Testability
enable modified software to be tested.
A technically skilled professional who is
Tester involved in the testing of a component or
system.
The process of exercising software to verify
Testing that it satisfies specified requirements and to
detect faults
A version of component integration testing
where the progressive integration of
components follows the implementation of
Thread testing
subsets of the requirements, as opposed to the
integration of components by levels of a
hierarchy.
Top-down testing An incremental approach to integration testing
where the component at the top of the
component hierarchy is tested first, with lower
level components being simulated by stubs.
Tested components are then used to test lower
level components.
The ability to identify related items in
documentation and software, such as
Traceability
requirements with associated tests. See also
horizontal traceability, vertical traceability.

Item Description
 The capability of the software product to enable the user to
Understandability understand whether the software is suitable, and how it can be used
for particular tasks and conditions of use.
Unit testing The testing of individual software components
Unreachable code Code that cannot be reached and therefore is impossible to execute.
This type of decision situation is complex and no standard solutions
Unstructured
exist for resolving the situation. Some or all of the structural elements
Decisions
of the decision situation are undefined, ill-defined or unknown.
The capability of the software to be understood, learned, used and
Usability
attractive to the user when used under specified conditions.
A black box test design technique in which test cases are designed to
Use case testing
execute user scenarios.
Formal testing conducted to enable a user, customer or other
User acceptance
authorised entity to determine whether to accept a system or
testing
component.
A test whereby real-life users are involved to evaluate the usability of
User test
a component or system.
An evaluative term for a System's user interface. The phrase indicates
User-Friendly that users judge the user interface as to easy to learn, understand, and
use.

Item Description
describes how inspection and testing activities can occur in parallel with
V model
other activities
Correctness: Determination of the correctness of the products of software
Validation
development with respects to the user needs and requirements
Completeness: The process of evaluating a system or component to
Verification determine whether the products of the given development phase satisfy the
conditions imposed at the start of that phase
Version
A version number; version date, or version date and time stamp.
Identifier
Volume
Testing where the system is subjected to large volumes of data.
Testing
W

Item Description
A step-by-step presentation by the author of a
Walkthrough document in order to gather information and to
establish a common understanding of its content.
Waterline The lowest level of detail relevant to the Customer.
The capability of "asking" the software package
What If Analysis what the effect will be of changing some of the input
data or independent variables.
Documented procedure to derive and select test
White box test design technique cases based on an analysis of the internal structure of
a component or system.
Documented procedure to derive and
select test cases based on an analysis Testing based on an analysis of the internal structure
of the internal structure of a of the component or system.
component or system.
An expert based test estimation technique that aims
Wide Band Delphi at making an accurate estimation using the collective
wisdom of the team members.
Method of avoiding an incident or problem, either
from a temporary fix or from a technique that means
Workaround
the Customer is not reliant on a particular aspect of a
service that is known to have a problem.

Item Description
Extensible Markup Language. XML is a set of rules for designing text formats that
let you structure your data.
XML makes it easy for a computer to generate data, read data, and ensure that the
XML
data structure is unambiguous.
XML avoids common pitfalls in language design: it is extensible, platform-
independent, and it supports internationalization and localisation.

Y–Z