Class Notes

Suggested Topics



Spring 2009 CSci 565: Theory & Practice of Software Testing (TPST)
 
Instructor :  Dr. Hassan Reza
Email :  reza@cs.und.edu
Phone: 701.777.4127
Office hours :   1:00 to 2:15, T, TH or by appointment
Class meets :  11:00 to 12:15, T,TH
Room :  235
Credit hours :  3
TextBook:
  • Referenced Text:  Practical Model-Based-Bsed Testing, by Mark Uttung and Bruno Legeard
  • Required Text: Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach By Paul C. Jorgense,  third edition
Other Sources:
    • ACM/IEEE Journals and Proceedings Articles
On-line Materials Via UND Main Library:
Course lecture notes will be available on-line from the course web site. For the most parts, I will do my best to provide handouts and copies of some of the  reading relevant to this course. However, this is an advanced course and by its very nature requires frequent visits to the library (UND's Chester Fritz library and/or NDSU, elsewhere) resources. Therefore, it is  YOUR responsibility to get copies of journal articles and bring them to the class or to use them for homework, project, or term paper.  Currently, both ACM and IEEE are on-line via UND main library. Please consult with Chester Fritz library people to find out how to connect to On-Campus and Off-Campus from your computer in order to access on-line IEEE/ACM digital libraries.
Course Description: 
Software testing is a process by which  software systems are executed in order to determine  whether the product is  built  right  (verification) or  the right product. has been built (validation).  The past decades have witnessed a great increased in the study and hence in the theory of software testing techniques. This course covers the most well known testing methods/strategies, such as  structured testing, functional testing, mutation testing, data flow testing, and formal specification based testing methods. Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to understand the theory  and the role of software testing and its relationship to the quality assurance. The objectives for this course include but not limited to :

  • Basic Definitions
  • Set theory and and graphs
  • Software Testing Strategies
  • Functional testing
    • Boundary value analysis
    • Equivalence classes
    • Decision tables
  • Structural Testing
    • base -paths
    • McCabe's Basis Path Method
    • Essential Complexity
    • Define/Use Testing
    • Data Flow testing
    • Slice-based testing
  • Integration and System Testing
    • Recovery Testing
    • Performace/Stress Testing
    • Regression Testing
    • Alpha/Beta Testing
    • Security Testing
    • Usability Testing (web)
    • Reusability Testing
    • Testing and Software architecture
  • Integrated functional/structural testing techniques
  • Using Software architecture  for Integration Testsing

Course Prerequisites and Prerequisite Fulfillment:
The course will utilize lecture and discussion, as the main teaching tools for presenting the course material. Students will be expected to read the material be prepared to discuss the readings and the assignments in class.
Prerequisite for this course is successful completion of  Csci463,  background in discrete math, and exposure to any  high level programming languages such as C, C++, or  Java  are required.
This course is a CORE course for graduate  students and hence demands both independent and cooperative work. Working independently requires that you have good time management skills and self directed learning skills. There are no prerequisites for team work other than a willingness and flexibility to participate and learn as part of a team. This course fulfills  all or part of  the prerequisite requirements for Csci 566  (Software Engineering Track). This course is also very relevant for students with a general background in computer science interest in the theory and practice of software development and maintenance.

Other Related Courses in Software Engineering Track (SET):

  • Software Architecture (Csci 582/501):
    • A study of formal and semi formal notations used to specify communicational and computational elements of a software system;
  • Formal Specification Methods (Csci 562):
    • This course  is an introduction to the application of modeling notations that allows a software engineer to precisely specify and verify the behavior of a system  In this course, we will discuss the suitability of various specification techniques.

Email Policy:
You are more than welcome to email me about your concerns at any time. If  you have any specific question about the course that requires some lengthy discussion then you better off  to see me at the office.

Exams: 
The exams will contain questions covering material in the class, homework, the lecture notes, textbook, and handouts. There are two exams:
  • Exam 1:March  12th;
  • Exam 2: April  16th ;
Make-up Exam and Quiz Policy:
No make-up exams or quizzes will be conducted .

Assignments and Pop Quizzes:
There will be several assignments and quizzes throughout the course. The topics of these assignments will be taken  from reading resources and will be announced in advance. Assignments should be turned in the class. For every day of late submission 20% of the points will be deducted. You are advised to hand in assignments in class. Any homework placed without my knowledge (e.g., in my office mail box) will be accepted without any warranty. In case an assignment is lost, it is your responsibility.  Recommendations are: to save everything, retain important papers and computer files until the course is finished. 
There will also be pop quizzes on material we have recently read/discussed in class. The quiz will normally be one or two basic questions. Your answer will be a given  S ( Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory). There will be 4-6 quizzes for the course. To accommodate those who miss class, two low quizzes for each student will be dropped.

Submitting Assignments:
All programming assignments (if any) must be submitted either by email or on the disks/CDs. The following guidelines are used as the grading criteria:

  1. If the programming assignment cannot be compiled due to compilation errors, the assignment will receive a grade F;
  2. If the programming assignment compiles with warnings, the assignment may lose up to 100% of your grade depending on the nature and the severity of the warnings;
  3. You program must adhere to  proper documentation and programming styles (e.g., comments);
  4. Your submission must include both the source code and executables file(s);
  5. If  the assignment is submitted by email, you need to send your submission as attachments as follows:
    1. Include your name, assignment number, and class in the subject heading (e.g., John-Smith.HW1.Csci565); 
  6. If the assignment is submitted on  a disk/CD, use a label with your name, assignment number, and class on it.

Note 1: All non Programming assignments  must be typed and spell checked otherwise they won't be graded.

I normally return assignments, exams, and quizzes to the class. If you are absent,  it is your responsibility to pick up your work at my office.

Term Paper: 
There is one term paper which counts 30% of the course grade. The main objective will be to  identify a killer idea to extent  or investigate in detail a specific issue related to the software testing that attracts  you. This may include all papers and technical reports on the subject as well as personal communications with the lead investigators. The term paper consists of two parts: Survey Report and Research Report. Each team (two persons) will pick a research paper topic. You will research your topic, write a high quality paper on it (10-12) pages white paper 10 point font, single space, IEEE format.
The survey part must describe the problem domain, with proper problem definition, and a survey of current work. The research part should be a publishable paper (6-8 pages). It should describe your own attempt to either solve a problem in this domain or go a long way towards its solution. 
Each paper MUST be fully cited in the reference section at the end and number. Each paper should be referred to in the context section by that number and there MUST be a brief discussion/summaries of contribution of the paper and a comparison of its results with the contribution of the other papers. The context section should contain ALL fundamentally important papers in the topic area right up to the present. This may include all technical reports/papers recently published by the important contributors.
The term paper  must be in by Tusedday,  May 10 at 11:00 AM. The  recommendation is that you start  thinking or working on term paper ASAP.

Presentation:
Each Team will be assigned to make a 30-35 minute powerpoint presentation to show their results. Allow 30 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for answering questions. Both team members will give a report on their part of the project in the designated 35 minutes for the team. The report will be scheduled alphabetically by the team leaders last name. The presentation will begin during the month of April  before final exam.

Course Grading Policy:
The course grade will be computed as a combination of the following factors:

  • Two Exams  (45%)
  • Assignments  (10 %)
  • Pop Quizzes  (5 %)
  • Term paper (30  %)
  • Presentation (10%)
Grading Scale :
 
90 - 100%  A 
80 - 89%  B 
70 - 79% C
60 - 69%  D 
below  59% F

Participation &  Attendance Policy:
Regular classroom attendance is required (this includes any team meeting held class time and outside of class time), but does not count as participation. Active participation in class involves preparing ahead of time, asking intelligent questions that the book does not answer, answering questions in class, and participating in classroom discussions. If you know you will miss a class ahead of time, email the instructor. Make friends with your classmates so they will be willing to share notes, which problems were assigned, etc., for when emergencies arise and you do miss class. 

Civility in the Classroom:
Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom environment, which is conducive to learning.  Please do not bring  food to the classroom and always turn your cell phone (ringer) off if you have to have it with you. 

Disability Conditions:
If you have a disability condition that may effect your participation in this course and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please inform me as soon as possible.

Drops & Withdrawals:
Students should not assume that the instructor will administratively drop the student for non-attendance. Withdrawal from the course is the responsibility of the student. Should a student decide to withdraw from the course, simply not attending class sessions, rather than formally withdrawing from the course, may result in an 'F' on the student's transcript. 

PLAGIARISM, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS & PERSONAL INTEGRITY 
The UND academic policy clearly states an expectation that each student submit his/her own work do otherwise, that is, to submit anther's efforts as one's own, is at its least plagiarism, and at its most unethical and without integrity. Indeed, it is a matter of professional ethics and personal integrity to graciously accept accolades for a job well done, as well as to publicly acknowledge those to whom partial credit is owed. Those found to be cheating on exams, assignments, and Project will receive an "F " for the COURSE, and the matter will be discussed with the appropriate Dean and/or Chair. I do not anticipate any problem here.   

Disclaimer: This syllabus is intended to suggest the outline of the course; it is not absolute. Changes to the syllabus, should they occur, will be announced in class. 



Last Update December 12,  2008 by H.R.