tutorials

24	sunday afternoon	Convention Centre, Room 19
24R	thursday afternoon	Pan Pacific Hotel, Pavilion C

Testing Object-Oriented Systems

John McGregor, Clemson University and Software Architects; and Melissa Major, Software Architects

This tutorial focuses on techniques and a process for testing a software application built as part of a project that uses object-oriented software development techniques. The tutorial is divided into three parts: (1) specific techniques supported by small examples to illustrate specific testing algorithms, (2) techniques for testing system level models using enhanced inspection and review procedures and (3) a process for system testing presented within the context of a complete testing process for object-oriented systems. The three major benefits from this tutorial are: specific testing techniques, a comprehensive testing strategy that is integrated into the development process, and a specific infrastructure for building a reusable testing environment.

System testers and software developers interested in the complete product realization process will benefit from this tutorial. Test managers and quality control personnel who are technically oriented will also benefit.

Attendee Background: Participants should have participated in the specification and testing of complete applications that were constructed using object-oriented development techniques. This tutorial assumes experience on software development projects that use object-oriented development methods. It also assumes a typical system tester's knowledge of testing techniques. The examples in the tutorial are written in the use case notation and graphically represented in UML diagrams; however, the discussion of the testing approach provides sufficient context for experienced developers to understand the examples even if they do not read UML or have experience with the use case notation.

Dr. John D. McGregor is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Clemson University and a senior partner in Software Architects, a software design consulting firm, specializing in object-oriented design techniques. Dr. McGregor has developed testing techniques for object-oriented software and custom testing processes for a variety of companies. He is co-author of "Object-Oriented Software Development: Engineering Software for Reuse" published by Van Nostrand Reinhold. Dr. McGregor is also co-author of "A Practical Guide to Testing Object-Oriented Software," to be published by Addison-Wesley. He has published numerous articles on testing including a monthly column on testing objects in the Journal of Object-Oriented Programming.

Melissa L. Major is a Consultant and Site Manager for Software Architects. She has worked for Microsoft, Broadway & Seymour, Computer Aid and BNR/NORTEL. She has a Masters in Computer Science and has been a Ph.D. student at Clemson University. Ms. Major has taught computer science courses for Clemson University and Limestone College. She has managed testing efforts and constructed software development processes including testing processes for companies such as Lucent Technologies. She has conducted an OOPSLA tutorial on testing object-oriented software and presented a technique for adapting the function point approach to object-oriented systems at OTC'96.

Testing Object-Oriented Systems

Other tutorials in the testing thread are: