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fully respond to the higher level documents. The second static testing concern is that
as the technical details are written, some of the details stray from or are not really a
part of the original business requirements (out of scope).
6.3.3 Testers'Documentation
Tester's documentation ( test plans, test cases, test environment specifi cations, test
data sources and preparation, and test tool installation and operation ) needs to
be tested as thoroughly as other project documents. The sequence of development
events that allow test plans to be developed were covered in the bathtub example
in Chapter 5. The static testing concern is similar to the more detailed developer
documentation: completeness of testing plans against the business requirements and
intended development with no gratuitous testing.
6.3.4 Administrator'sDocumentation
Administrators' documentation ( installation guides and operation/administration
guides ) documents the steps that must be taken by technical staff to install and sup-
port the new system or application. The static testing concern in these documents is
double-sided. The fi rst side is clear and unequivocal support of the business require-
ments. The second side is stepwise instructions that can be carried out successfully
by the support staff at their expected administrative skill level.
6.3.5 End Users' Documentation
End users' documentation ( users guides, help screens, and training manuals ) docu-
ments the steps that must be taken by business end users to perform their routine
daily activities on the new system or application. As with the administrative manu-
als, the static testing concern with these documents is the double-sided business
requirements/operations within expected end user business skill level.
6.4 STATIC TESTING TECHNIQUES
Because static testing requires a high degree of interaction among software develop-
ment team members, the most challenging aspect of static testing is to keep the test-
ing activities objective and impersonal. The force working against you is the human
tendency to take ownership of documents to the extent that a perceived attack on
the document is a perceived personal attack on the owner-author. Document owner-
ship is, in fact, a good thing. It causes the author to do his or her best job and gain a
sense of pride in good-quality results. Static testing strives to help the owner-author
produce the best possible (most correct) document by helping identify corrections
and improvements to documents that might already be of good quality. This pride of
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