Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter
11
Automated Testing Tools
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
•
•
•
to compare the small number of tool paradigms used for automated testing
to describe the large number of automated testing tools available
to identify the considerations for choosing manual testing versus tool testing
11.1 I NTRODUC TION
The dominant role that automated testing tools play in the successful development
of business software compels a software tester to learn something about them.
Automated testing tools are a collection of software products designed specifi cally
to assist software testers and software testing managers with different aspects of a
testing project. The current commercial tool market has over 300 products. Each of
these tools offers to assist the tester with one or more of the tester's activities. So far,
no one tool has been proven to offer assistance with
all
tester activities.
It may sound like heresy to some testing professionals, but this chapter will
teach you that automated testing tools are
not
always required for successful soft-
ware testing. There are testing situations in which the use of automated testing tools
is inappropriate, disadvantageous, and expensive. There are also testing situations in
which the use of automated testing tools is appropriate, advantageous, and cost-ef-
fective. We will examine both kinds of situations in this chapter.
The fi rst time a tester has experienced success with a testing tool, a kind of
technical euphoria sets in that tends to cloud decisions about future tool use. The
effect is best described by the old saying: “when you fi rst learn how to use a hammer,
everything looks like a nail.” Part of the purpose of this chapter is to burst the tool
euphoria bubble and bring the tester back to a rational level of decisions about
appropriate tool choices and use. It is not the purpose of this chapter to tell you
which test tool to buy.
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