
Summary of Testing Techniques
84
Technique Description Advantages Disadvantages
Ad hoc
testing
Manually walk through
important application
processes, screens, and
reports
• Easy to implement
• Tests front-end
applications and
back-end servers
• For complex applications, code
coverage is too small
• Difficult to distinguish front-end and
back-end bottlenecks if response time
is a determining factor
• Impossible to obtain production
multiuser load, which misses
concurrency and capacity issues
altogether
Manual
performance
scripts and
cases
Specify input and
compare with known
outputs
• Easy to implement
• Common basis for
regression test suites
• Back-end focus may
help locate the cause
of a problem
• Only tests back- end server
• Impossible to obtain production
multiuser load, which misses
concurrency and capacity issues
altogether
• No ad hoc query testing
• Depends on strong analysis of process
or transaction profiles
Keystroke
capture
Record and replay
keystrokes and mouse
clicks into an application
• Tests front-end
applications and
back-end servers
• Tool may include
powerful language
and looping
capabilities to
manipulate inputs for
multiuser
concurrency and
capacity testing
• Heavy processing requirements - may
require additional hardware
• May increase development time for
creating multiuser test simulations,
and add time for debugging test
harness
• Depends on strong analysis of process
or transaction profiles
Concurrency
and capacity
testing
Use third-party load-
testing tools
• Tests both front and
back ends
• Language and
looping constructs
make these incredibly
powerful tools
• Heavy processing requirements for
test tool—may even require additional
hardware or else results could be
skewed
• Learning and development curve to
write multi-user test simulations
• Risk of bugs in test harness could
skew results
• Dependent on strong analysis of
process/transaction profiles
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