Web Software Testing

Overview

While many of the traditional concepts of softwaretesting still hold true, Web sites and Web applications have a different risk profile to other, more mature environments. A typical Web tester now has to deal with shorter release cycles, changing technology, complex hardware and software platforms and an anticipated user base which is uncontrolled and may run into millions. Many testers and test managers are being asked to make the transition from testing traditional client/server, PC, and/or mainframe environments to testingWeb sites and applications. This training course seeks to help those making this transition by explaining Web technologies, the issues associated with Webtesting and suggesting solutions, strategies and techniques that can be used in a Web site’s functional, navigation, usability, and compatibility testing.

Who is it for?

The course is designed for software testers and test managers.

Description

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

• Understand the different technologies used in Web environments.
• Communicate adequately with Web developers to ascertain the nature of the development and production environments including the functionality of the site or application.
• Examine and validate functional and non-functional requirements for Web sites and applications.
• Specify appropriate test environments.
• Perform a simple risk analysis to identify and prioritise tests.
• Create appropriate tests, test cases and test scripts.
• Execute tests in a controlled manner using the correct setup conditions and inputs.
• Understand the nature, availability and limitations of Webtesting tools.

Course Content

Web Basics
Internet and Web History, Basic Internet Architecture, Network Protocols, IP Addresses, TCP, HTTP, URLs and DNS, Intranets, Extranets, Virtual Private Networks.

Code Quality Assurance
Quality Control and Quality Assurance, Unit Testing, Mark-Up Languages, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), HTML Validation, Images, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Client-side Scripting, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Document Type Definitions (DTD), XML Namespaces, XML Schema, Displaying XML with CSS, Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL).

Compatibility
Client Hardware, Client Software, Different Browsers, Browser Modes, Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility View, Server Software, Choosing the Test Environment, Software Combinations, Software Configuration Tools, Installability and Serviceability.

Navigation
Links, Static and Dynamic Links, Framesets, Inline Frames, Navigational Aids, Internal Search Engines, Site Maps, Site navigation Tools, Navigational Efficiency.

Risk Based Testing
Test Identification, Non-Functional Attributes, Business Impact, Failure Likelihood, Test Prioritisation.

Client-side Functionality
Forms, Client-side and Server-side Validation, Dynamic HTML, Document Object Model, AJAX, Client-side Pop-ups, Variable Screen Resolutions, Client-side Objects, Java and the Java Virtual Machine.

Server-side Functionality
Server-Side Includes, Dynamic Page Generation (ASP, PHP, Python, Ruby, etc.), Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Database Interaction, Database Middleware, Interfacing to Back-Office Systems, Personalisation, RSS, Internet Explorer 8 Web Slices.

Sessions
Maintaining a Session, Cookies, Private Browsing, Shopping Carts, Multi-Page Transactions, State Transition Diagrams, Secure Sessions, SSL, Encryption, Public Key Infrastructure.

Usability
Importance of User Interface, Workflows, Actors and Use Cases, Usability Testing, Screen Size and Resolution, Readability, Printer Friendly Pages, Help Systems, Usability Guidelines, Performing Usability Tests, Guidelines for Usability Testing, Globalisation, International Environment.

Accessibility
Colour Confusion, Components of Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI Guidelines and Techniques, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Conformance Requirements, Evaluation Web Sites for Accessibility, PAS 78.

Post Implementation
Maintenance Testing, Measuring Success, Heatmaps, Search Engines and Directories, Meta Tags.

Appendices
Web Services, Testing Tools.

Requirements

A basic knowledge of the Internet and software testing. Attendance on the Structured Approach to Software Testing course would be an ideal prerequisite.