Objectives: Introduction Over View of System Analysis and Design
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- 8.7.7 Special Systems Tests
| 8.7.6 Integration testing Integration testing does not test the software per se but rather the integration of each module in the system. It also tests to find discrepancies between the system and its original objective, current specifications, and systems documentation. The primary concern is the compatibility of individual modules. Analysts are trying to find areas where modules have been designed with different specifications for data length, type, and data element name. For example, one module may expect the data item for customer identification number to be a numeric field, while other modules expect it to be a character data item. The system itself may not report this as an error, but the output may show unexpected results. If a record created and stored in one module, using the identification number as a numeric field, is later sought on retrieval with the expectation that it will be a character field, the field will not be recognized and the message REQUESTED RECORD NOT FOUND will be displayed. Integration testing must also verify that file sizes are adequate and that indices have been built properly. Sorting and reindexing procedures assumed to be present in lower-level modules must be tested at the systems level to see that they in fact exist and achieve the results modules expect. 8.7.7 Special Systems Tests There are other tests that are in special category, since they do not focus on the normal running of the system. Six tests are essential. 1. Peak Load Testing There are critical times in many systems, particularly online systems. For example, in a banking system, analysts want to know what will happen if all teller sign on at their terminals at the same time before the start of the business day. Will the system handle them one at a time without incident, will it attempt to handle all of the at once and be so confused that it locks up and must be restarted, or will terminal addresses be lost The only sure way to find out is to test for it. The same situations can arise when tellers sign out during lunch periods and at the end of the day, so testing is looking at real situations. Download 0.94 Mb. Share with your friends:
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