Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Application software may be for:
firmware
games software
media centre
mobile phone
operating system
set-top box
sever
web application
wireless modem.
Test strategy may include:
communicating test plans to stakeholders and obtain buy-in from business clients
coordinating test environment and data requirements before starting phase
defining objectives, timelines, and approach for test effort
defining test activities with roles and responsibilities.
Steps in developing the test strategy may include:
change management:
models for assessing impact of changes on testing
plan for managing requirement changes
process for keeping test artefacts in sync with development artefacts
configuration management:
list of testing artefacts
tools and techniques for configuration management
communication and status reporting
testing approach:
methodology for test development and execution
planning for test execution cycles
specification of test environment set-up
testing process life cycle
testing templates, checklist and guidelines
test automation:
criteria for feasibility of test automation
defect management
test automation strategy
test tool identification
test environment specifications:
configuration management, maintenance of test bed and build management
hardware and software requirements
test data creation
testing metrics:
metric to match strategic objectives
plan of process improvement based on metrics
techniques for collecting metrics
tools to gather and analyse metrics
types of testing:
different phases of testing required
different types of testing
test coverage
objective and scope of testing:
business objectives
extent of application to be tested
goals to be met by testing effort
what systems and components need to be tested.
Range of tests may include:
compatibility
on demand testing
performance
process improvement
technical
test management
verification.
Features of testing tool and debuggers may include:
automated functional graphical user interface (GUI) testing tool
benchmarks
formatted dump or symbolic debugging
performance analysis or profiling tool
program monitors;
code coverage reports
instruction set simulator
program animation.
Test plan may include:
acceptance or commissioning test
design verification or compliance test
manufacturing or production test
regression test.
Testing artefacts produced by software testing may include:
domain or application testing
test case
test data
test harness
test plan
test scripts
test suite
traceability matrix.
Software testing strategies may refer to:
defects when software system does not behave as specified
test level requirements
variability of product line.
Defects may be:
deferred
fixed
rejected
treated.
Test levels refer to:
integration test of multiple element that form a configuration specified in architecture
system test that validates behaviour of whole system
unit test of single element.
Domain testing features may:
aim at testing common parts and preparing test artefacts for variable parts
create reusable test artefacts for application testing
deal with variability of various domains
uncover evidence of defects in domain artefacts.
Application testing features may:
aim at reusing test artefacts for common parts and reuse predefined variable domain test artefacts to test specific applications
reuse domain test artefacts to uncover evidence of defects in product line applications.
Phases of a test cycle may include:
defect retesting
regression testing
requirements analysis
test closure
test development
test execution
test planning
test reporting
test result analysis.

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the ability to:
produce the steps in developing the test strategy
produce a test strategy to evaluate the suitability of the application software
develop software testing strategies for uncovering evidence of defects in software systems
create reusable domain artefacts to detect early defects in domain testing
produce test reporting associated with phases of a test cycle within test plan
produce an evaluation report from the traceability matrix .
Context of, and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure:
site where testing artefacts can be developed and applied
software tools currently used in industry
vendor products, specifications, equipment and enterprise policy required for the activity.
Methods of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
direct observation of the candidate managing development and application of testing artefacts
review of tests plans, reports and evaluation documents prepared by the candidate
oral or written questioning of the candidate to assess required knowledge.
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:
ICTTEN7225A Manage network testing strategies.

Aboriginal people and other people from a non-English speaking background may have second language issues.

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and appropriate to the oral communication skill level, and language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. Questioning techniques should not require language, literacy and numeracy skills beyond those required in this unit of competency.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs.