Activity 3: Summary and next steps

Well done for making it this far. Let’s take a couple of minutes to revisit and summarise the key points from Activity 3, which was all about static testing techniques.

You saw how static testing plays a crucial role in the software development process as it helps us identify and prevent defects at an early stage. You began by understanding what makes static testing unique – it doesn’t involve executing the code. It’s all about prevention rather than detection of defects. By carefully scrutinising the code, design documents and requirements, you can spot errors before they become larger issues.

Static testing techniques

You learned about several static testing techniques, including inspections and walkthroughs, which can also include technical reviews. Inspections are highly formal and structured. Walkthroughs and technical reviews, on the other hand, are less formal, allowing for a more guided discussion led by the author, with a more collaborative approach. These encourage collective review of code and designs.

Static analysis tools

Another key point you learned about was the role of static analysis tools. These automated tools have the capability to analyse your code to unearth potential problems. They are excellent complements to manual static testing methods, improving efficiency and accuracy.

In summary, static testing is an indispensable process in software development. Its early detection and prevention of errors leads to substantial time and resource savings. Whether through inspections, walkthroughs, technical reviews, or static analysis tools, the ultimate goal remains the same – to enhance the quality of the software.

To deepen your understanding of these concepts, feel free to recap this activity and participate in our forum discussions. Remember, learning is an ongoing process, so revisit these steps if you need to and continue to engage with your peers. Keep working your way through the quizzes and make sure to complete all tasks if you can.

Reviewing the steps in Week 1

If there’s anything from Week 1 that you feel you need to review further, don’t hesitate to revisit the activities for help. There’s also the in-depth glossary, which has lots of the key terms and descriptions of those that we’ve made use of throughout the course and can help refresh your memory.

Next week

In Week 2, you will be diving into dynamic testing techniques, which involves executing the software to identify defects. You’ll learn about black-box, white-box, and grey-box testing, and you’ll also discuss various testing activities such as test planning, test case design, test execution and test evaluation.

Additionally, you will explore test design techniques like boundary value analysis (BVA) and equivalence partitioning (EP), which are used to create efficient and effective test cases.

Finally, we’ll touch on software validation and quality assurance, which play a crucial role in ensuring that software meets its intended purpose and quality requirements.

How is the course going?

Please answer a short mid-course evaluation survey to help you think about how your learning is progressing on this course. It includes some prompts to help your reflection and will help us improve and evidence the impact of the course.

Note: this optional survey does not affect your completion of the course. Further detail on how we (University of Leeds) use survey responses is included at the start of the survey and in this Privacy Notice.