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How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like Google v2.0

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107 views5 pages

How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like Google v2.0

Uploaded by

macaksilvester
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like

Google
Whitepaper | V2.0 2017-12
How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like Google

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

2 Can other companies adopt the Google testing process? ...................................................................................................... 3

3 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

2
How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like Google

1 Introduction
In the book, How Google Tests Software – Help me test like Google the authors describe the evolution of the Google™ software testing
process from the early days until now. Bugs that resulted from incomplete testing had become one of the biggest barriers to Google’s
continued success. When they analyzed their test environment, they discovered three main problems:

1. Complete testing required developers to write 2 to 3 lines of “Test Code” for every line of code under test

2. The “Test code” required as much maintenance as the application code, and often had more bugs, than the application code

3. Most developers performed incomplete testing

Google found that the solution was to create a well-defined team approach with continuous integration and testing, where “hyper
incremental” builds and testing are the norm and the primary responsibility for quality rests with the developers.

2 Can other companies adopt the Google testing process?


Is it feasible for other companies to build a homegrown testing infrastructure similar to Google’s? Due to resource issues and cost,
probably not, but you can build something similar using off-the-shelf automated tools like those from Vector Software.

The following section describes some of the key testing processes used at Google, and how VectorCAST™ can be used to provide
similar functionality for any software organization.

Google Software Testing Corresponding VectorCAST Automation

Software Engineers (SWE) VectorCAST/C++


Responsible for coding and test case development. Utilize the “code a little, test a Provides built-in support for “Test Driven Development” and lets you build test
little” method, using an Agile Test Driven Development approach. cases as soon as the header files are created.

Software Engineer in Test (SET) VectorCAST/C++


Assist the SWE with the unit testing. The SET’s are responsible for building test Replaces the manual effort involved with creating the framework, mocks, stubs,
harnesses and frameworks including stubs, mocks, and fakes for every version and fakes. Additionally, the tool automatically updates the test artifacts as the
of the application. The SWE’s use the harnesses to create the tests necessary code changes.
to fully test the new and modified code.
Google describes the ability to maintain test frameworks for every interface as
“the perfect world” and “fairytale land”. With VectorCAST/C++ this is reality.

Unit Test Dashboard VectorCAST/Manage


Google has created a dashboard to enable them to run every test for every Provides this exact functionality. In addition to the basic functionality of test
project every day. control and reporting, it also allows the same tests to be run with different
configurations of the source code, or with different compilers.

Code Coverage Analysis VectorCAST/Cover


Google analyzes Code Coverage for all levels of testing. Captures Statement, Branch, and MC/DC code coverage for any unit,
integration, or system level test. It also allows the combining of coverage across
all testing into a single metric.

Dependency Analysis VectorCAST/Manage


Google has built a dependency analysis of each project so each developer Has built-in support for Change-Based Testing, which performs dependency
knows exactly what code and test cases are affected by any source change. analysis for each source change and computes the sub-set of tests that are
This provides immediate feedback on how each source change affects the entire directly or indirectly affected by that change. A single click will run only those
system. affected tests, reducing incremental test time from days to minutes.

Table 1: Google Software Testing and Corresponding VectorCAST Automation Table

3
How VectorCAST Allows Testing Like Google

3 Summary
The era of “build and break”, or other ad-hoc software testing methods, is over because the risks are simply too great to continue in this
manner. In the span of just over a decade, Google’s test process and corporate culture surrounding software testing have become a
center of excellence for the organization, and a standard that many companies aspire to achieve.

While it is wise to understand the lessons of the Google model, the company does not have a monopoly on best practices for software
test. In fact, environments like VectorCAST provide an off-the-shelf solution that is easily scalable and can be implemented incrementally,
offering high levels of software quality for organizations of any size or application, in any industry.

Moreover, VectorCAST provides all of the tools necessary to create a “change based” continuous integration environment — which is
essential in today’s software development industry, where the only constant is change.

References:

Whittaker, James , Jason Arbon, Jeff Carollo. How Google Tests Software. Westford, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2012.

Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google Logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc.

VectorCAST is a trademark of Vector Informatik, GmbH.

4
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