Lecture 15: Chapter 20

 Testing Web Applications

Slide Set to accompany
Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e
by Roger S. Pressman

Slides copyright © 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009 by Roger S. Pressman

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May be reproduced ONLY for student use at the university level when used in conjunction
with Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, 7/e. Any other reproduction or use is
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Testing Quality Dimensions-I
More challenging than conventional ones:
Networks, protocols, OSes, hardware, etc. need to be checked too

Content is evaluated at both a syntactic and semantic level.

 syntactic level—spelling, punctuation and grammar are assessed
for text-based documents.
 semantic level—correctness (of information presented),
consistency (across the entire content object and related objects)
and lack of ambiguity are all assessed.
Function is tested for correctness, instability, and general
conformance to appropriate implementation standards (e.g.,Java or
XML language standards) (customer requirements).
Structure is assessed to ensure that it
 properly delivers WebApp content and function
 is extensible
 can be supported as new content or functionality is added.

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Testing Quality Dimensions-II
 Usability is tested to ensure that each category of user
 is supported by the interface
 can learn and apply all required navigation syntax and
semantics
 Navigability is tested to ensure that
 all navigation syntax and semantics are exercised to uncover
any navigation errors (e.g., dead links, improper links,
erroneous links).
 Performance is tested under a variety of operating
conditions, configurations, and loading to ensure that
 the system is responsive to user interaction
 the system handles extreme loading without unacceptable
operational degradation

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Testing Quality Dimensions-III
 Compatibility is tested by executing the
WebApp in a variety of different host
configurations on both the client and server
sides.
 The intent is to find errors that are specific to a
unique host configuration.
 Interoperability is tested to ensure that the
WebApp properly interfaces with other
applications and/or databases.
 Security is tested by assessing potential
vulnerabilities and attempting to exploit each.
 Any successful penetration attempt is deemed a
security failure.
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Error Characteristics in a WebApp
 Because many types of WebApp tests uncover problems that are first
evidenced on the client side, you often see a symptom of the error, not
the error itself.
 Because a WebApp is implemented in a number of different
configurations and within different environments, it may be difficult or
impossible to reproduce an error outside the environment in which the
error was originally encountered.
 Although some errors are the result of incorrect design or improper
HTML (or other programming language) coding, many errors can be
traced to the WebApp configuration.
 Because WebApps reside within a client/server architecture, errors can
be difficult to trace across three architectural layers: the client, the
server, or the network itself.
 Some errors are due to the static operating environment (i.e., the
specific configuration in which testing is conducted), while others are
attributable to the dynamic operating environment (i.e., instantaneous
resource loading or time-related errors).

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The Testing Process

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Content Testing
 Content testing has three important objectives:
 to uncover syntactic errors (e.g., typos, grammar
mistakes) in text-based documents, graphical
representations, and other media
 to uncover semantic errors (i.e., errors in the
accuracy or completeness of information) in any
content object presented as navigation occurs, and
 to find errors in the organization or structure of
content that is presented to the end-user.

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Assessing Content Semantics
 Is the information factually accurate?
 Is the information concise and to the point?
 Is the layout of the content object easy for the user to understand?
 Can information embedded within a content object be found easily?
 Have proper references been provided for all information derived from
other sources?
 Is the information presented consistent internally and consistent with
information presented in other content objects?
 Is the content offensive, misleading, or does it open the door to
litigation?
 Does the content infringe on existing copyrights or trademarks?
 Does the content contain internal links that supplement existing
content? Are the links correct?
 Does the aesthetic style of the content conflict with the aesthetic style
of the interface?

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 Database Testing

Tests are defined for

each layer

 Webapps interact with databases.

 Content objects created and
displayed.

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User Interface Testing
 Interface features are tested to ensure that design rules,
aesthetics, and related visual content is available for the
user without error.
 Individual interface mechanisms are tested in a manner
that is analogous to unit testing.
 The complete interface is tested against selected use-
cases and Navigation Semantic Units (NSUs) to uncover
errors in the semantics of the interface.
 The interface is tested within a variety of environments
(e.g., browsers) to ensure that it will be compatible.

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Testing Interface Mechanisms-I
 Links—navigation mechanisms that link the user to some other
content object or function.
 Forms—a structured document containing blank fields that are
filled in by the user. The data contained in the fields are used
as input to one or more WebApp functions.
 Client-side scripting—a list of programmed commands in a
scripting language (e.g., Javascript) that handle information
input via forms or other user interactions
 Dynamic HTML—leads to content objects that are manipulated
on the client side using scripting or cascading style sheets
(CSS).
 Client-side pop-up windows—small windows that pop-up
without user interaction. These windows can be content-
oriented and may require some form of user interaction.

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Testing Interface Mechanisms-II
 CGI scripts—a common gateway interface (CGI) script implements a
standard method that allows a Web server to interact dynamically with
users (e.g., a WebApp that contains forms may use a CGI script to
process the data contained in the form once it is submitted by the
user).
 Streaming content—rather than waiting for a request from the client-
side, content objects are downloaded automatically from the server
side. This approach is sometimes called “push” technology because
the server pushes data to the client.
 Cookies—a block of data sent by the server and stored by a browser
as a consequence of a specific user interaction. The content of the
data is WebApp-specific (e.g., user identification data or a list of items
that have been selected for purchase by the user).
 Application specific interface mechanisms—include one or more
“macro” interface mechanisms such as a shopping cart, credit card
processing, or a shipping cost calculator.

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Usability Tests
 Design by WebE team … executed by end-users
 Testing sequence …
 Define a set of usability testing categories and identify goals
for each.
 Design tests that will enable each goal to be evaluated.
 Select participants who will conduct the tests.
 Instrument participants’ interaction with the WebApp while
testing is conducted.
 Develop a mechanism for assessing the usability of the
WebApp
 different levels of abstraction:
 the usability of a specific interface mechanism (e.g., a form)
can be assessed
 the usability of a complete Web page (encompassing
interface mechanisms, data objects and related functions)
can be evaluated
 the usability of the complete WebApp can be considered.
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Compatibility Testing
 Compatibility testing is to define a set of “commonly
encountered” client side computing configurations and their
variants
 Create a tree structure identifying
 each computing platform
 typical display devices
 the operating systems supported on the platform
 the browsers available
 likely Internet connection speeds
 Derive a series of compatibility validation tests
 derived from existing interface tests, navigation tests, performance
tests, and security tests.
 intent of these tests is to uncover errors or execution problems that
can be traced to configuration differences.

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Component-Level Testing
 Focuses on a set of tests that attempt to
uncover errors in WebApp functions
 Derived from forms-level input
 Conventional black-box and white-box test
case design methods can be used
 Database testing is often an integral part of the
component-testing regime

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Navigation Testing
 User travels on the WebApp – like visiting a museum
 The following navigation mechanisms should be tested:
 Navigation links—these mechanisms include internal links within the
WebApp, external links to other WebApps, and anchors within a
specific Web page.
 Redirects—these links come into play when a user requests a non-
existent URL or selects a link whose destination has been removed or
whose name has changed.
 Bookmarks—although bookmarks are a browser function, the
WebApp should be tested to ensure that a meaningful page title can
be extracted as the bookmark is created.
 Frames and framesets—tested for correct content, proper layout and
sizing, download performance, and browser compatibility
 Site maps—Each site map entry should be tested to ensure that the
link takes the user to the proper content or functionality.
 Internal search engines—Search engine testing validates the
accuracy and completeness of the search, the error-handling
properties of the search engine, and advanced search features
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Configuration Testing
 Server-side
 Is the WebApp fully compatible with the server OS?
 Are system files, directories, and related system data created
correctly when the WebApp is operational?
 Do system security measures (e.g., firewalls or encryption) allow
the WebApp to execute and service users without interference or
performance degradation?
 Has the WebApp been tested with the distributed server
configuration (if one exists) that has been chosen?
 Is the WebApp properly integrated with database software? Is the
WebApp sensitive to different versions of database software?
 Do server-side WebApp scripts execute properly?
 Have system administrator errors been examined for their affect
on WebApp operations?
 If proxy servers are used, have differences in their configuration
been addressed with on-site testing?

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Configuration Testing
 Client-side
 Hardware—CPU, memory, storage and printing devices
 Operating systems—Linux, Macintosh OS, Microsoft
Windows, a mobile-based OS
 Browser software—Internet Explorer, Mozilla/Netscape,
Opera, Safari, and others
 User interface components—Active X, Java applets and
others
 Plug-ins—QuickTime, RealPlayer, and many others
 Connectivity—cable, DSL, regular modem, T1
 The number of configuration variables must be reduced
to a manageable number

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Security Testing
 Designed to probe vulnerabilities of the client-
side environment, the network communications
that occur as data are passed from client to
server and back again, and the server-side
environment
 On the client-side, vulnerabilities can often be
traced to pre-existing bugs in browsers, e-mail
programs, or communication software.
 On the server-side, vulnerabilities include
denial-of-service attacks and malicious scripts
that can be passed along to the client-side or
used to disable server operations

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Performance Testing
 Does the server response time degrade to a point where it is
noticeable and unacceptable?
 At what point (in terms of users, transactions or data loading)
does performance become unacceptable?
 What system components are responsible for performance
degradation?
 What is the average response time for users under a variety of
loading conditions?
 Does performance degradation have an impact on system
security?
 Is WebApp reliability or accuracy affected as the load on the
system grows?
 What happens when loads that are greater than maximum
server capacity are applied?

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Load Testing
 The intent is to determine how the WebApp
and its server-side environment will respond to
various loading conditions
 N, the number of concurrent users
 T, the number of on-line transactions per unit of time
 D, the data load processed by the server per
transaction
 Overall throughput, P, is computed in the
following manner:
• P= NxTxD

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Stress Testing
 Does the system degrade ‘gently’ or does the server shut down as
capacity is exceeded?
 Does server software generate “server not available” messages? More
generally, are users aware that they cannot reach the server?
 Does the server queue requests for resources and empty the queue
once capacity demands diminish?
 Are transactions lost as capacity is exceeded?
 Is data integrity affected as capacity is exceeded?
 What values of N, T, and D force the server environment to fail? How
does failure manifest itself? Are automated notifications sent to
technical support staff at the server site?
 If the system does fail, how long will it take to come back on-line?
 Are certain WebApp functions (e.g., compute intensive functionality,
data streaming capabilities) discontinued as capacity reaches the 80 or
90 percent level?

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