Overview
In this activity, the planned software test environment is identified. The software test manager identifies one or more test sites to be used for the testing. For each test site, the software test manager lists all software, hardware, and other materials necessary to perform the testing, as well as plans for acquiring and installing these items. Personnel requirements for each site are described.
Roles and Responsibilities
The software test manager completes the Software Test Plan (STP) (see Appendix E) sections defining the software test environment.
Controls
See parent activity 1.1.3 Plan Software Testing.
Inputs
See parent activity 1.1.3 Plan Software Testing.
Procedures
Accurate descriptions of test environment(s) are essential when testing embedded, flight, and mission critical software. Documenting accurate descriptions helps ensure repeatability and integrity of testing. The software test manager iteratively performs the following steps:
1) Reads the Software Development Plan (SDP) (see Appendix E) to gain an understanding of how the software development effort is expected to proceed.
2) Identifies the test site(s). The subsections of the Software Test Environment section will be appropriately arranged following the instructions in the STP Data Item Description (DID). When identifying test sites, the software test manager keeps in mind the type of test (e.g., thermal vac or vibration testing for flight hardware) and type of software under test (e.g., mission operations software, flight software).
The software test manager performs the following steps for each test site:
A) Identifies software, hardware (e.g., target computer hardware, oscilloscopes, multi-meters, external tape drives, printers, firmware), and any other materials (e.g., manuals, media containing data to be used in the tests) required for testing. All items are precisely specified, as appropriate, with item name, version number, manufacturer’s name, etc. Security, privacy, and licensing issues are considered as well. The software test manager documents all of those decisions in the Software Items, Hardware and Firmware Items, Other Items, Proprietary Nature, Acquirer’s Rights and Licensing sections of the STP. The installation, testing, and control of each item previously identified in this step are documented in the Installation, Testing, and Control section of the STP.
B) Identifies all organizations expected to participate in the testing, such as quality assurance (QA), safety, etc., including contractor and NASA organizations. For each identified organization, all personnel necessary to perform the testing are identified (e.g., data entry person from testing organization, skilled machine operator from the customer’s organization). Details about the organizations and associated personnel are documented in the Participating Organizations and Personnel section of the STP. Any necessary training is described in the Orientation Plan section of the STP.
3) Identifies each test to be performed at each specified test site by referencing the Test Identification section(s) of the STP. This is documented in the Tests to be Performed section of the STP.
Outputs
The Software Test Environment section of the STP.