When Should You Test?

Our Types of Tests: An Overview

The literature is filled with a variety of testing methodologies, each with a lightly diferent purpose. Often, different terms are used to describe identical testing techniques. Needless tosay, thiscan be extremely confusing. In deciding which tests to discuss and emphasize, the most beneficial approach might be to use the product development lifecycle as a reference point for describing severa different types of tests. Associating a test with a particular phase in the lifecycle should help you understand the test's purpose and benefits.

We discuss three tests - exploratory (or formative), assessment (or summative), and validation (or verification) tests —at a high level, according to the approximate point in the product development lifecycle at which each would be administered. The fourth type of test, the comparison test, can be used as an integral part of any of the other three tests and is not associated with any specific lifecycle phase.

Hie basic methodology for conducting each test is roughly the same and is described in detail in Chapter 5. However, each test will vary in its emphasis on qualitative vs. quantitative measures, and by the amount of interaction