Regression test automation is just one example of automated testing, and it is probably not the best one. This double-track presentation considers the problems inherent in regression automation and outlines alternatives that involve automated generation, execution, and evaluation of large numbers of tests. Explore oracle-based, high-volume comparison tests, stochastic tests, and configuration tests.

Many testers discover most of their bugs through a free-form exploration of a product called ad hoc testing. Ad hoc testing, however, can be difficult to manage. Jonathan Bach presents his experiences in making this intuitive and unstructured process manageable by packaging it in blocks of roughly equivalent effort (called test sessions). Learn how this test session concept allows you to measure and report test effort in a way that supports the needs of management, without burdening the tester with excessive paperwork or intrusive oversight.

The Graybox Testing Methodology is used to test embedded systems. Recent studies have confirmed that the Graybox method can be applied in real-time using software executing on the target platform, expanding the capabilities of this method to include not only path coverage verification but also worst-cast/best-case path timing. Learn how this methodology has been applied in a real-time environment to validate mission-critical embedded software systems.

Gone are the days for most commercial Web sites when the "application" on the site was the Web. Now Web sites are often just the presentation layer for sophisticated applications that interact with a complexity of internal and external systems, all glued together in an elaborate architecture using Corba or DCOM. Learn how to ensure that transaction-based Web sites function properly. Explore the benefits of automated testing in these environments.