A Modeling Framework for Scenario-Based Testing

Scenario-based testing is a powerful method for finding problems that really matter to users and other stakeholders. By including scenario tests representing actual sequences of transactions and events, you can uncover the hidden bugs often missed by other functional testing. Designing scenarios requires you to use your imagination to create narratives that play out through systems from various points of view. Basing scenarios on a structured analysis of the data provides a solid foundation for a scenario model. Good scenario design demands that you combine details of business process, data flows-including their frequency and variations-and clear data entry and verification points. Fiona Charles describes a framework for modeling scenario-based tests and designing structured scenarios according to these principles. Fiona works through a real-life project example, showing how she applied this framework to design tests that found hundreds of bugs in a system-and this after the company had completed their testing and delivered the system into acceptance.