What might take one person two weeks to test by manual processes can be done in a couple of hours using automated tools, once the scripts are recorded. One thousand forty-four requirements are tested in individual scripts. When played consecutively, all 1,044 scripts execute in just over an hour, thoroughly testing the application. AITS chose the Rational Software product suite, which includes tools for requirements management, functional, load, and performance testing. Functional testing ensures that each requirement is implemented and working properly in the software.
Load testing pinpoints how well an application performs as the number of concurrent users increases.
Performance testing measures an application's response times at different periods of the day and week, and under varying amounts of load. In starting our QA group from ground zero, we researched best practices throughout the industry. From QA's Testing Lifecycle, which runs parallel to the UA SDLC, to further defining the way requirements are gathered from users, QA processes have resulted in stronger business applications for the University community. The new system's requirements are determined by a Business Team, with an AITS Technical Lead serving as liaison to the application developers. From these requirements, the developers code the application, and QA uses them as a basis for functional tests.