CISC 367 Software Testing
(Summer 2008 Study Abroad in England)

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Lori Pollock
436 Smith Hall
Office Hours: by appointment.
pollock@cis.udel.edu

There are no teaching assistants for this course. All help will be provided by instructor and collaborative student effort.

course information

Course Prerequisites
CISC 220: Data Structures or permission of instructor
Course Description
This course is the study of the theory and practice of software testing. The course examines different aspects of the testing process including test case generation and selection, test execution frameworks for different levels of testing (unit, integration, system), regression testing, test coverage for deciding when to stop testing, and test oracles. Students will learn about automatic techniques and tools useful for testers. Students will examine the issues and strategies for testing for correctness as well as security of different software domains.
The course is a study abroad course, located in London, England. Much of the course will be taught at the University of Delaware London Centre in the Bloomsbury section of London, with field trips to various computing companies and research institutions, with well respected researchers in software testing and analysis. The classes will be very collaborative and hands-on with lab time to work with the software testing tools, discussion, and a group project.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course, the student should have:

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course requirements

University Requirements
UD email: Students who wish to receive their UD e-mail at a non-UD mailbox (e.g., AOL, Hotmail, etc.) must forward their UD e-mail to that mailbox and ensure that it is working so that they can receive and read official UD e-mail, including course-related materials, in a timely fashion. Instructions for forwarding are posted on the UD Network Page [www.udel.edu/network]

Course Requirements
Each student is expected to complete the following:

To be successful in this course, a student should use their problem-solving skills, be inquisitive about independently exploring the concepts of software testing and testing tools, work to refine their communication skills, be proactive about asking questions on company and research lab visits, and use their conflict resolution skills in collaborative projects.

Students are expected to

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grading information

Grading, Evaluation Policies and Procedures
Each student's course grade will be computed based on the following:

Group Work Grading: Group work will be graded, and then each individual's grade on the group project weighed based on student feedback on each student's participation in the project workload. If the student participated fairly equally in the workload, then each will receive the full earned grade. If the workload was very uneven, then a proportion of the earned grade may be assigned accordingly to the individuals. Each assignment will have a grading criteria provided when the assignment is given. Students will receive peer feedback on some of their work, but the assigned grade will be by the instructor, not based on student feedback.

Assignment Submission: Work to be graded must be given to the instructor by the start of class on the due date, in order to have no points deducted for lateness. The due dates are to be taken seriously and you should not expect them to be extended. The pace of work is implicit in the due dates and necessary if you expect to finish by the end of the semester. NO late work will be accepted FOR FULL CREDIT without discussion with me prior to the due date. If you can not reach me, leave a message on my voicemail or email. All other assignments not delivered by the due date are considered late.

Lateness: My philosophy on late assignments is: (1) Everyone should try their best to complete all assignments by the specified due date. (2) People who work conscientiously to make the deadlines should be rewarded for their promptness and sacrifice of sleep. Thus, allowing others to hand in late assignments without some penalty is not fair to these people. However, there are various circumstances that may prevent you from completing an assignment by the due date. Allowing no late assignments would not give you much incentive to continue to work on the assignment, which is a major source of learning in this course. Thus, I believe late assignments are better than no assignment.

Late assignments will be penalized 10% off the total possible points if turned in within the first 24-hour period after the specified due date and time, and 5% per 24-hour period (or fraction of a day) (including weekends) after that time, up to a week after the due date. Late assignments will be accepted with penalty up to one week after the due date. Assignments submitted at any later time without an approved excuse will not be accepted. It is up to you to determine the version of your assignment to be graded. You must weigh the late penalty against the completeness of your assignment.

Regrading Policy: If you are dissatisfied with a grade on any work handed in, you should consult the instructor directly within a week of the day the graded assignment was returned to you. No regrade requests will be considered after this week period.

Posting Grades: With your permission, grades will be posted periodically (by your secret code) on the course website. Questions about accuracy of recorded grades should be addressed to me.

Academic Dishonesty: You are permitted to consult with other students and professors on any conceptual problems and projects designated as group work. Any evidence of collaboration other than this kind will be handled as stated in the Official Student Handbook of the University of Delaware. If you are in doubt regarding the requirements, please consult with me before you complete any requirement of this course.

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course calendar

Course Calendar
Topic Readings Assignment
  Introduction and Overview  "What is software testing and why is it so hard?" Read article and complete exercise
  A Framework and Basic Principles for Test and Analysis Textbook Chapters 2 and 3 Read chapters and complete exercises
  Planning and Monitoring the Test Process Textbook Chapter 20
  Functional Testing Textbook Chapter 10 Read chapter and complete exercise
  Combinatorial Testing Textbook Chapter 11 Read chapter and complete exercise
  Structural Testing Textbook Chapter 12
  Data Flow Testing Textbook Chapter 13
  Fault-based Testing and Mutation Analysis Textbook Chapter 16
  Test Execution: Scaffolding and Oracles Textbook Chapter 17
  Integration Testing and Regression Testing Textbook pp 405-412; pp 427-436

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helpful resources

Resources
Learning Resources
How will the student be most successful in the course? What resources are available? Study guides, lecture notes online, on reserve in library? TA? Peer tutors? Study groups? Academic Services Center? Writing Center? Evaluation of online resources? Citation of web resources?
Provide link to Academic Services Center, Writing Center
Student feedback on instruction
Anonymous suggestion box on the web? E-mail? Student feedback at midterm for improvement purposes? End-of-term student feedback? Supplement to departmental student feedback form?

 

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