In accordance with its mission of enhancing the test profession, IIST has developed a Unified Test Terminology to help practitioner and educators use consistent framework to communicate testing concepts. Although the terminology listed here is copyrighted by IIST, the test community is free to use the terminology as long as the proper credit is given to the “International Institute for Software Testing”.

The terminology is also used in all courses conducted by IIST.

To ensure impartiality and to guarantee that the developed terminology represents the practice of broad

• Gathered definitions from IIST instructors and practitioners
• Conducted a number of workshops starting in spring 2003.
• Synthesized the result of the workshop and the definitions collected
• Came up with a draft definition of eight terms.
• Conducted more workshops to finalize. The workshops were attended by almost 60 test professionals. Click here to see a list of practitioners who participated in the workshops.
  

• Quality Assurance
• Testing
• Test Scenario
• Test Condition
• Test Case
• Test Procedure
• Test Script

IIST will continue its effort to add more definitions to the terminology.

A set of activities designed to evaluate the process by which products are developed or manufactured. This includes causal analysis to determine root causes and initiate process improvement efforts.

Testing: is any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute or capability of the system to determine that it meets its intended requirements. Testing also includes any activities that aim at finding errors in the systems. Activities include:

• test planning
• test designing
• executing the application
• Analyzing and reviewing any artifact of the system

Test Scenario (also called Test Condition) is a description of some aspect of a requirement that the system must satisfy. An abstract requirement would have a number of test scenarios associated with it. Test scenarios do not include any data but should be used to derive test data. A test scenario may cover more than one function of the system.

It was decided during the workshop held in March of 2004 that test scenarios are the same as test conditions. The two definitions were merged in to test scenario.

A unique combination of input data and preconditions that determines expected output and post-conditions used to test a specific scenario.

• Preconditions are all relevant details of the internal state of the system and external environment before test case execution.
• Post-conditions are all relevant details of the internal state of the system and external environment after test case completion.

A test procedure is a set of steps to be followed to execute one or more related test cases.

Steps may include:

• Preconditions establishment
• Interaction with the system
• Post-conditions and output verification
• Test case pass/fail determination
• Test environment resetting

A set of steps written in a programming language to be executed by a test automation tool for the purpose of running one or more related test cases. A script may be hand written or generated by a test automation tool

The folowing test professionals have attended at least one workshop on the IIST Unified Test Terminology

• Anna Collen
• Barbara Widen, Thomson-West
• Bashar Amin
• Bill Randall, Guidant Corporation
• Bob Suchor, State of Wisconsin
• Cassandra Gordon, Sigma-Aldrich
• Christian Weixlbaumer, Fabasoft
• Cindy Alexander
• Clyneice Chaney
• Dale Emery
• Dale M. Scarlett, Ontario Teachers Pension
• Dallison Halley-Pierce
• Dana Wagner, Thomson-West
• Danny Nguyen, AMD
• Darlene Russo
• Dave Hoglund
• David Freitag, Nonin Medical Inc.
• David Perkins
• Debbie Neubauer, Guidant Corporation
• Deb Vernon, Minnesota Dept. of H uma n Services
• Deborah S. Harris, AMH Softwares
• Denise Zechmann, Towers Perrin
• Eric Grape, Eastman Kodak Co.
• Eugene E. Seamann
• Gary Showalter, Guidant Corporation
• Harold Schroeder, General Dynamic Co.
• Harold Sorenson
• Herman Stein
• Janice Vassar
• Jayna Errico, U.S. Courts
• Jean Swank, GTRI
• Jeanne Balsam GTRI
• Jerrold Landar, IBM
• Jim O'Connor, Tybrin Corporation
• Joe Ozorio, CQI
• John Leocadio, OfficeMate Software Solutions
• Kate Bailey
• Larry Close, Scitor Corporation
• Laura Gutnick
• Laurie Fredregill, Questar Educational Systems, Inc.
• Lloyd Pitney Philips
• Lynette Wheeler
• Margaret Harris
• Mark A. Reda, Environmental Systems Corp.
• Mark Mazza, State of Wisconsin
• Mark Pellegrini, GTRI
• Mary Ehrenberger, St. Paul Companies
• Red Sander
• Rob Vest, Environmental Systems Corp.
• Robin Goldsmith GoPro Management, Inc.
• Ron Simkins
• Sandy Gordon, Jhuapl
• Shanyn Bain-Pautzke
• Steven Remund, Boeing
• Susan Bross
• Suzy Schmidt, Dexma Inc.
• Terence J. Smith SAIC
• Tracy Van Demark
• Vicky Strom, Principal Financial Group
• Victor Goldberg