Testing Tool - Rational ClearCase

The Rational ClearCase tool empowers to manage all of the changes the projects encounter. This comprehensive software configuration management (SCM) solution provides version control, workspace management, process configurability, and builds management. With Rational ClearCase, the development team gets a scalable, best practices-based development process that simplifies change - shortening the development cycles, ensuring the accuracy of releases, and delivering reliable builds and patches for previously shipped products.

1. Simplifying the Process of Change

Software development and change: The two go hand in hand. To succeed at the first, need tools and processes for managing the second. Rational ClearCase, when combined with Rational ClearQuest, a flexible defect and change tracking tool, is the market leading software configuration management solution that manages change and complexity. To software teams of all sizes, Rational ClearCase offers tools and processes can implement today and tailor as grow. Rational ClearCase provides a family of products that scale from small project workgroups to the distributed global enterprise, enabling:

• Accelerate release cycles by supporting unlimited parallel development
• Unify the change process across the software development lifecycle
• Scale from small teams to the enterprise without changing tools or processes

2. Software Configuration Management

Software development is an inherently complex process. There are so many protocols, mixed platforms, distributed teams, and various roles to contend with, that team invariably gets tangled in administrative minutia. Rational ClearCase, a robust software artifact management tool, combined with Rational ClearQuest, the most flexible defect and change tracking tool on the market, creates a software configuration management (SCM) solution that helps team to handle the rigors of software development. Rational's SCM solution helps to manage complex change throughout the development lifecycle.

• Share code effortlessly and automate error-prone processes

• Rational's SCM solution offers the essential functions of transparent code sharing, version control, and advanced workspace and builds management. By automating many of the necessary, yet error-prone tasks associated with software development, Rational's SCM solution frees teams of all sizes to build better software faster.

• Unite team with a process that optimizes efficiency

• Process is critical to streamlining software development. A sound process will improve quality, increase development speed and ultimately enhance overall team collaboration and productivity. Rational's SCM solution offers Unified Change Management (UCM), a best practices process for managing change at the activity level and controlling workflow.

• Choose a solution that scales and make it last SCM decision

• Rational has an SCM solution that meets the needs of all size development teams. From small project teams to the global enterprise, Rational has the right size solution for the team. Using the same proven technology, processes and protocols, will be able to select the right product today and seamlessly grow with the product tomorrow – no conversion headaches, data disasters, or process changes. Just smooth scalability.

3. Unified Change Management
Managing the ongoing process of change is important for any development team. However, the issue is further complicated as specialized, distributed teams strive to build high-quality software in less time. Rational has responded with a solution that simplifies the process of change. Unified Change Management (UCM) integrates artifact and activity management. It is among Rational's "best practices" for software development.

UCM is delivered through an integration of Rational ClearCase, for software asset management, and Rational ClearQuest for defect and change tracking – both part of Rational Suite. UCM is a powerful, out-of-the-box workflow for automating change across the software lifecycle and across distributed multi-functional development teams.

UCM helps managers reduce risk by coordinating and prioritizing the activities of developers and by ensuring that they work with the right sets of artifacts. Extending across the lifecycle to accommodate all project domain information – requirements, visual models, code, and test artifacts, it helps teams effectively "baseline" requirements together with code and test assets. The result: accelerated team development in which quality standards are met or exceeded on time and on budget.

4. Rational ClearCase Highlights

• Offers version control, workspace management, build management and process configurability
• Versions all development artifacts
• Enables nonstop parallel development — even across geographically distributed sites
• Provides transparent workspaces for global data access
• Integrates with Rational ClearQuest to provide a seamless approach to defect and change tracking
• Enables Unified Change Management — Rational's activity-based process for managing change
• Scales from small project teams to the global enterprise
• Ships with Rational Suite for a complete change process across the lifecycle
• Offers process configurability without expensive customization
• Provides advanced build auditing
• Provides Web interface for universal data access
• Features graphical interface for easier focus on priority tasks
• Integrates with leading IDEs and development tools, and Web development and authoring tools

Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Interview Questions

1. Give examples for which causal analysis can be done
Ans:

• High / low schedule variance,
• High / low effort variance,
• Poor rating,
• Too many re-opened calls,
• High defect density,
• Very Low resource utilization etc

2. How are the goals categorized in the each process area?
Ans: Goals are categorized as generic and specific goals in each process area.

3. Which Process Area deals with team structure in project and how team goals are aligned to project goals?
Ans: Integrated Teaming

4. Which Process Area deals with doing causal analysis and take actions?
Ans: Causal Analysis and resolution

5. What is the appraisal methodology of CMMI called?
Ans: SCAMPI (Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement)

6. Which is the process area that deals with objective evaluation of processes and associated work products?
Ans: Process and Product QA

7. What are the common features for the generic goals of any Process Area?
Ans:

• Commitment to Perform,
• Ability to Perform,
• Directing Implementation, and
• Verifying Implementation & Generic Practices

8. There are ____________ Process Areas in at Maturity Level 2
Ans: 7

9. List down the acquisition types where in you have contract as on today.
Ans: Buy, Sell, Rent, Outsourcing

10. To provide measurement results; first _______ measurement data ; ______ measurement data.
Ans: COLLECT, ANALYZE

12. There are ____________ Process Areas in at Maturity Level 3.
Ans: 11

12. List down the process areas from Level 3.
Ans:

• Requirement Development,
• Technical Solution,
• Product Integration,
• Verification,
• Validation,
• OPF,
• OPD,
• Organizational Training,
• Risk Management,
• Decision Analysis and Resolution,
• Integrated Supplier Management

13. There are ___ Process Areas in at Maturity Level 4; List down the names of the Process Areas.
Ans: 2

14. List down the process areas from Level 4.
Ans:

• Quantitative Project Management,
• Organizational process performance

15. Which is the process area that deals with objective evaluation of processes and associated work products?
Ans: Process and Product QA

Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Interview Questions

1. How many representations does the CMMI Model have? Name the representations.
Ans: 2 - Staged and continuous

2. Which are the 5 levels in CMMi Framework in Staged Representation?
Ans: 5 Levels in Staged are:

• Performed,
• Managed,
• Defined,
• Quantitatively Managed, and
• Optimizing

3. Which are the disciplines in the base model of CMMI?
Ans:

• Software Engineering,
• System Engineering,
• Integrated product development,
• Software acquisition

4. Which Process Area deals with doing causal analysis and take actions?
Ans: CAR

5. State True or False - In Staged representations all Process Areas are at Level 5.
Ans: TRUE

6. Go through the process areas listed below and identify the measures that can be collected to implement the concepts of quantitative management in each of the practices. The process areas are:

• Project Planning
• Requirement Management
• Verification
• Configuration Management

Ans:

• Project Planning – Effort Variance, Schedule Variance, Effort distribution & productivity
• Requirement Management – Requirement Stability Index
• Verification – Number of defects, Defect density, % defect distribution by phase, %effort spent on review and testing, review and testing effectiveness
• Configuration Management – Effort spent on configuration audits

7. Write down the 7 process areas.
Ans:

• Requirement Management,
• Project Planning,
• Project Monitoring and Control,
• Supplier Agreement and Management,
• Measurement and Analysis,
• Process and Product Quality Assurance,
• Configuration Management

8. Estimates to be done during the ______ phase.
Ans: PLANNING

Software Testing - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Part 3

1. What is SEI- CMM? How many levels are there? What are they?

SEI = 'Software Engineering Institute' at Carnegie-Mellon University; initiated by the U.S. Defense Department to help improve software development processes.
CMM = 'Capability Maturity Model', developed by the SEI. It's a model of 5 levels of Organizational 'maturity' that determine effectiveness in delivering quality software.

The Five levels are

• Initial
• Repeatable
• Defined
• Managed
• Optimizing.

2. What is ISO standard for Software? Explain.

ISO = 'International Organization for Standards' :- The ISO 9001 is a Standard often used by software development organizations. It covers documentation, design, development, production, testing, installation, servicing, and other processes.

ISO 9000-3 (not the same as 9003) is a guideline for applying ISO 9001 to software development organizations. To be ISO 9001 certified, a third-party auditor assesses an organization, and certification is typically good for about 3 years, after which a complete reassessment is required. Note that ISO 9000 certification does not necessarily indicate quality products - it indicates only that documented processes are followed.

3. What is load testing?

Load testing is a performance test which subjects the target-of-test to varying workloads to measure and evaluate the performance behaviors and ability of the target-of-test to continue to function properly under these different workloads. The goal of load testing is to determine and ensure that the system functions properly beyond the expected maximum workload. Additionally, load testing evaluates the performance characteristics, such as response times, transaction rates, and other time sensitive issues. The main purpose of this testing is to test whether the system is capable to handle a large number of users at a
particular time.

4. When to stop testing?

• Deadlines (release deadlines, testing deadlines, etc.)
• Testing with Test cases completed with certain percentage passed
• Test budget depleted / Test group decides.
• Coverage of code/functionality/requirements reaches a specified point
• Bug rate falls below a certain acceptance level ( Metrics use).
• Beta or alpha testing period ends
• Sometimes User decides.

Software Testing - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is static testing and dynamic testing?
Static testing is verifying that all documents in the project is as per the organizational standards. This type of testing can be done by reviews, walkthrough, and inspection. Dynamic testing is the process of executing a program or system with the intent of finding error or making sure that the system meets its intended requirements.

2. What are the metrics you collect during testing life cycle?
Defect resident time, Defect removal efficiency, Test case effectiveness, Testing efficiency and defect rate, defect origin, Defects Severity type.

3. What are the different approaches of integration testing available?
Top-down approach, Bottom-up approach, Incremental Integration.

4. How defect severities are normally defined?
System failure, Major, Minor/ Normal/ Moderate, Suggestion, OR Critical, High priority, Medium priority, Low priority.

5. What is defect density?
Total no. of Defects found during Testing / Size of the Software product.

6. How a software size is normally defined?
Function points (FP), KLOC (Kilo Lines of Code), SLOC ( source lines of code), Man-Hrs.

7. Write the sequential order in which the following Tests are conducted for a project: Integration, acceptance, Unit, System Testing.
Ans: Unit, Integration System and Acceptance Testing.

8. Name some automated testing tools available in the market?
Rational Test Suite, Mercury Win Runner ,Load Runner, Emprix E-Test suite,
Segue silk test, QA Load, Astra load test / Quick test.

9. What is software 'quality'?
Quality software is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and/or expectations, and is maintainable. However, quality is obviously a subjective term. It will depend on who the 'customer' is and their overall influence in the scheme of things. A wide-angle view of the 'customers' of a software development project might include end-users, customer acceptance testers, customer contract officers, customer management, the development organization's management/accountants/testers/salespeople, future software maintenance engineers, stockholders, magazine columnists, etc.

Each type of 'customer' will have their own slant on 'quality' - the accounting department might define quality in terms of profits while an end-user might define quality as user-friendly and bug-free.

10. What is 'Software Quality Assurance'?
Software QA involves the entire software development PROCESS - monitoring and improving the process, making sure that any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed, and ensuring that problems are found and dealt with. It is oriented for defects 'prevention'.