Portability testing is the process of determining the degree of ease or difficulty to which a software component or application can be effectively and efficiently transferred from one hardware, software or other operational or usage environment to another.[1] The test results, defined by the individual needs of the system, are some measurement of how easily the component or application will be to integrate into the environment and these results will then be compared to the software system's non-functional requirement of portability[2] for correctness. The levels of correctness are usually measured by the cost to adapt the software to the new environment[3] compared to the cost of redevelopment.[4]

Use cases

When multiple subsystems share components of a larger system, portability testing can be used to help prevent propagation of errors throughout the system.[5] Changing or upgrading to a newer system, adapting to a new interface or interfacing a new system in an existing environment are all problems that software systems with longevity will face sooner or later and properly testing the environment for portability can save on overall cost throughout the life of the system.[5] A general guideline for portability testing is that it should be done if the software system is designed to move from one hardware platform, operating system, or web browser to another.[6]

Examples

Attributes

There are four testing attributes included in portability testing. The ISO 9126 (1991) standard breaks down portability testing attributes[5] as Installability, Compatibility, Adaptability and Replaceability. The ISO 29119 (2013) standard describes Portability with the attributes of Compatibility, Installability, Interoperability and Localization testing.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-4 Software and Systems Engineering - Software Testing -Part 4- Test Techniques".
  2. ^ "Portability Testing". OPEN Process Framework Repository Organization. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  3. ^ Rouse, Margaret. "DEFINITION environment". Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  4. ^ Mooney, James. "Bringing Portability to the Software Process" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hass, Anne Mette Jonassen (2008). Guide to advanced software testing ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Boston: Artech House. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-1596932852.
  6. ^ Salonen, Ville. "Automatic Portability Testing" (PDF). Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Salonen, Ville (October 17, 2012). "Automatic Portability Testing" (PDF). Ville Salonen. pp. 11–18. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  8. ^ a b Woods, Anthony (2015). "Operational Acceptance - an application of the ISO 29119 Software Testing standard". ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d "ISTQB Advanced Level Syllabi". ASTQB. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  10. ^ Hass, Anne Mette Jonassen (2008). Guide to advanced software testing ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Boston: Artech House. pp. 272–273. ISBN 978-1596932852.
  11. ^ "What is Compatibility testing in Software testing?". Mindstream Theme on Genesis Framework. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  12. ^ Hass, Anne Mette Jonassen (2008). Guide to advanced software testing ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Boston: Artech House. p. 272. ISBN 978-1596932852.
  13. ^ "Installability Guidelines". Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  14. ^ "What is Portability testing in software?". Mindstream Theme. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Replaceability". Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  16. ^ Hass, Anne Mette Jonassen (2008). Guide to advanced software testing ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Boston: Artech House. p. 273. ISBN 978-1596932852.
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