Testing the e-business systems

Testing has two main objectives: first, to check for non-conformance with the business and user requirements, and, second, to identify bugs or errors. In other words, it checks that the site does what users need and is reliable. Testing is an iterative process that occurs through­out development. As non-conformances are fixed by the development team, there is a risk that the problem may not have been fixed and that new problems have been created. Further testing is required to check that solutions to problems are effective.

1. The testing process

A structured testing process is necessary in order to identify and solve as many problems as possible before the system is released to users. This testing is conducted in a structured way by using a test specification which is a comprehensive specification of testing in all modules of the system. If the use-case method of analysis described in Chapter 11 is used then it will specify the different use-cases or scenarios to be tested in detailed test scripts. The compre­hensive testing specification will also cover all the different types of test outlined in Table 12.1.

Testing in the web environment requires new constraints. Unfortunately the list of con­straints is long and sometimes neglected, to disastrous effect. Retailer Boo.com used a complex graphic to display clothes that was too time-consuming to use for visitors to the site. If there are a thousand potential users of an e-commerce site, all of the following con­straints on design may exclude a proportion:

  • Speed of access – everyone has used sites with huge graphics that take minutes to download. Good designers will optimize graphics for speed and then test using a slow modem across phone lines. Yahoo! downloads in just one second, so this is the performance that users expect from other sites.
  • Screen resolutions – designing for different screen resolutions is necessary since some users with laptops may be operating at low resolution such as 640 by 480 pixels, the majority at 800 by 600 pixels, a few at higher resolutions of 1064 by 768 pixels or greater. If the designers have designed the site using PCs with high resolutions, they may be difficult to read for the majority.
  • Number of colours – some users may have monitors capable of displaying 16 million colours giving photo-realism while others may only have the PC set up to display 256 colours.
  • Changing font size – choosing large fonts on some sites causes unsightly overlap between the different design elements – depends on the type of web browser used.
  • Different browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator and different versions of browsers such as version 4.0 or 5.0 may display graphics or text slightly differently or process JavaScript differently, so it is essential to test on a range of browser platforms.
  • Plug-ins such as Macromedia Flash and Shockwave – if a site requires plug-ins that the user doesn’t have, then a business will be cutting down its audience by the number of people who are unable or unprepared to download these plug-ins.

2. Testing environments

Testing occurs in different environments during the project. Prototypes are tested in a development environment which involves programmers’ testing data across a network on a shared server. In the implementation phase a special test environment may be set up which simulates the final operating environment for the system. This test environment will be used for early user training and testing and for system testing. Finally, the production or live environment is that in which the system will be used operationally. This will be used for user acceptance testing and when the system becomes live.

Source: Dave Chaffey (2010), E-Business and E-Commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Prentice Hall (4th Edition).

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