Software Engineering

8.5.2 
Identify the software test strategy
The operational model should be evaluated and the initial software test plan should 
be prepared to establish the strategy and approach to testing the software product 
against the software requirements and computational environment specifications. 
The software test plan should identify the software test environment and provide 
a traceability matrix that relates requirements to the elements of the software test 
strategy. The software test environment includes the hardware configuration(s), 
operating systems, and related applications that will be involved in qualifying that 
the product satisfies the specified requirements.
It is important to begin test planning as the requirements become better understood 
since testing can consume up to 20% of the schedule and 30% of the development costs.
Based on the software developer and user surveys, the national annual costs 
of an inadequate infrastructure for software testing is estimated to range from 
$22.2 to $59.5 billion. Over half of these costs are borne by software users in the 
form of error avoidance and mitigation activities. The remaining costs are borne 
by software developers and reflect the additional testing resources that are con-
sumed due to inadequate testing tools and methods.
5
5 
National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Program Office Strategic Planning, 
and Economic Analysis Group, Planning Report 02-3, The Economic Impacts of Inadequate 
Infrastructure for Software Testing, May 2002.
4 
Sensitivity analysis tries to estimate the effect on achieving project objectives if certain assumptions 
do not, or only partly, materialize. Risk analysis assesses the actual risk that certain assumptions do 
not, or only partly, occur.

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