ICT A2

Testing Exemplar

 

Discuss the issues involved in testing large ICT systems. (15 marks)

 

Plan

• Timescale of project

• Cost of project

• Must operate as expected – vital system

• Design tests for reliable systemControl of project

 

An Answer

 

Describe briefly some features of a large-scale system:

 

There are several issues involved in testing large systems. Large-scale systems are complex and therefore thorough testing can be difficult to achieve(2). Large-scale systems are usually of vital importance to the organisation and must therefore be designed to be reliable (1) and to always work as expected otherwise the organisation could lose business or reputation (1). This means a highly experienced team would be needed to create and test the system, and this is likely to add to costs especially if it is a complex and specialist system(1).

 

Testing section would be quite long:

 

There would need to be extremely thorough testing of different types (1) to try and ensure all bugs and problems have been eradicated prior to the system being installed. A wide range of testing and test users (1) would be needed. You would need to test all parts of the system separately, as well as the whole system once it is put together. This would make testing a time-consuming and difficult process (1). You might also need to use simulated data to test the system as it could be difficult to do realistic testing of such a large system (1).As testing needs to be so thorough, it will be time-consuming and also costly, and if any problems arise during the testing process, it could mean that the project starts to run late (1). If any problems are discovered during the testing stage, it could be very complicated to put these right easily and quickly due to the complex nature of the system (1). If the project is running late, testing could become rushed and less thorough, leading to problems when it is installed (1).