We offer a special set of services to address the software industry's need for adequate quality assurance and testing. From simple usability testing to compatibility analysis and functional verification, most software does not get the testing it needs. This results in costly defects that make their way into the released product, and into the hands of customers. A small investment in early detection can result in a great deal of savings over the life of a product. Our resources are ideally suited to the task of testing software at the macro and fine-grained levels. We design and execute test plans that include a combination of white-box and black-box methods, manual and automated scenarios, and other verification techniques tailored to your specific application needs. We have the manpower and resources to meet your demanding quality assurance requirements on an ongoing basis. For more information about our quality initiative and QA consulting services, please contact quality@clockworksoft.com. The Testing Strategy A testing strategy is a customized approach to your software and testing goals. Below are some of our approaches to planning and executing a quality assurance program: Test Plan During the initial phase, we define the scope of the testing domain and coverage requirements. Based on this information, we specify the tools and methods that will make up the test program. This will be documented in the Test Plan. Hands-on Testing Hands-on testing involves manually exercising the application's features. This can follow a general usage scenario, or a detailed script. Emphasis can be placed on specific features and on full system testing. Any behavior which appears anomalous is logged for further analysis. Automated Testing Record scripts for automated playback. Using third-party testing tools, we can record the interaction between the user and your application and then replay these sessions automatically to ensure that new defects do not appear in the software. Customized Test Programs We can program testing extensions into your current application, or write specialized test programs that exercise your application's functionality. Compatibility Testing Ensure that the software functions properly in a wide array of environments. Depending on the nature of your application, this may involve testing under various versions and patch-levels of the OS, using different web browsers, running with different hardware configurations, and varying network connections. Performance and Load Testing If scalability is a feature of your product, you will want to ensure that your application can handle load. For web sites, we can simulate thousands of users and analyze how your site reacts. For specialized client/server applications we can create a custom test environment that will simulate extreme load conditions. In addition, we can profile your software to determine which functions are limiting performance. Dynamic Memory Checking In C/C++ applications, failure to manage memory properly can lead to defects and crashes. Using third-party tools, we can analyze the run-time behavior of your application and identify memory management issues (overwrites, leaks, etc.). Code Review Analyze your entire application using source code analysis tools. This process will identify potential programming errors, and suspicious code constructs. In addition, we can manually audit specific sections of your code for compliance with standards.