I was recently putting together a test plan for some interactives that we are deploying in the next couple of months. As I was putting the pieces together I was realizing that software testing is very similar to something I had previously done, writing educational goals for children with disabilities. I guess I have a unique work history that would reveal this fact but it may be interesting for some in either profession.
First the condition must be set. This would be the circumstances under which the assessment is performed. This could be further broken down for software into the current state of the application and the action that the user takes to initiate the test. In regards to instruction this could be the classroom conditions or the specific format for the test (worksheet, one-on-one, with a behavioral prompt).
Next is the specific behavior that is to be observed. This should be something that is both observable and measurable. While the tests that we are performing are higher level tests (functional/usability), this could be applied simpler unit tests that would be measured by simple logic (does 2 + 2 evaluate to be 4?). Seeing that a video plays without visual stuttering would be observable. This behavior could however use some clarifying in terms of what the visual stuttering would be defined as, or would be left to subjective opinion, which may at some point be acceptable. In the educational realm, the behavior could be a students verbal response to a behavioral prompt or responding to a question with a correct answer.
The final relevant similarity is the criteria used to measure success. In most cases with software testing, the only acceptable criteria is pass or fail, but in some circumstances this could be measured with a success rate/percentage.
Given [condition] the application/student will [behavior] at [criteria]
At it’s basic level both of these tests are about quantifying behavior and removing subjectivity as much as possible. Someone unfamiliar with the inner workings of the application or the student should be able to record the same results as someone who is familiar with the subject.
