Static Test Techniques

Human mental and analytical skills

Human mental and analytical skills can be used to analyze and evaluate complex situations through close investigation of the documents in question. It is essential to the success of such analysis that the people involved understand the documents they are reading and comprehend the statements and definitions they contain. Static tests are often the only effective way to check the semantics of documentation and other work products.

They are various static testing techniques that differ in their thoroughness, the resources they require (i.e., people and time), and the objectives they pursue. Some common static testing techniques are detailed below. The terminology used is based on the ISTQB^® syllabus and the ISO 20246 [ISO 20246] standard³.

“Review” has multiple meanings

The commonest and most important static testing technique is the review⁴. In this context, the term “review” has multiple meanings. It is used to describe the static analysis of work products but is also used a general term for all static analysis techniques performed by humans. The term “inspection” is also used to describe a similar process, although it is often used to mean the formal execution of a static test (and the collection of metrics and data) according to predefined rules.

Different review processes

Reviews can be conducted informally or formally. Informal reviews don’t adhere to a predefined process and there is no clear definition of the intended results or what is logged. In contrast, the formal review process is predefined and the participants document a planned set of results.

The type of review process you choose will depend on the following factors:

• The development lifecycle model: Which model are you using? Which places in the model and interim results are suitable for conducting a review?
• The maturity of the development process: How mature is the process and how high is the quality of the documents that are to be checked?
• The complexity of the documents to be tested: Which output shows a high degree of complexity and is therefore suitable for a (formal) review?
• Legal or regulatory requirements and/or the necessity for a traceable audit trail: Which regulations have to be adhered to and which proofs of quality assurance (and therefore reviews) are required?

Different objectives

The desired objectives of a review also determine which type of review process you choose. Are you focusing on defect detection or on the general comprehensibility of the tested work products? Do new team members have to become familiar with a specific document by reviewing it? Does the review help the team reach a consensus decision? The type of review you conduct will depend on your answers to these questions.