The three primary human testing methods are code inspections, walkthroughs
and user (or usability) testing. We cover the first two of these,
which are code-oriented methods, in this chapter. These methods can be
used at virtually any stage of software development, after an application is
deemed to be complete or as each module or unit is complete (see Chapter
5 for more information on module testing). We discuss user testing in
detail in Chapter 7.
The two code inspection methods have a lot in common, so we will discuss
their similarities together. Their differences are enumerated in subsequent
sections.
Inspections and walkthroughs involve a team of people reading or
visually inspecting a program. With either method, participants must
conduct some preparatory work. The climax is a ‘‘meeting of the minds,’’
at a participant conference. The objective of the meeting is to find errors
but not to find solutions to the errors—that is, to test, not debug.
Code inspections and walkthroughs have been widely used for some
time. In our opinion, the reason for their success is related to some of the
principles identified in Chapter 2.