How easy is it to maintain all the scripts after they are written?

This is our most frequently asked question. It demonstrates how many people have had problems with automated testing tools in the past. Maintainability was one of our prime goals in developing this approach.

We enforce a coding standard that forces the script writer to write code that is easy to write and even easier to maintain. Most application changes result in minor changes to one or two execution scripts. We find that we can handle changes like added fields in 5 to 10 minutes.

By following our standards all scripts are extremely well commented and therefore the coder can maintain the scripts for multiple applications. In every company where we have written scripts, we have handed them over to be successfully maintained by a computer savvy non-programmer or a junior programmer.

How easy is it for testers to use Scenario Tester?

EXTREMELY EASY. In most cases we have found that testers use Scenario Tester without any formal training. It is very intuitive.

In many companies the testers were using Scenario Tester almost instantly, with no training. They would start Scenario Tester, look at it, understand it and just start entering their scenarios.

We also provide many usability features that increase productivity and day-to-day usability. For example, a user can use the menus, tool bar, shortcut keys or right mouse click to perform all major functions.

Ease of use and usability are top priorities for us.

This still seems like a lot of work. How long does it take to set up?

This is a difficult question to answer because it depends on the size of your application, the complexity of the application and the skill of the people who are creating the scripts. On the other hand, the scripts are generally straightforward and easy to create. For mainframe development a screen scraper is provided with the tool set, which builds most of the scripts, dramatically reducing the time it takes to create the scripts.

In most of our consulting engagements, we find that we quite quickly get ahead in the scripting and then have to wait for the testers to enter all their test scenarios.

Creating the scripts and entering the test scenarios in the first place definitely involves some effort. We have found that companies allocate specific individuals or hire us or other consultants to set up the scripts. Maintenance, on the other hand, is straightforward and not very time consuming.

Do the scripts have to be written and maintained by a professional programmer?

From our consulting experience, we have yet to be in a company where the scripts were maintained by a senior programmer. In every case they were taken over by computer savvy non-programmers or junior coders. This is one of the realities that we have to work with. It was therefore vital for us to create script which where easy to understand, simple to write and maintain. We believe we have achieved this. We find that generally 90% of the scripts are straightforward.

In some cases 100% of the scripts are simple and there is no complex code. On the other hand, we have also worked on applications which are very complex, where some special code needed to be written to handle the idiosyncrasies of that particular application. Additional code may also need to be written depending on what you want to test. Here you may need an experienced professional programmer. In almost all cases this is code which, once written, is not changed. In the maintenance phase, the scripts which are changed are almost always the straightforward ones.

Which automated testing tools can I use?

You can use any automated tool which can read a CSV (comma-separated) file, which as we far as we can see is all the major ones. We have included with the product a tutorial on how to create background scripts, plus sample scripts for the following automated testing tools:

•	Compuware Test PartnerTM
•	Compuware QA RunTM
•	Mercury WinRunnerTM
•	Mercury QuickTest ProfessionalTM
•	Rational RobotTM
•	SQA RobotTM

All these tools can be used to write the background scripts. For mainframes you can also use Visual Basic.

Do I always need to purchase an automated testing tool?

No. We have developed techniques to automate many applications, using VB as the automated test tool. This saves you money and allows more testers to use automation at no extra cost for the automation tool. In some cases, it is necessary to use an automated tool.

Why don't I need to purchase an automated testing tool if I am testing mainframes?

Because we have devised a method to use simple Visual Basic scripts to drive the tests. We have found that VB out-performs automated testing tools, is easier to work with, is available in most IT environments and provides greater overall flexibility. Our toolkit provides many functions that assist in the creation of VB-based execution scripts.

Our Mainframe toolkit even writes much of the code for you.

The testers enter the test data in Scenario Tester and then execute their test by pressing a button in Scenario Tester.

What about scripts we have already developed with our testing tool, can I use them?

Often this is quite doable. We have been in many companies where we took existing scripts and modified them slightly to work with Scenario Tester. Of course it depends how the scripts were written, sometimes it is just a case of making them generic (adding variables). In situations where the scripts are already designed for data driven testing, but you want to use Scenario Tester because it is a much friendlier user interface than CSV files and spreadsheets, the changes to your scripts can be minimal.

I don't want to create automated testing scripts, can Scenario Tester be useful for me?

Yes, Scenario Tester will speed up the creation of Test Designs. You can use it to create, organize and store your test scenarios. Since Scenario Tester has actual values and expected results, you can select and print out scenarios and then hand them to testers to manually execute the tests.

Where is the data stored and can multiple users access the data?

The data is kept in a Microsoft Access database. Scenario Tester can handle thousands of scenarios with few or no volume related problems or degradation of performance.

The Access ODBC connection allows multiple users to use Scenario Tester at the same time. Most customers keep the database on a network.

Do I have to do anything to the database?

Scenario Tester automatically writes to the database as data is entered. You don't have to explicitly save data.