Optimal Software Release Policy Approach Using Test Point Analysis and Module Prioritization

Abstract

When to stop testing and release the developed software is the one of the most important questions faced by the software industry today. Software testing is a crucial part of the Software Development Life Cycle. The number of faults found and fixed during the testing phase can considerably improve the quality of a software product, thereby increasing its probability of success in the market. Deciding the time of allocation for testing phase is an important activity of quality assurance. Extending or reducing this testing time, depending on the errors uncovered in the software components, can profoundly affect the overall project success. Since testing software incurs considerable project cost, over-testing the project can lead to higher expenditure, while inadequate testing can leave major bugs undetected, thereby risking the project quality. Hence prioritizing the components for testing is essential to achieve the optimal testing performance in the allotted test time. This paper presents, a Test Point Analysis based Module Priority approach to determine the optimal time to stop testing and release the software.