Assignment 1 Week 2.docx
1
Assignment 1: Topic Selection
Assignment 1: Topic Selection
Software Engineering: The Autotest Framework
Jessica Hill Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
January 12th 2014
Topic Selection: Software Engineering: Automated Testing/Programs That Test Themselves
Topic Description:
Software testing is any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute or capability of a program or system and determining that it meets its required results. Although crucial to software quality and widely deployed by programmers and testers, software testing still remains an art, due to limited understanding of the principles of software. The difficulty in software testing stems from the complexity of software: we cannot completely test a program with moderate complexity. Testing is more than just debugging. The purpose of testing can be quality assurance, verification and validation, or reliability estimation. Testing can be used as a generic metric as well. Correctness testing and reliability testing are two major areas of testing. Software testing is a trade-off between budget, time and quality (Hetzel). Automated testing is a widely used phrase. To understand what it entails, it is necessary to distinguish several increasingly ambitious levels of automation. What is best automated today is test execution. In a project that has generated thousands of test cases, running them manually would be tedious, especially as testing campaigns occur repeatedly. For example, it is customary to run extensive tests before every release. Traditionally, testers wrote scripts to run the tests. A related goal, also addressed by some of today’s tools, is regression testing. It is a common phenomenon of software development that some corrected faults reappear in later versions, indicating that the software has partly “regressed.” A project should retain any test that failed at any stage of its history, then passed after the fault was corrected; test campaigns should run all such tests to spot cases of regression. Automated tools should provide resilience. A large test suite is likely to contain some test cases that, in a particular execution, crash the program. Resilience means that the process may continue anyway with the remaining cases. One of the most tedious aspects of testing is test case generation. With modern computers we can run very large numbers of test cases. Usually, developers or testers have to devise them; this approach, limited by people’s time, does not scale up. Commonly used frameworks mostly address the first three goals: test execution, regression testing, and resilience. They do not address the most labor-intensive tasks: preparing test cases, possibly in a minimized form, and interpreting test results. Without progress on these issues, testing confronts a paradox: While the growth of computing power should enable us to perform ever more exhaustive tes ...
Today, top companies leverage automated testing to increase product longevity, reduce costly and repetitive build-out, and improve iteration quality. This whitepaper will provide a brief introduction to automated testing. It will also address the benefits and limitations of automated testing and give an in-depth example of consumer-driven contract testing.
JIMS Vasant KunjII is the Top institute for BCA. JIMS is one of the Best BCA Colleges in Delhi which offers best placements in Top IT Companies in Delhi NCR. It is amongst the top A+ Category highest ranked colleges in Delhi, provides 3 years Regular Degree from UGC Approved University.
This unit of Software Testing is a part of BCA 5th sem syllabi.
Today, top companies leverage automated testing to increase product longevity, reduce costly and repetitive build-out, and improve iteration quality. This whitepaper will provide a brief introduction to automated testing. It will also address the benefits and limitations of automated testing and give an in-depth example of consumer-driven contract testing.
JIMS Vasant KunjII is the Top institute for BCA. JIMS is one of the Best BCA Colleges in Delhi which offers best placements in Top IT Companies in Delhi NCR. It is amongst the top A+ Category highest ranked colleges in Delhi, provides 3 years Regular Degree from UGC Approved University.
This unit of Software Testing is a part of BCA 5th sem syllabi.
This paper describes the different techniques of testing the software. This paper explicitly addresses the idea for testability and the important thing is that the testing itself-not just by saying that testability is a desirable goal, but by showing how to do it. Software testing is the process we used to measure the quality of developed software. Software Testing is not just about error-finding and their solution but also about checking the client requirements and testing that those requirements are met by the software solution. It is the most important functional phase in the Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC) as it exhibits all mistakes, flaws and errors in the developed software. Without finding these errors, technically termed as ‘bugs,’ software development is not considered to be complete. Hence, software testing becomes an important parameter for assuring quality of the software product. We discuss here about when to start and when to stop the testing of software. How errors or Bugs are formed and rectified. How software testing is done i.e. with the help of Team Work.
A Complexity Based Regression Test Selection StrategyCSEIJJournal
Software is unequivocally the foremost and indispensable entity in this technologically driven world.
Therefore quality assurance, and in particular, software testing is a crucial step in the software
development cycle. This paper presents an effective test selection strategy that uses a Spectrum of
Complexity Metrics (SCM). Our aim in this paper is to increase the efficiency of the testing process by
significantly reducing the number of test cases without having a significant drop in test effectiveness. The
strategy makes use of a comprehensive taxonomy of complexity metrics based on the product level (class,
method, statement) and its characteristics.We use a series of experiments based on three applications with
a significant number of mutants to demonstrate the effectiveness of our selection strategy.For further
evaluation, we compareour approach to boundary value analysis. The results show the capability of our
approach to detect mutants as well as the seeded errors.
What is Unit Testing? - A Comprehensive Guideflufftailshop
Software development involves different steps and processes, ranging from writing code and testing every function to debugging and deploying. Unit testing is an important test method used by QA teams to ensure that a software product is free of errors and meets all essential requirements.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
resume graham (2006) book FUNDAMENTALS OF TESTING
resume of Graham et al Foundationf of Software Testing (2006)
created by Fadhilla Elita information system class
The Evolution of Software Testing_ Trends and Innovations.pdfbrijeshdeep4798
Software testing has evolved significantly since its inception, adapting to the changing landscape of software development. The journey from manual testing to automated testing and beyond is marked by continuous innovation aimed at improving efficiency, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. This paper explores key trends and innovations in software testing, highlighting the transition from traditional methods to modern practices.
A Comparative Guide to Automation and Manual Testing.pdfkalichargn70th171
Consumers want their applications to work perfectly each time. If your app is rife with performance issues, bugs, and glitches, it can lose its user base in no time due to its flawed quality. As a result, testing your software product is imperative to ensure project teams check, verify, and validate the functionality of the developed software and deliver optimal user experiences.
Part 1 Think an example speak up anythingPart 2 exampleInte.docxsherni1
Part 1 Think an example speak up anything
Part 2 example
Intern at the accounting company, my manager was absence during her work time, but the partner didn’t know and manager didn’t report that she was going out. I didn’t speak up anything
The Logic and Practice of Financial Management
Ninth Edition
Foundations of Finance
The Pearson Series in Finance
Berk/DeMarzo
Corporate Finance*
Corporate Finance: The Core*
Berk/DeMarzo/Harford
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance*
Brooks
Financial Management: Core Concepts*
Copeland/Weston/Shastri
Financial Theory and Corporate Policy
Dorfman/Cather
Introduction to Risk Management and
Insurance
Eakins/McNally
Corporate Finance Online*
Eiteman/Stonehill/Moffett
Multinational Business Finance*
Fabozzi
Bond Markets: Analysis and Strategies
Foerster
Financial Management: Concepts and
Applications*
Frasca
Personal Finance
Gitman/Zutter
Principles of Managerial Finance*
Principles of Managerial Finance—Brief
Edition*
Haugen
The Inefficient Stock Market: What Pays Off
and Why
Modern Investment Theory
Holden
Excel Modeling in Corporate Finance
Excel Modeling in Investments
Hughes/MacDonald
International Banking: Text and Cases
Hull
Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets
Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives
Keown
Personal Finance: Turning Money into
Wealth*
Keown/Martin/Petty
Foundations of Finance: The Logic and
Practice of Financial Management*
Madura
Personal Finance*
Marthinsen
Risk Takers: Uses and Abuses of Financial
Derivatives
McDonald
Derivatives Markets
Fundamentals of Derivatives Markets
Mishkin/Eakins
Financial Markets and Institutions
Moffett/Stonehill/Eiteman
Fundamentals of Multinational Finance
Nofsinger
Psychology of Investing
Pennacchi
Theory of Asset Pricing
Rejda/McNamara
Principles of Risk Management and Insurance
Smart/Gitman/Joehnk
Fundamentals of Investing*
Solnik/McLeavey
Global Investments
Titman/Keown/Martin
Financial Management: Principles and
Applications*
Titman/Martin
Valuation: The Art and Science of Corporate
Investment Decisions
Weston/Mitchel/Mulherin
Takeovers, Restructuring, and Corporate
Governance
*Denotes MyFinanceLab titles. Log onto www.myfinancelab.com to learn more.
http://www.myfinancelab.com
The Logic and Practice of Financial Management
Ninth Edition
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto
Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo
Foundations of Finance
Arthur J. Keown
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
R. B. Pamplin Professor of Finance
John D. Martin
Baylor University
Professor of Finance
Carr P. Collins Chair in Finance
J. William Petty
Baylor University
Professor of Finance
W. W. Caruth Chair in Entrepreneurship
Vice President, Business Publishing: Donna Battista
Editor-in-Chief: Adrienne D’Ambrosio
Acquisitions Editor: Kate Fernandes
Editorial Assis.
Part 1 Progress NoteUsing the client from your Week 3 Assignmen.docxsherni1
Part 1: Progress Note
Using the client from your Week 3 Assignment, address the following in a progress note (without violating HIPAA regulations):
Treatment modality used and efficacy of approach
Progress and/or lack of progress toward the mutually agreed-upon client goals (reference the Treatment plan—progress toward goals)
Modification(s) of the treatment plan that were made based on progress/lack of progress
Clinical impressions regarding diagnosis and/or symptoms
Relevant psychosocial information or changes from original assessment (i.e., marriage, separation/divorce, new relationships, move to a new house/apartment, change of job, etc.)
Safety issues
Clinical emergencies/actions taken
Medications used by the patient (even if the nurse psychotherapist was not the one prescribing them)
Treatment compliance/lack of compliance
Clinical consultations
Collaboration with other professionals (i.e., phone consultations with physicians, psychiatrists, marriage/family therapists, etc.)
Therapist’s recommendations, including whether the client agreed to the recommendations
Referrals made/reasons for making referrals
Termination/issues that are relevant to the termination process (i.e., client informed of loss of insurance or refusal of insurance company to pay for continued sessions)
Issues related to consent and/or informed consent for treatment
Information concerning child abuse, and/or elder or dependent adult abuse, including documentation as to where the abuse was reported
Information reflecting the therapist’s exercise of clinical judgment
Part 2: Privileged Note
Based on this week’s readings, prepare a privileged psychotherapy note that you would use to document your impressions of therapeutic progress/therapy sessions for your client from the Week 3 Practicum Assignment.
The privileged note should include items that you would not typically include in a note as part of the clinical record.
Explain why the items you included in the privileged note would not be included in the client’s progress note.
Explain whether your preceptor uses privileged notes, and if so, describe the type of information he or she might include. If not, explain why.
.
More Related Content
Similar to Assignment 1 Week 2.docx1Assignment 1 Topic Selection.docx
This paper describes the different techniques of testing the software. This paper explicitly addresses the idea for testability and the important thing is that the testing itself-not just by saying that testability is a desirable goal, but by showing how to do it. Software testing is the process we used to measure the quality of developed software. Software Testing is not just about error-finding and their solution but also about checking the client requirements and testing that those requirements are met by the software solution. It is the most important functional phase in the Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC) as it exhibits all mistakes, flaws and errors in the developed software. Without finding these errors, technically termed as ‘bugs,’ software development is not considered to be complete. Hence, software testing becomes an important parameter for assuring quality of the software product. We discuss here about when to start and when to stop the testing of software. How errors or Bugs are formed and rectified. How software testing is done i.e. with the help of Team Work.
A Complexity Based Regression Test Selection StrategyCSEIJJournal
Software is unequivocally the foremost and indispensable entity in this technologically driven world.
Therefore quality assurance, and in particular, software testing is a crucial step in the software
development cycle. This paper presents an effective test selection strategy that uses a Spectrum of
Complexity Metrics (SCM). Our aim in this paper is to increase the efficiency of the testing process by
significantly reducing the number of test cases without having a significant drop in test effectiveness. The
strategy makes use of a comprehensive taxonomy of complexity metrics based on the product level (class,
method, statement) and its characteristics.We use a series of experiments based on three applications with
a significant number of mutants to demonstrate the effectiveness of our selection strategy.For further
evaluation, we compareour approach to boundary value analysis. The results show the capability of our
approach to detect mutants as well as the seeded errors.
What is Unit Testing? - A Comprehensive Guideflufftailshop
Software development involves different steps and processes, ranging from writing code and testing every function to debugging and deploying. Unit testing is an important test method used by QA teams to ensure that a software product is free of errors and meets all essential requirements.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
Programming testing is the method involved with assessing and confirming that a product item or application does what it should do. The advantages of testing incorporate forestalling bugs, lessening improvement costs and further developing execution.
resume graham (2006) book FUNDAMENTALS OF TESTING
resume of Graham et al Foundationf of Software Testing (2006)
created by Fadhilla Elita information system class
The Evolution of Software Testing_ Trends and Innovations.pdfbrijeshdeep4798
Software testing has evolved significantly since its inception, adapting to the changing landscape of software development. The journey from manual testing to automated testing and beyond is marked by continuous innovation aimed at improving efficiency, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. This paper explores key trends and innovations in software testing, highlighting the transition from traditional methods to modern practices.
A Comparative Guide to Automation and Manual Testing.pdfkalichargn70th171
Consumers want their applications to work perfectly each time. If your app is rife with performance issues, bugs, and glitches, it can lose its user base in no time due to its flawed quality. As a result, testing your software product is imperative to ensure project teams check, verify, and validate the functionality of the developed software and deliver optimal user experiences.
Part 1 Think an example speak up anythingPart 2 exampleInte.docxsherni1
Part 1 Think an example speak up anything
Part 2 example
Intern at the accounting company, my manager was absence during her work time, but the partner didn’t know and manager didn’t report that she was going out. I didn’t speak up anything
The Logic and Practice of Financial Management
Ninth Edition
Foundations of Finance
The Pearson Series in Finance
Berk/DeMarzo
Corporate Finance*
Corporate Finance: The Core*
Berk/DeMarzo/Harford
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance*
Brooks
Financial Management: Core Concepts*
Copeland/Weston/Shastri
Financial Theory and Corporate Policy
Dorfman/Cather
Introduction to Risk Management and
Insurance
Eakins/McNally
Corporate Finance Online*
Eiteman/Stonehill/Moffett
Multinational Business Finance*
Fabozzi
Bond Markets: Analysis and Strategies
Foerster
Financial Management: Concepts and
Applications*
Frasca
Personal Finance
Gitman/Zutter
Principles of Managerial Finance*
Principles of Managerial Finance—Brief
Edition*
Haugen
The Inefficient Stock Market: What Pays Off
and Why
Modern Investment Theory
Holden
Excel Modeling in Corporate Finance
Excel Modeling in Investments
Hughes/MacDonald
International Banking: Text and Cases
Hull
Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets
Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives
Keown
Personal Finance: Turning Money into
Wealth*
Keown/Martin/Petty
Foundations of Finance: The Logic and
Practice of Financial Management*
Madura
Personal Finance*
Marthinsen
Risk Takers: Uses and Abuses of Financial
Derivatives
McDonald
Derivatives Markets
Fundamentals of Derivatives Markets
Mishkin/Eakins
Financial Markets and Institutions
Moffett/Stonehill/Eiteman
Fundamentals of Multinational Finance
Nofsinger
Psychology of Investing
Pennacchi
Theory of Asset Pricing
Rejda/McNamara
Principles of Risk Management and Insurance
Smart/Gitman/Joehnk
Fundamentals of Investing*
Solnik/McLeavey
Global Investments
Titman/Keown/Martin
Financial Management: Principles and
Applications*
Titman/Martin
Valuation: The Art and Science of Corporate
Investment Decisions
Weston/Mitchel/Mulherin
Takeovers, Restructuring, and Corporate
Governance
*Denotes MyFinanceLab titles. Log onto www.myfinancelab.com to learn more.
http://www.myfinancelab.com
The Logic and Practice of Financial Management
Ninth Edition
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto
Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo
Foundations of Finance
Arthur J. Keown
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
R. B. Pamplin Professor of Finance
John D. Martin
Baylor University
Professor of Finance
Carr P. Collins Chair in Finance
J. William Petty
Baylor University
Professor of Finance
W. W. Caruth Chair in Entrepreneurship
Vice President, Business Publishing: Donna Battista
Editor-in-Chief: Adrienne D’Ambrosio
Acquisitions Editor: Kate Fernandes
Editorial Assis.
Part 1 Progress NoteUsing the client from your Week 3 Assignmen.docxsherni1
Part 1: Progress Note
Using the client from your Week 3 Assignment, address the following in a progress note (without violating HIPAA regulations):
Treatment modality used and efficacy of approach
Progress and/or lack of progress toward the mutually agreed-upon client goals (reference the Treatment plan—progress toward goals)
Modification(s) of the treatment plan that were made based on progress/lack of progress
Clinical impressions regarding diagnosis and/or symptoms
Relevant psychosocial information or changes from original assessment (i.e., marriage, separation/divorce, new relationships, move to a new house/apartment, change of job, etc.)
Safety issues
Clinical emergencies/actions taken
Medications used by the patient (even if the nurse psychotherapist was not the one prescribing them)
Treatment compliance/lack of compliance
Clinical consultations
Collaboration with other professionals (i.e., phone consultations with physicians, psychiatrists, marriage/family therapists, etc.)
Therapist’s recommendations, including whether the client agreed to the recommendations
Referrals made/reasons for making referrals
Termination/issues that are relevant to the termination process (i.e., client informed of loss of insurance or refusal of insurance company to pay for continued sessions)
Issues related to consent and/or informed consent for treatment
Information concerning child abuse, and/or elder or dependent adult abuse, including documentation as to where the abuse was reported
Information reflecting the therapist’s exercise of clinical judgment
Part 2: Privileged Note
Based on this week’s readings, prepare a privileged psychotherapy note that you would use to document your impressions of therapeutic progress/therapy sessions for your client from the Week 3 Practicum Assignment.
The privileged note should include items that you would not typically include in a note as part of the clinical record.
Explain why the items you included in the privileged note would not be included in the client’s progress note.
Explain whether your preceptor uses privileged notes, and if so, describe the type of information he or she might include. If not, explain why.
.
Part 1 Older Adult InterviewInterview an older adult of you.docxsherni1
Part 1: Older Adult Interview
Interview an older adult of your choice (they may be your parents, relatives, or friends) and have a discussion about the factors that influenced their development. Address the following as part of the interview:
Cognitive, physical, and psychosocial development during the interviewee's Maturity Stage of Adulthood (age 65 or older).
How peers influenced the interviewee during his or her adolescent/young adult stage.
What people and/or events influenced the interviewee's development of morals such as faith, ethics, and culture?
How the interviewee's experiences, positive or negative, have formulated who he or she is as a mature adult.
Part 2: Reflection
From the perspective of your specific discipline, write a paper of 750-1,000 words, discussing the Erik Erickson’s Integrity vs. Despair theory and how it relates to your interview. Include the following in your paper:
A description of the selected theory.
A description of your interviewee (gender, age, ethnicity, etc.).
How the interviewee's responses illustrate the selected theory. Support your response with examples.
Discuss the ethical and cultural strategies for promoting resilience, optimum development, and wellness in older adults in general.
Include at least three scholarly references in addition to a personal communication reference for the interviewee.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. Please use APA Headings.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
.
PART 1 OVERVIEWIn this project you are asked to conduct your own.docxsherni1
PART 1 OVERVIEW
In this project you are asked to conduct your own research into two variables that interest you. This project will give you an opportunity to apply the skills and techniques you learn in this class and to produce a professional report using appropriate technology. This is a MAJOR, on-going assignment and is worth 15% of your grade; the equivalent of one unit exam grade.
Your projects will be graded in stages (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) according to the attached rubrics.
To be successful on your project you must:
· Read and follow instructions carefully.
· Work according to the timeline provided and submit work on time.
· 10% will be deducted for each calendar day the project is submitted after the due date. A project is considered “submitted” when it is available for the professor to view on Canvas. No credit is given after 5 days late.
· Students who fail to submit earlier parts of the project may still submit later parts of the project as long as their topic has been approved by their instructor and as long as they collect their own data. Points will still be taken away for lack of completeness unless those prior sections are completed and included.
· Write clearly, using appropriate terminology and accurate mathematical notation. College-level writing is expected, as is the use of correct grammar.
· If you need help with writing, feel free to use the HCC Writing Center: For further information, see the HCC Web page under the heading “Writing Center” or call the Writing Center at (443) 518-4101. PGCC students at the Laurel College Center should see the PGCC Writing Center for assistance.
· Submit a neat, professional report typed using your choice of word processing software (including a mathematical notation package) and including printouts and diagrams from your choice of statistical software/technology.
· In particular, embedded graphs or charts and/or computer printouts will be expected as part of the report. Hand-drawn graphs are not acceptable.
· Please note: Excel should be used only with caution as it does not consistently follow accepted statistical practices.
· Original work is expected. This means that students who are repeating the course are expected to create an entirely new project using two new variables of interest.
· For example, you might watch a YouTube video on how to use StatCrunch or have a peer show you how to create a histogram using a different data set (not the one in your project), then try it yourself with your data set. You might consult your textbook or your instructor about a concept, but then put the explanation into your own words.
· Getting Help:
· For this project, you may consult any resource for general help and advice (including your instructor, tutors (LAC, HR230), classmates, or the internet) provided that your write-up (computations, explanations, and embedded diagrams) are your own work.
· Submission guidelines:
· You should submit your project via the Canvas link as a PDF or Word.
Part 1 Financial AcumenKeeping abreast of the financial mea.docxsherni1
Part 1: Financial Acumen
Keeping abreast of the financial measures and metrics employed by a company allows employees to better understand its health and position at any given time. Using Campbellsville University library link or other libraries and the Internet:
1. Review at least three (3) articles on financial acuity. Summarize the articles in 800 words. Use APA formatting throughout including in-text citations and references.
2. Discuss the benefits of establishing solid financial acumen in a company? Discuss your personal experiences in a situation where financial acumen was either not supported as an organizational hallmark or, conversely, was built into the company's culture.
Part 2:
Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX)
Write a 400-word commentary on Sarbanes Oxley and the importance this act has for American businesses today. Your commentary should include the following:
A. Rationale for SOX
B. Provisions of SOX
C. Enforcement of SOX
.
Part 1 Legislation GridBased on the health-related bill (pr.docxsherni1
Part 1: Legislation Grid
Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following:
Determine the legislative intent of the bill you have reviewed.
Identify the proponents/opponents of the bill.
Identify the target populations addressed by the bill.
Where in the process is the bill currently? Is it in hearings or committees?
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
Based on the health-related bill you selected, develop a 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement that addresses the following:
.
Part 1 Financial Acumen1. Review at least three (3) articles on.docxsherni1
Part 1: Financial Acumen
1. Review at least three (3) articles on `. Summarize the articles in 400 – 600 words. Use APA formatting throughout including in-text citations and references.
2. Discuss the benefits of establishing solid financial acumen in a company? Discuss your personal experiences in a situation where financial acumen was either not supported as an organizational hallmark or, conversely, was built into the company's culture.
Part 2:
Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX)
Write a 200-word commentary on Sarbanes Oxley and the importance this act has for American businesses today. Your commentary should include the following:
A. Rationale for SOX
B. Provisions of SOX
C. Enforcement of SOX
.
Part 1 Parent NewsletterAn article explaining the school’s po.docxsherni1
Part 1: Parent Newsletter
An article explaining the school’s policy for MTSS and the role of family–school partnerships within the MTSS
At least two school-wide interventions in place at school along with strategies parents can use at home to support their children
A list of the top five resources for families with respect to being involved and supporting MTSS along with explaining why the resources are the top five
At least two strategies for addressing family–school partnership challenges across tiers
Citations for specific research related to the topics and interventions mentioned in your newsletter
Any additional information you would like to include that will assist in fostering and sustaining a positive relationship with all families
Part 2: Behavior Contract
Create
a 1-page behavior contract that includes the following:
An outline of your school’s behavior expectations and the consequences for students who do not follow these expectations
A place at the bottom of the page on the contract for both the student and parent/guardian to sign to show that they have read and understand the school’s expectations
References have to be between 2017-2021.
.
Part 1 ResearchConduct some independent research. Using Rasmus.docxsherni1
Part 1: Research
Conduct some independent research. Using Rasmussen and other resources, locate an article that supports your personal values and professional communication style.
Part 2: Reflect
For this assignment, you will use your critical thinking skills and reflect upon your personal values and
professional communication style.
In a minimum of two-pages (not counting the title page and reference page) address the following:
Discuss how you will show your personal values through the professional communication style you will use with clients.
Identify concepts such as boundaries, respect, body language, the role of humor and support, and disclosure.
Explain correlations between the student's personal values and their own professional communication style.
Incorporate one (1) credible resource to support your communication style. Cite source used.
Use professional language including complete sentences and proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout your paper. Be sure to cite any research sources in APA format.
.
Part 1 What are some challenges with syndromic surveillance P.docxsherni1
Part 1 What are some challenges with syndromic surveillance?
Part 2 : Critique a team presentation topic
SIMULATION TRAINING IN EDUCATION
and include what the presentation taught you and what you see as far as its effect on patient safety and healthcare technology.
What changes in the presentation would you recommend, and why? Please see attach
Remember to include sources of literature in your posts to back up the statements you make. Remember, we are all about evidence-based practice!
.
Part 1 Procedure and purpose 10.0 Procedures are well-develop.docxsherni1
Part 1: Procedure and purpose
10.0
Procedures are well-developed, realistic for the identified grade, and expertly related to the purpose.
Part 1: Procedure steps and activity
10.0
Procedure steps or activity are comprehensive and proficiently described
Part 1: Procedure introduced, modeled, practiced, assessed
10.0
Explanation of how procedures will be introduced, modeled, practiced, assessed is thorough.
Part 1: Rationale
10.0
Explanation of how procedures will minimize distractions and maximize instructional time is specific.
Part 2: Rules and Consequences
10.0
Rules are skillfully crafted and consequences are creative.
Part 2: Reward System
10.0
Reward system is effective and documentation is reasonable.
Part 2: Rationale
10.0
Explanation of how the system will help create a safe and productive learning environment is proficient.
Organization
10.0
The content is well-organized and logical. There is a sequential progression of ideas that relate to each other. The content is presented as a cohesive unit and provides the audience with a clear sense of the main idea.
Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)
20.0
Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.
ELM-250 Topic 4: Procedures, Rules, Rewards and Consequences
Grade Level:___________
Part 1: Procedures
Procedure Example:
Entering the Classroom
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
To create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning the moment class begins.
1. Walk in quietly (entering a new zone).
2. Get organized before the bell (sharpen pencil, homework ready …).
3. Begin working quietly on the warm-up (in your notebook with paper labeled).
Teacher will introduce the procedure on the first day of school.
The teacher will model the procedure at the beginning of class for the first week of school.
Teacher and students will repeat when reinforcement is needed or when new students join the class.
Teacher will watch for students who follow the steps correctly and will positively reinforce the students.
Procedure #1
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
Procedure #2
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
Procedure #3
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
Procedure #4
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
Procedure #5
Purpose of procedure
Procedure steps
or activity
When the procedure will be:
Assessment
/Feedback
Introduced
Modeled
Practiced
Rationale
Write a 100-150 word .
Part 1 Post your own definition of school readiness (and offer .docxsherni1
Part 1: Post your own definition of school readiness (and offer support for your definition from the readings; Remember to use APA style citations to identify the sources of this support)? Be sure to discuss specific screening tools, instruments, or other tools/approaches to assess the preparedness of children entering Kindergarten. These should be directly related to your definition.
Part 2: Given what you’ve learned about intellectual disability, discuss at least 3 challenges to school readiness young children with intellectual disabilities face when entering Kindergarten.
.
Part 1 Art selectionInstitute Part 1 Art sel.docxsherni1
Part 1: Art selection
Institute
Part 1: Art selection
·
· These are the work of the arts from the ancients to modern art. The reason for the selection of this theme of the art is the association of the ideas behind the sculptures is the religion. Like in the first one is the sculpture of the Ares, who was the God of Greece, he was considered to be the God of war. This sculpture was made by the Scopas who was the ancient Greek sculpture. The second work of art is Moses which was for the Tomb of Pope II, which was made by Michelangelo who made this piece of art in the early 16th century (1506). The third piece of art is also related to the religion, in which the wall depicts the Biblical figures, this was made by Claus Sluter, who was the artist from the Dutch origin.
The most engaging part of these arts is the religious depiction which evolved through the times. From Ares to Jesus in the arts.
· The common theme is the religious personalities of the times in which they were made.
· It is important to vary the themes through the times, as it describes the artistic preferences of the people, and how this had been addressed by the artists.
· Ares: Vatican, Rome, Italy. Statue of Ares, Scopas's influence. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection (Rens Ottema, 2020)
Moses: (wga.hu, 2020)
The Well of Moses(onlineschoolscenter.com, 2020)
.
Part 1 Post a ResponseVarious reform groups with various causes.docxsherni1
Part 1: Post a Response
Various reform groups with various causes developed in the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s; these are loosely called “Progressives” as they aimed to use government policies or science to improve and advance society. Also, this period was a time when the US started as a major player in international conflicts—first in the “Spanish American War and then in World War I. There were deep isolationist sentiments about such overseas entanglements, and President Wilson first has one position and then the other.
Choose and discuss (in a full paragraph or two) one of the following two topics related to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In the Progressive Era (roughly 1890–1920), multiple groups advocated for reforms in various aspects of government, society, and the economy. Discuss here the “muckrakers” and Taylor’s “scientific management”.
Explain briefly the approach and aim of the “muckrakers” and that of F. W. Taylor.
Compare their approaches and describe your feelings about them, and relate some modern situation that reminds you of one of these approaches and reform causes.
Identify the source(s) where you read about the reform cause.
From the text, Wilson did not maintain his own campaign slogan (“He kept us out of war”).
Explain with some specifics why Wilson became pro-war. Describe your own feelings on that issue when you look back at it, and whether he was right to change.
Briefly, identify a similar international consideration today—or of the last 20 years, and what lesson might be drawn from the example in Wilson’s time.
Identify the source(s) where you read about Wilson.
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
.
Part 1 Assessment SummaryIn 500-750-words, summarize the fo.docxsherni1
Part 1: Assessment Summary
In 500-750-words, summarize the following:
What areas should an AAC assessment evaluate?
What areas of communication do AAC assessments address?
How do assessment results inform AAC strategies/techniques?
Identify AAC assessments used within your school or district and explain when each assessment would most appropriately be used.
Support your assessment summary with 1-3 scholarly resources.
Part 2: Case Studies
Read the following case studies to inform Part 2 of the assignment.
Case Study 1: Mandy
Mandy is a 3-year-old preschool student who has been diagnosed with ASD and is nonverbal. She is sensitive to loud noises and certain textures. She was recently referred to a child study team by the family physician. Her family doctor described her as having low muscle tone, delayed communication, and delayed motor skills. She uses her behavior and physicality for communicating needs. Mandy does point and reach for desired items, but she has not been able to reproduce any signs, despite her parents' attempts to teach her sign language for the past year. She often appears to be disengaged when playing or when her parents are encouraging her to sign. Her eye contact is minimal, tantrums are common, crying happens daily, and change is very difficult for her.
Case Study 2: Wilson
Wilson is an 11-year-old boy who was diagnosed with ASD as a toddler. He is physically healthy, but he is very sensitive to hot, cold, noises, and pain. He does not like crowds or lines and struggles with class assemblies, lunch time periods, and recesses. He is in a self-contained special education classroom on a public school campus and attends general education class for music only. He is capable of doing some general education class work, but his behavior is far too unpredictable to make further placement in a general education classroom feasible at this time. He can be impulsive and destructive when frustrated or overwhelmed. He is quite social and enjoys interacting with his peers in both settings; however, it can be difficult to discern when he will have a meltdown. He has tantrums and destroys property, and his participation in some aspects of school is limited. When changes in the schedule occur, such as school assemblies or fire drills, Wilson has a hard time adjusting and oftentimes tips over desks or kicks. He has not been able to attend the last two field trips due to his parents’ concerns for his safety.
Case Study 3: Cole
Cole is a 16-year-old boy with ASD and cognitive delays. He was born three weeks premature and required intensive neonatal care for six weeks after birth, but he is currently in good health. He passed all hearing and vision screenings. Cole uses gestures and a few verbal words to express his needs and wants; for example yes/no and hungry. He uses a few sign language gestures and some picture symbols, but mostly relies on a communication device in order to communicate with teachers, peers, and parents.
Part 1 Post a ResponseDuring the Reconstruction Era, the So.docxsherni1
Part 1: Post a Response
During the Reconstruction Era, the Southern states created many laws and policies of their own. These “Black Codes” either tried to minimize federal laws and policies or were in retaliation to them.
Suppose you were a former slave during this era, which one of the following restrictions would you find the most offensive?
Restrictions or prohibitions on voting
Restrictions such as those on job, land purchase, and mobility
Inability to serve on juries or accuse a white person in court
Then, in a full paragraph or two:
Discuss the immediate and long-term consequences from your chosen restriction.
Identify any lessons we can learn today from this restriction and its impact.
Identify the source(s) where you read about the restriction.
.
Part 1 Financial AcumenKeeping abreast of the financial measure.docxsherni1
Part 1: Financial Acumen
Keeping abreast of the financial measures and metrics employed by a company allows employees to better understand its health and position at any given time. Using Campbellsville University library link or other libraries and the Internet:
1. Review at least three (3) articles on financial acuity. Summarize the articles in 300 words. Use APA formatting throughout including in-text citations and references.
2. Discuss the benefits of establishing solid financial acumen in a company? Discuss your personal experiences in a situation where financial acumen was either not supported as an organizational hallmark or, conversely, was built into the company's culture.
Part 2:
Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX)
Write a 100-word commentary on Sarbanes Oxley and the importance this act has for American businesses today. Your commentary should include the following:
A. Rationale for SOX
B. Provisions of SOX
C. Enforcement of SOX
.
Part 1 Do an independently guided tour of news and media coverage.docxsherni1
Part 1
: Do an independently guided tour of news and media coverage of the monolith found in Utah. Consult a range of news and social media sources to construct a timeline, but, more importantly, to track and analyze the different audiences and forms of interest in this object. Be sure to do a search on whatever social media you typically use, and, try to depart from major news media outlets in your search. Summarize your findings, highlighting details that you find especially telling or interesting.
Part 2
: In a thoughtful way, compare the monolith to at least one other artwork from this class (or, learn about John McCracken and compare to his work). Think about materials, placement, time period, intent (for the work we discussed). Be as specific as you can.
Part 3
: Finally, why do you think this work captured worldwide attention? What do you think people found interesting? What do you make of the current outcome of the work? If you had an opportunity to see the object would you? If you had the ability to remove it, would you?
.
Part 1 Describe the scopescale of the problem. Problemado.docxsherni1
Part 1: Describe the scope/scale of the problem. Problem:
adolescent incarceration and recidivism
in New Haven, CT and USA.
Part: 2
Name one program doing relevant work on the issue describe above in NYC or elsewhere.
.
Part 1 Art CreationSelect one of the visual art pieces from Cha.docxsherni1
Part 1: Art Creation
Select one of the visual art pieces from Chapters 1-6 or the lessons from Weeks 1-3 to use as a point of inspiration. Create a painting, sculpture, drawing, or work of architecture inspired by your selected art piece.
Part 2: Reflection
Write a reflection about the relationship between your art production and the inspiration piece. Include the following in the reflection paper:
Introduction
Inspiration Piece
Include image.
Record the title, artist, year, and place of origin.
Briefly explain the background of the inspiration piece.
Your Art Piece
Include image.
Provide a title.
Explain the background of your piece.
Connection
Explain the thematic connection between the two pieces.
How are they similar and different?
Are they the same medium? How does the medium impact what the viewer experiences?
How do the formal elements of design compare to one another?
Original Artwork Requirements
Methods: paint, watercolor, pencil, crayon, marker, collage, clay, metal, or wood (Check with your instructor about other methods you have in mind.)
No computer-generated pieces
Writing Requirements (APA format)
Length: 1.5-2 pages (not including title page, references page, or image of artwork)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page (minimum of 1 scholarly source)
Grading
This activity will be graded based on the W3 Art Creation & Reflection Grading Rubric.
.
How to Split Bills in the Odoo 17 POS ModuleCeline George
Bills have a main role in point of sale procedure. It will help to track sales, handling payments and giving receipts to customers. Bill splitting also has an important role in POS. For example, If some friends come together for dinner and if they want to divide the bill then it is possible by POS bill splitting. This slide will show how to split bills in odoo 17 POS.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
1. Assignment 1 Week 2.docx
1
Assignment 1: Topic Selection
Assignment 1: Topic Selection
Software Engineering: The Autotest Framework
Jessica Hill Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
January 12th 2014
2. Topic Selection: Software Engineering: Automated
Testing/Programs That Test Themselves
Topic Description:
Software testing is any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute
or capability of a program or system and determining that it
meets its required results. Although crucial to software quality
and widely deployed by programmers and testers, software
testing still remains an art, due to limited understanding of the
principles of software. The difficulty in software testing stems
from the complexity of software: we cannot completely test a
program with moderate complexity. Testing is more than just
debugging. The purpose of testing can be quality assurance,
verification and validation, or reliability estimation. Testing can
be used as a generic metric as well. Correctness testing and
reliability testing are two major areas of testing. Software
testing is a trade-off between budget, time and quality (Hetzel).
Automated testing is a
widely used phrase. To understand what it entails, it is
necessary to distinguish several increasingly ambitious levels of
automation. What is best automated
today is test execution. In a project that has generated thousands
of test cases, running them manually would be tedious,
especially as testing campaigns occur repeatedly. For example,
it is customary to run extensive tests before every release.
Traditionally, testers wrote scripts to run the tests.
A related goal, also addressed by
3. some of today’s tools, is regression testing. It is a common
phenomenon of software development that some corrected faults
reappear in later versions, indicating that the software has
partly “regressed.” A project should retain any test that failed at
any stage of its history, then passed after the fault was
corrected; test campaigns should run all such tests to spot cases
of regression. Automated tools
should provide resilience. A large test suite is likely to contain
some test cases that, in a particular execution, crash the
program. Resilience means that the process may continue
anyway with the remaining cases.
One of the most tedious aspects of testing is test case
generation. With modern computers we can run very large
numbers of test cases. Usually, developers or testers have to
devise them; this approach, limited by people’s time, does not
scale up. Commonly used frameworks
mostly address the first three goals: test execution, regression
testing, and resilience. They do not address the most labor-
intensive tasks: preparing test cases, possibly in a minimized
form, and interpreting test results. Without progress on these
issues, testing confronts a paradox: While the growth of
computing power should enable us to perform ever more
exhaustive tests, these manual activities dominate the process;
they limit its practical effectiveness and prevent scaling it up.
The AutoTest framework
includes traditional automation but particularly innovates on
test case generation, oracles, and minimization. It has already
uncovered many faults in released software and routinely finds
new ones when given classes to analyze.
Reason for choosing topic:
I chose this topic because testing is directly related to my job.
It’s something that I do on a daily basis. Some of the testing I
perform in manual and some is automatic. I want to give insight
on how automating test cases can benefit a company. Automated
software testing has long been considered critical for software
organizations.
4. Why this topic is important to me:
Automating test cases are important because it can save the
company time and money, improve accuracy and increase test
coverage. Automation also does what manual testing cannot; it
helps the developers and testers and ultimately improves team
morale.
References:
Hetzel, William C., The Complete Guide to Software Testing,
2nd ed. Publication info: Wellesley, Mass.: QED Information
Sciences, 1988. ISBN: 0894352423.Physical description: ix, 280
p.: ill; 24 cm.
programs_that_test_themselves.pdf
computer 46
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Published by the IEEE Computer Society 0018-9162/09/$26.00
6. to avoid incidents by warning the users of needed main-
tenance actions. This self-testing capability is an integral
part of the design of such artifacts.
The lesson that their builders have learned is to design
for testability. This concept was not always understood:
With cars, for example, we used to have no clue (save for
the oil gauge) that major mechanical trouble might be im-
minent; if we wanted to know more, we would take our
car to a mechanic who would check every component
from scratch, not knowing what actually happened during
operation. Today’s cars, in contrast, are filled with sensors
The AutoTest framework automates the
software testing process by relying on
programs that contain the instruments of
their own verification, in the form of con-
tract-oriented specifications of classes and
their individual routines.
Bertrand Meyer, ETH Zurich and Eiffel Software
Arno Fiva, Ilinca Ciupa, Andreas Leitner, and Yi Wei, ETH
Zurich
Emmanuel Stapf, Eiffel Software
PrograMs
ThaT TesT
TheMselves
AutoTest helps provoke failures
and manage information about the
7. corresponding faults.
47SeptemBer 2009
in later versions, indicating that the software has partly
“regressed.” A project should retain any test that failed
at any stage of its history, then passed after the fault was
corrected; test campaigns should run all such tests to spot
cases of regression.
Automated tools should provide resilience. A large test
suite is likely to contain some test cases that, in a particular
execution, crash the program. Resilience means that the
process may continue anyway with the remaining cases.
One of the most tedious aspects of testing is test case
generation. With modern computers we can run very
large numbers of test cases. Usually, developers or testers
have to devise them; this approach, limited by people’s
time, does not scale up. The AutoTest tools complement
such manual test cases with automatic tests exercising
the software with values generated by algorithms. Object-
oriented programming increases the difficulty because it
requires not only elementary values such as integers but
also objects.
Test oracles represent another challenge. A test run is
only useful if we know whether it passed or failed; an oracle
is a mechanism to determine this. Here too a manual pro-
cess does not scale up. Approaches such as JUnit include
oracles in test cases through such instructions as “assert
(success_criterion),” where “assert” is a general mechanism
that reports failure if the success_criterion does not hold.
This automates the application of oracles, but not their
preparation: The tester must still devise an assert for every
test. AutoTest’s approach removes this requirement by rely-
8. ing on contracts already present in the code.
Another candidate for automation is minimization. It is
desirable to retain and replay any test that ever failed. The
failure may, however, have happened after a long execu-
tion exercising many instructions that are irrelevant to the
failures. Retaining them would make regression testing too
slow. Minimization means replacing a test case, whenever
possible, with a simplified one producing a failure that
evidences the same fault.
Commonly used frameworks mostly address the first
three goals: test execution, regression testing, and re-
silience. They do not address the most labor-intensive
tasks: preparing test cases, possibly in a minimized form,
and interpreting test results. Without progress on these
issues, testing confronts a paradox: While the growth of
computing power should enable us to perform ever more
Extraction is that some of the most important test
cases are not devised as such: They occur when a
developer tries the program informally during de-
velopment, but then it’s execution fails. The failure is
interesting, in particular for future regression testing,
but usually it is not remembered: The developer fixes
the problem and moves on. From such failures, Test
Extraction automatically creates test cases, which can
be replayed in subsequent test campaigns.
Integration of Manual Tests• : supports the development
and management of manually produced tests. Unlike
Test Generation and Test Extraction, this functionality
relies on state-of-the-art techniques and includes no
major innovation, but it ensures a smooth interaction
of the automatic mechanisms with existing practices
by ensuring all tests are managed in the same way
regardless of their origin—generated, extracted, or
9. manual.
These mechanisms, initially developed for research
purposes at ETH Zurich, have now been integrated into
the EiffelStudio environment and are available both as an
open source download (http://eiffelstudio.origo.ethz.ch)
and commercially. Research continues on the underlying
theory and methods (http://se.ethz.ch/research/autotest).
Our working definition of testing focuses on one essen-
tial aspect: To test a program is to try to make it fail.1 Other
definitions include more lofty goals, such as “provid[ing]
information about the quality of the product or service”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_testing). But in
practice, the crucial task is to uncover failures of execu-
tion, which in IEEE-standard terminology2 reflect faults
in the program, themselves the result of mistakes in the
developer’s thinking. AutoTest helps provoke failures and
manage information about the corresponding faults.
‘AUTOmATED TESTing’
“Automated testing” is a widely used phrase. To under-
stand what it entails, it is necessary to distinguish several
increasingly ambitious levels of automation.
What is best automated today is test execution. In a proj-
ect that has generated thousands of test cases, running
them manually would be tedious, especially as testing
campaigns occur repeatedly—for example, it is customary
to run extensive tests before every release. Traditionally,
testers wrote scripts to run the tests. The novelty is the
spread of frameworks such as JUnit (www.junit.org) that
avoid project-specific scripts. This widely influential de-
velopment has markedly improved testing practice, but it
only automates a specific task.
10. A related goal, also addressed by some of today’s tools,
is regression testing. It is a common phenomenon of soft-
ware development that some corrected faults reappear
C O V E R F E AT U R E
computer 48
Contract” sidebar describes the use of contracts in more
detail.
In the traditional Eiffel process, developers write pro-
grams annotated with contracts, then manually run these
programs, relying on the contracts to check the execu-
tions’ correctness. AutoTest’s Test Generation component
adds many more such executions by generating test cases
automatically.
Execution will, on entry to a routine r, evaluate r’s pre-
condition and the class invariant; on exit, it evaluates r’s
postcondition and the invariant. For correct software, such
evaluations always yield true, with no other consequence;
but an evaluation to false, known as a contract violation,
signals a flaw:3
A precondition violation signals a possible fault in the •
client (the routine that called r).
A postcondition or invariant violation signals a pos-•
sible fault in the supplier (r itself).
If the call is a result of automatic test generation, the
interpretation of the first case is more subtle:
11. If the tool directly issued the call to • r, this is a problem
with the tool’s generation strategy, not the software
under test; the test case should be ignored. Testing strat-
egies should minimize such spurious occurrences.
If another routine performed the call, the caller did •
not observe r’s specification, signaling a fault in that
routine.
The benefit of using contracts as oracles is that the soft-
ware is tested as it is. Other tools using contracts often
require software that has been specially prepared for
testing. With Eiffel or Spec# (http://research.microsoft.
com/SpecSharp)—and JML, the Java Modeling Language, if
used to write code rather than to instrument existing Java
code—contracts are there from the start.
In practice, no special skill is required of programmers
using Design by Contract. Although the approach can be
extended to full formal specifications, most contracts
in common usage state simple properties: A variable is
positive, two references point to the same object, a field
is not void. In addition, contracts are not just a theoretical
possibility; programmers use them. Analysis of a large
body of Eiffel code, proprietary and open source, indicates
widespread contract use, accounting for 1.5 to 7 percent
of lines.4
In such a context, writing simple contracts becomes as
natural as any other programming task.
Not all failures result from explicit contract violations;
another typical case is arithmetic overflow. AutoTest re-
cords all failures in the same way. Unlike many static
analysis tools, AutoTest produces no false alarms: Every
exhaustive tests, these manual activities dominate the
12. process; they limit its practical effectiveness and prevent
scaling it up.
The AutoTest framework includes traditional automa-
tion but particularly innovates on test case generation,
oracles, and minimization. It has already uncovered many
faults in released software and routinely finds new ones
when given classes to analyze.
COnTrACTS AS OrAClES
AutoTest exercises software as it is, without instrumen-
tation. In particular, its approach does not require writing
oracles.
What makes this possible is that the software under
test consists of classes with contracts: Routines may
include preconditions and postconditions; classes may
include invariants. In contract-supporting languages
such as Eiffel, contracts are Boolean expressions of the
underlying programming language, and hence can be
evaluated during execution; this provides the basis of
the contract-based approach to testing. The “Design by
D esign by Contract1 is a mechanism pioneered by Eiffel that
characterizes every software element by answering three
questions:
What does it expect? •
What does it guarantee? •
What does it maintain?•
Answers take the form of preconditions, postconditions, and
invariants. For example, starting a car has the precondition that
the ignition is turned on and the postcondition that the engine is
running. The invariant, applying to all operations of the class
13. CAR, includes such properties as “dashboard controls are
illumi-
nated if and only if ignition is on.”
With Design by Contract, such properties are not expressed in
separate requirements or design documents but become part of
the software; languages such as Eiffel and Spec#, and language
extensions such as JML, include syntax—keywords such as
require, ensure, and invariant—to state contracts.
Applications cover many software tasks: analysis, to make
sure requirements are precise yet abstract; design and imple-
mentation, to obtain software with fewer faults since it is built
to a precise specification; automatic documentation, through
tools extracting the contracts; support for managers, enabling
them to understand program essentials free from implementa-
tion details; better control over language mechanisms such as
inheritance and exceptions; and, with runtime contract moni-
toring, improvements in testing and debugging, which AutoTest
takes further.
reference
1. B. Meyer, “Applying ‘Design by Contract,’” Computer, Oct.
1992, pp. 40-51.
DeSign By contract
49SeptemBer 2009
New objects • diversify the pool.
Creating a new object every time would restrict tests •
to youthful object structures. For example, a newly
created list object represents a list with zero elements
14. or one element; realistic testing needs lists with many
elements, obtained by creating a list then repeatedly
calling insertion procedures.
When the decision is to create an object, this object
should satisfy the class invariant. AutoTest relies on the
violation it reports reflects a fault in either the implementa-
tion or the contract.
TEST gEnErATiOn
There has been considerable research on test generation
from specifications. The “Using Specifications for Test Case
Generation: A Short Survey” sidebar highlights some key
aspects of this research.
The Test Generation part of AutoTest is a push-button
testing framework. The only information it requires is a set
of classes to be tested. The tool takes care of the rest by au-
tomating three of the key tasks cited earlier:
To generate tests, it creates instances of the classes •
and calls their routines with various arguments.
To determine success or failure, AutoTest uses the •
classes’ contracts as oracles.
The tool produces minimized versions of failed tests •
for regression testing.
An important property for users is that the environment
will treat all tests in the same way, regardless of their origin
(generated, manual, or extracted); this applies in particular
to regression testing.
Figure 1 shows the principal steps for testing a set of
classes:
15. Generate instances of the classes under test.•
Select some of these objects for testing. •
Select arguments for the features to be called.•
Run the tests.•
Assess the outcome: pass or fail, applying the con-•
tracts as oracles.
Log results and failure-reproducing test cases.•
Construct a minimized form of every logged test and •
add it to the regression suite.
The test-generation strategies involve numerous choices
controlled by parameters to AutoTest. Extensive experimen-
tation has produced default values for all these parameters.
Obtaining objects and other values
The unit of testing is a routine call of the form target.
routine (arguments). It requires at least one object, the
target; the arguments may include other objects and primi-
tive values.
To obtain test inputs, AutoTest maintains an object
pool. Whenever it needs an object of a type T, it decides
whether to create a new instance of T or draw from the
pool. Creation is necessary if the pool does not contain
an instance of T; but even if it does, AutoTest will, with a
preset frequency (one of the tool’s parameters), create an
object and add it to the pool. An effective strategy needs
both possibilities:
t he goal of automating testing based on specification is an
active research topic.
Robert V. Binder (• Testing Object-Oriented Systems: Models,
Patterns and Tools, Addison-Wesley, 1999) emphasizes con-
tracts as oracles.
16. Dennis Peters and David Parnas (“Using Test Oracles Gener-•
ated from Program Documentation,” IEEE Trans. Software
Eng., Mar. 1998, pp. 161-173) use oracles derived from speci-
fications, separate from the program.
The jmlunit script pioneered some of the ideas described •
in this article, in particular, postconditions as oracles and
the observation that a test that directly violates a precon-
dition does not signal a fault. In jmlunit as described by
Yoonsik Cheon and Gary T. Leavens (“A Simple and Practi-
cal Approach to Unit Testing: The JML and JUnit Way,”
ECOOP 2002—Object-Oriented Programming, LNCS 2374,
Springer, 2002, pp. 1789-1901), test cases remain the user’s
responsibility.
Korat (C. Boyapati, S. Khurshid, and D. Marinov, “Korat: •
Automated Testing Based on Java Predicates,” Proc. 2002
ACM SIGSOFT Int’l Symp. Software Testing and Analysis,
ACM
Press, 2002, pp. 123-133) is an automated testing framework
that uses some of the same concepts as AutoTest; to gener-
ate objects it does not use creation procedures but fills
object fields and discards the result if it violates the invari-
ant. Using creation procedures seems preferable.
DSD-Crasher (C. Csallner and Y. Smaragdakis, “DSD-Crasher:
•
A Hybrid Analysis Tool for Bug Finding,” ACM Trans. Soft-
ware Eng. and Methodology, Apr. 2008, vol. 17, no. 2, art. 8)
infers contracts from executions, then statically explores
paths under the resulting restricted input domain, and gen-
erates test cases to verify the results.
Debra Richardson, Owen O’Malley, and C. Tittle (“Approaches
•
to Specification-Based Testing,” ACM SIGSOFT Software Eng.
Notes, Dec. 1989, pp. 86-96) emphasize extending existing
implementation-based testing to use specifications.
Alexandre K. Petrenko (“Specification Based Testing: •
17. Towards Practice,” Perspectives of System Informatics, LNCS
2244, Springer, 2001, pp. 287-300) surveys existing
approaches.
A. Jefferson Offutt, Yiwei Xiong, and Shaoying Liu (“Criteria •
for Generating Specification-Based Tests,” Proc. 5th Int’l
Congress Eng. of Complex Computer Systems, IEEE CS Press,
1999, pp. 119-129) discuss generating test inputs from state-
based specifications.
uSing SpecificationS for teSt
caSe generation: a Short Survey
C O V E R F E AT U R E
computer 50
Adaptive random testing and object distance
To improve on purely random strategies, adaptive
random testing (ART)5 attempts to space out values evenly
across their domains. This applies in particular to integers.
In object-oriented programming, many interesting inputs
are objects, with no immediate notion of “evenly spaced
out.” We introduced object distance6 to extend ART by en-
suring that a set of objects is representative. The distance
between objects o1 and o2 is a normalized weighted sum
of three properties:
distance between the types, based on their distance •
in the inheritance graph and the number of distinct
features;
distance between the immediate values of the objects •
(primitive values or references); and
18. for matching fields, object distance computed recur-•
sively with an attenuation factor.
Our measurements show that ART with object distance
uncovers new faults but generally does not find faults
faster than the basic random strategy, and misses some
faults found by this strategy. It thus complements rather
than replaces the basic random strategy.
minimization
AutoTest preserves all failed tests, automatic or manual,
for replay in regression testing.
Preserving the entire original scenario is generally im-
practical, since the execution may involve many irrelevant
instructions. AutoTest’s minimization algorithm attempts
to derive a shorter scenario that still triggers the failure.
The idea is to retain only the instructions that involve the
target and arguments of the failing routine. Having found
such a candidate, AutoTest executes it to check that it re-
produces the failure; if it does not, AutoTest retains the
original. While theoretically not complete, the algorithm
is sound since its resulting scenario always triggers the
same failure. In practice it is near-complete, often reducing
scenario size by several orders of magnitude.7
Boolean queries
A promising strategy, comparable to techniques used for
model checking, follows from the observation that classes
often possess a set of argument-less Boolean-valued queries
on the state: “is_overdraft” for a bank account; “is_empty”
for any container structure; “after,” stating that the cursor is
past the last element, for a list with cursors. We investigated
a Boolean query conjecture:8 The argument-less Boolean
19. queries of a well-written class yield a partition of the cor-
responding object state space that helps testing strategies.
The rationale for this conjecture is that such queries
characterize the most important divisions of an object’s
possible states: An account is overdraft or not, it is open
normal mechanism for creating instances, satisfying the
invariant: creation procedures (constructors). The steps
are as follows:
Choose a creation procedure (constructor). •
Choose arguments, if needed, with the strategies de-•
fined below for routine calls. Some of these arguments
may be objects, requiring recursive application of the
strategy (selection from pool or creation).
Create the object and call the procedure.•
Any object this algorithm creates at any stage is added
to the pool, contributing to diversification. Any failure
of these operations is logged, even if the operation is not
explicitly part of the requested test. The purpose of test-
ing is to cause failures; it does not matter how: The end
justifies the means.
Besides objects, a call may need primitive values of
types such as INTEGER or CHARACTER. The current strat-
egy uses
distinguished values preset for each type such as, for •
integers: 0, minimum and maximum integers, ±1,
and so on; and
other values from the range, selected at random.•
This approach may appear simplistic. We are indeed
investigating more advanced policies. We have learned,
20. however, that in devising testing strategies sophisticated
ideas do not necessarily outperform simpler approaches.1
The main measure of effectiveness for a testing strate-
gy—at least if we do not rank faults by risk level, but treat
all faults as equally important—is the fault count function
fc (t), the number of faults found in t seconds of testing. A
“smart” strategy’s ability to find more faults or find them
faster can be outweighed by a longer setup time. It is es-
sential to submit any idea, however attractive, to objective
evaluation.
Generate
and select
inputs
Run test
cases with
selected inputs
Minimize
failing
test cases Regression
test suite
Log
results
Log files
Interpret
results (pass/fail)
TC3
21. TC2
TC1
TC1: 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
TC2: 0011101000
TC3: 1110100101
Figure 1. Test Generation’s automated testing process.
51SeptemBer 2009
Figure 2a shows the state after a failure in a bank ac-
count class, with an incorrect implementation of “deposit”
causing a postcondition violation when a user attempts to
withdraw $100 from an account with a balance of $500.
The lower part of the figure shows the source code of the
routine “withdraw,” containing an erroneous postcondition
tagged “withdrawn”: The plus should have been a minus.
Execution causes the postcondition violation shown at the
top part of the figure. The message is the normal EiffelStu-
dio reaction to a postcondition violation, with the debugger
showing the call stack.
Test Extraction’s innovation is to turn this failure au-
tomatically into a test case. Figure 2b shows an example
of an extracted test, including the different components
necessary to reproduce the original exception: “test_with-
draw” calls the routine “withdraw,” and “context” describes
the target object’s state.
Subsequent test executions will display the status of the
extracted test, which initially fails, as shown in Figure 2c.
Once the postcondition has been corrected, the test will
pass and the status will turn green.
22. Minimization allows AutoTest to record and replay many
such violations. The key idea is that it is not necessary to
replay the program execution as it actually happened; as
any failure is the result of calling a routine on a certain
object in a certain object structure, it suffices to record
that structure and, when replaying, to call the routine on
the target object.
As software evolves, a test may become inapplicable.
To address this situation Test Extraction will check, before
replaying the test, that both the object’s invariant and the
routine’s precondition hold. If either does not, it would
make no sense to run the test; Test Extraction marks it
invalid.10
ExAmplE SESSiOn wiTh AUTOTEST
Originally an independent tool, AutoTest is now simply
the testing part of the EiffelStudio environment. To start
the following example session, just launch EiffelStudio.
While the functionalities are the same across all supported
platforms, the user interface, shown for Windows in the
screenshots in Figure 3, will have a different look and feel
on, for example, Linux, Solaris, or Mac OS X.
To perform automatic tests on the application class
BANK_ACCOUNT and the library classes STRING and
or closed, it bears interest or not. Combining them
yields a representative partition of the space set,
containing dramatically fewer elements. With a
typical class, considering all possible instance
states is intractable, but combining n Boolean
queries yields 2n possibilities, or abstract query
states; in our experience, n is seldom more than
23. 10—for example, only 25 percent of the 217 classes
in the EiffelBase 6.4 library have more than 10
argument-less Boolean queries. The algorithm may limit
this number further by considering only combinations
that satisfy the invariant.
The conjecture suggests looking for a test suite that
maximizes Boolean query coverage (BQC): the percentage
of abstract states exercised. While this strategy is not yet a
standard component of AutoTest, our experiments suggest
that it may be useful. It involves trimming abstract query
states through a constraint solver, then using a theorem
prover for clauses involving noninteger queries. In experi-
ments so far, the strategy yields a BQC close to 100 percent
with minimal invariant adaptation; routine coverage in-
creases from about 85 percent for basic AutoTest to 99 or
100 percent, and the number of faults found increases
significantly.
Test generation results
Table 1 shows results of applying Test Generation (no
BQC) to the EiffelBase9 and Gobo (www.gobosoft.com)
data structure and algorithm libraries, widely used in
operational applications, and to an experimental library
providing complete specifications.
These results are typical of many more experiments.
As the tested classes have different semantics and sizes
in terms of various code metrics, the experiments appear
representative of many problem domains. Since AutoTest
is a unit testing tool and was used for this purpose in the
experiments, we do not claim that these results are rep-
resentative of the performance of contract-based random
testing for entire applications or software systems.
24. TEST ExTrACTiOn
During development, programmers routinely execute
the program to check that it proceeds as expected. They
generally do not think of these executions as formal test
cases. If results are wrong or the execution otherwise fails,
they fix the problem and return to development; off goes
a potentially interesting test, which could have benefited
future regression testing. The programmers could create
a test case, but most of the time they will not find the task
worth the time—after all, they did correct the problem, or
at least they addressed the symptoms.
Test Extraction will create the test for developers and
give it the same status as any other manual or generated
test. Figure 2 provides an example.
table 1. test generation results.
Tested library Faults
percent failing
routines percent failed tests
EiffelBase 127 6.4 (127/1,984) 3.8 (1,513/39,615)
Gobo libraries 26 4.4 (26/585) 3.7 (2,928/79,886)
Specification library 72 14.1 (72/510) 49.6 (12,860/25,946)
C O V E R F E AT U R E
computer 52
25. Figure 2. Test Extraction example: (a) catching a contract
violation, (b) turning this failure automatically into a test case,
and (c)
using the extracted test to reproduce the original exception.
(a)
(c)
(b)
53SeptemBer 2009
eters, such as the classes to be tested and how long random
testing should be performed. AutoTest will test the classes
listed and any others on which they depend directly or
indirectly.
LINKED_LIST, launch the “New Eiffel test” wizard, as
shown in Figure 3a. In the first pane, choose the radio
button labeled “Synthesized test using AutoTest.” The last
wizard window will ask you to specify AutoTest param-
Figure 3. Example session using AutoTest: (a) “New Eiffel test”
wizard, (b) sample AutoTest statistics, and (c) minimized
witness.
(b)
(c)
(b)
(a)
26. C O V E R F E AT U R E
computer 54
The development benefited from discussions with numerous
people, in particular Gary Leavens, Peter Müller, Manuel Oriol,
Alexander Pretschner, and Andreas Zeller. Bernd Schoeller
suggested the use of Boolean queries to reduce state spaces,
which Lisa (Ling) Liu studied experimentally. Test Extraction,
as developed by Andreas Leitner, was originally called CDD
(Contract-Driven Development). We presented an earlier ver-
sion of this article, on Test Generation only, at SOFSEM 2007:
B. Meyer et al., “Automatic Testing of Object-Oriented Soft-
ware, Proc. 33rd Conf. Current Trends in Theory and Practice of
Software Development, LNCS 4362, Springer, 2007, pp. 114-
129.
Design by Contract is a trademark of Eiffel Software.
references
1. B. Meyer, “Seven Principles of Software Testing,”
Computer,
Aug. 2008, pp. 99-101.
2. IEEE Std. 610.12-1990, IEEE Standard Glossary of Software
Eng. Terminology, IEEE, 1990.
3. B. Meyer, Object-Oriented Software Construction, 2nd ed.,
Prentice Hall, 1997.
4. P. Chalin, “Are Practitioners Writing Contracts?,” Rigorous
Eng. Fault-Tolerant Systems, LNCS 4157, Springer, 2006, pp.
100-113.
27. 5. T.Y. Chen, H. Leung, and I. Mak, “Adaptive Random Test-
ing,” Proc. 9th Asian Computing Science Conf. (Asian 04),
LNCS 3321, Springer, 2004, pp. 320-329.
6. I. Ciupa et al., “ARTOO: Adaptive Random Testing for Ob-
ject-Oriented Software,” Proc. 30th Ann. Conf. Software
Eng. (ICSE 08), ACM Press, 2008, pp. 71-80.
7. I. Ciupa et al., “On the Predictability of Random Tests for
Object-Oriented Software,” Proc. 2008 Int’l Conf. Software
Testing, Verification, and Validation (ICST 08), IEEE CS
Press, 2008, pp. 72-81.
8. I. Ciupa et al., “Experimental Assessment of Random Test-
ing for Object-Oriented Software,” Proc. 2007 Int’l Symp.
Software Testing and Analysis (ISSTA 07), ACM Press, 2007,
pp. 84-94.
9. B. Meyer, Reusable Software: The Base Object-Oriented
Com-
ponent Libraries, Prentice Hall, 1994.
10. A. Leitner, “Contract Driven Development = Test Driven
Development - Writing Test Cases,” Proc. 6th Joint Meeting
of the European Software Eng. Conf. and the ACM SIGSOFT
Symp. the Foundations of Software (ESEC-FSE 07), ACM
Press, 2007, pp. 425-434.
11. L. Liu, B. Meyer, and B. Schoeller, “Using Contracts and
Boolean Queries to Improve the Quality of Automatic Test
Generation,” Tests and Proofs, LNCS 4454, Springer, 2007,
pp. 114-130.
12. A. Leitner et al., “Efficient Unit Test Case Minimization,”
Proc. 22nd IEEE/ACM Int’l Conf. Automated Software Eng.
28. (ASE 07), ACM Press, 2007, pp. 417-420.
13. I. Ciupa et al., “Finding Faults: Manual Testing vs.
Random+
Testing vs. User Reports,” Proc. 19th Int’l Symp. Software
Reliability Eng. (ISSRE 08), IEEE Press, 2008, pp. 157-166.
Bertrand Meyer is Professor of Software Engineering at
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich,
Switzerland, and cofounder and Chief Architect of Eiffel
Software, based in Santa Barbara, Calif. His latest book is
Touch of Class: An Introduction to Programming Well
By default, AutoTest will report result statistics, contract
violations, and other failures in HTML, as in Figure 3b.
All three classes under test are marked in red, indicating
that at least one feature test triggered a failure in each.
Expanding the tree node shows the offending features:
For BANK_ACCOUNT, “default_create,” “balance,” and “de-
posit” were successful (green), but “withdraw” had failures.
Clicking it displays the failure details. This includes a wit-
ness for each failure: a test scenario, generated by the tool,
which triggers the failure. Scrolling shows the first wit-
ness’s offending instructions.
The witness reproduces the postcondition failure (re-
sulting from a fault planted for illustration) encountered
using Test Extraction. This means that AutoTest found the
same erroneous postcondition as the manual process.
Figure 3c shows a real fault, in the routine “adapt” of
the library class STRING. The seldom-used “adapt” serves
to initialize a string from a manifest value “Some Charac-
ters,” as an instance not of STRING but of some descendant
MY_STRING. The witness reveals that “adapt” is missing
29. a precondition requiring a nonvoid argument. Without it,
“adapt” accepts a void but passes it on to “share,” which
demands a nonvoid argument. The fault, since corrected,
was first uncovered by AutoTest.
W
e have used the AutoTest framework
to perform large-scale experiments,11-13
totaling tens of thousands of hours of
CPU time, that investigate such ques-
tions as: How does the number of faults
found by random testing evolve over time? Are more faults
uncovered as contract violations or through other excep-
tions? How predictable is random testing? Are there more
faults in the contracts or in the implementation? How do
uncovered faults compare to those found by manual test-
ing and by software users?
The AutoTest tools provide significant functional help.
In addition, they yield a better understanding of the chal-
lenges and benefits of tests. Testing will never be an exact
science; it is an imperfect approach that becomes useful
when more ambitious techniques such as static analysis
and proofs let us down. If we cannot guarantee the absence
of faults, we can at least try to find as many as possible,
and make the findings part of a project’s knowledge base
forever, replaying the scenarios before every new release to
ensure old faults don’t creep back in. While more modest
than full verification, this goal is critical for practical soft-
ware development.
Acknowledgments
The original idea for AutoTest came from discussions with
Xavier Rousselot. Karine Bezault started the first version. Per
30. Madsen provided useful suggestions on state partitioning.
55SeptemBer 2009
in automated software testing, and is now an engineer
at Google’s Zurich office. Contact him at [email protected]
google.com.
Yi Wei was an engineer at Eiffel Software and is now a
research assistant at the Chair of Software Engineering at
ETH Zurich, where he is working toward his PhD in auto-
mated software testing and self-repairing programs. Wei
received an MS in engineering from Wuhan University in
China. Contact him at [email protected]
Emmanuel Stapf is a senior software developer at Eiffel
Software, where he leads the EiffelStudio development
team. His research interests include compiler development,
integrated development environments, and testing. Stapf
received an engineer’s degree from ENSEEIHT in Toulouse,
France. Contact him at [email protected]
(Springer, 2009), based on the introductory programming
course at ETH. He is a Fellow of the ACM and president of
Informatics Europe. Contact him at [email protected]
ethz.ch.
Arno Fiva was an engineer at Eiffel Software and is now
completing his MS at the Chair of Software Engineering at
ETH Zurich. His research focuses on automated software
testing. Contact him at [email protected]
Ilinca Ciupa was a research assistant at the Chair of Soft-
ware Engineering at ETH Zurich, where she received a PhD
in automated software testing. She is now an automation
engineer at Phonak in Switzerland. Contact her at ilinca.
[email protected]
31. Andreas Leitner was a researcher at the Chair of Soft-
ware Engineering at ETH Zurich, where he received a PhD
Week 3 Assignment 2 - Context of the Problem (Re-
submission).docx
1
Assignment 2: Context of the Problem
Assignment 2: Context of the Problem
Jessica Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
January 26th 2014
32. Describe the history of the problem and why it is a problem:
Automated testing is a contemporary concept in software
testing. Software testers subject every new development project
to automatic tests. New software used in automobiles,
machineries and industrial plants processes have auto test
frameworks. Auto test frameworks use programs that have
inbuilt software for self-verification. They auto-detect
complications in main software that be sources of system
failures and inconvenience operations. Improving the
integration of the testing tools reliefs the test engineer from
various manual tasks and thus his/her time and skills can be
better allocated, for example, to making model-based testing
(including the creation of adequate models) an integral part of
the development and test lifecycle (http://nl.atos.net). In most
instances, personnel operating machines detect complications in
tools after it causes defects. Correcting mechanical
complications in engineering machines and systems necessitates
design for testability.
Identify where and for whom it is a problem:
Past engineering innovations, machines and systems lacked
design for testability. Failure of early machines to function
efficiently because of mechanical complications was easy. Test
engineers used manual testing techniques but defects still
existed in most software (Mikhail, Berndt & Kandel, 2010).
Manual testing involved test engineers counterchecking any
33. defect that could exist in the software. Test engineers used
various combinations of inputs to detect faults in the software
(Moreira & Werkmann, 2010). Engineers recorded observed
results and compared them against the expected outcome. This
necessitated the invention of auto test.
Automating tests is the best way to increase the effectiveness,
efficiency and coverage of your software testing. Automated
testing provides various benefits to developers: coverage to
detect bugs and errors – early and later during the development
– and significantly reduces the cost of failure, saves time
through its repeatability and earlier verification, and leverages
the improved resource productivity. Implementing the test
automation for your mobile application development process is
the best way to gain these benefits and migrate your
development to effectively use of resources and time
(http://testdroid.com). Automated testing tools can playback
actions during and improve coverage of the process. Testing
tools compare the report to the process of to the expected
results. Repeating automatic tests is easier than manual testing.
Automated testing, therefore, is successful in enhancing
development projects. It saves time and improves accuracy of
developmental projects (www.infosys.com).
Auto test software test engineers apply a collection of
three complimentary functionalities. The first functionality of
auto test is test generation. Test generations create and run the
cases. Automatic test cases do not require the intervention of
test engineers. They detect mechanical complications in
engineering machines and systems. The second functionality is
test extraction. Test extractions automatically releases in-built
test cases during mechanical failure. Test extraction produces
test cases even in subsequent failures. The third functionality of
auto test is the integration of manual tests. Auto test software
should be compatible with other manual tools.
Identify the purpose of your research on this problem:
Automatic testing is a means to improve the efficiency of
engineering systems and machines. Initially, test engineers
34. conducted manual testing of new software. Testing every new
product, machine or system is costly. Software developers
expressed the necessity to develop programs that would conduct
the testing automatically; therefore, automatic testing was
developed.
Increased complexity of programs necessitates the
application of integrated tests. The usability and quality of final
test programs is a factor of consideration in automatic test
development. Market changes demands the development of
quality software products. Time and again, forward-thinking
companies of all sizes and industries have successfully
demonstrated the power of automated functional testing to
thoroughly test, rapidly develop and reduce the cost of
delivering high-quality applications. Yet 85% of organizations
that attempt automation fail (http://www.borland.com). Changes
in the development cycle further complicate the role of software
developers working on auto tests. A central challenge is the
necessity to detect faults in automated software testing tools.
References:
Graham, D., & Fewster, M. (2012). Experiences of Test
Automation: Case Studies of Software Test Automation. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
Helppi, Ville. (2013). Best Practice #1: Increase efficiency and
productivity with Test Automation. Retrieved February 16, 2014
from http://testdroid.com/testdroid/5851/increase-efficiency-
35. and-productivity-with-test-automation.
Mikhail, R. F., Berndt, D. J., & Kandel, A. (2010). Automated
Database Applications Testing: Specification Representation
For Automated Reasoning. Singapore: World Scientific.
Moreira, J., & Werkmann, H. (2010). An Engineer's Guide to
Automated Testing of High-Speed Interfaces. Norwood: Artech
House.
How to Successfully Automate the Functional Testing Process.
Retrieved February 16, 2014, from
http://www.borland.com/_images/Silk-Test_WP_How-to-
successfully-automate-the-functional-testing-process_tcm32-
205735.pdf.
Integrating Model-based Testing in a Project’s Tool Landscape.
Retrieved February 16, 2014, from
http://nl.atos.net/content/dam/nl/documents/atos-wp-
modelbasedtesting-tam.pdf.
Realizing Efficiency & Effectiveness in Software Testing
through a Comprehensive Metrics Model. Retrieved February
16, 2014, from http://www.infosys.com/engineering-
services/white-papers/Documents/comprehensive-metrics-
model.pdf.
Week 4 Assignment 3 - The Problem Statement.docx
1
Assignment 2: The Problem Statement
Assignment 3: The Problem Statement
36. Why Automated Software Testing is Preferred over Manual
Jessica Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
February 2, 2014
Why Automated Software Testing is Preferred over Manual
Testing of software has become a vital requirement for all
computer users in the modern world due to the increasing
number of fake and fabricated software that have flooded the
computer software market. The fake software has become so
common that all computer software uses are compelled to test
their software to ensure that they are genuine. Consequently,
37. there has been an increase in the number of software tests
carried out by computer software firms. This has led to the
introduction of test automation that is meant to enhance
software testing. Test automation not only increases the speed
of software testing but also adds additional tests that would not
be possible with manual testing (Hayes, p. 241, 2004). It has
transformed software testing by automating some laborious
testing tasks and introducing new and better tasks. Therefore,
this proposal will handle the topic of automated testing and why
automated testing is preferred to manual testing.
References:
Hayes, L. G. (2004). The automated testing handbook.
Richardson, TX: Software Testing Institute.
Week 6 Assignment 4 - Research Questions.docx
1
Assignment 4: Research Questions
Assignment 4: Research Questions
38. Jessica Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
February 16, 2014
The main purpose or objective of the study is to find out why
Automated Software Testing is preferred over manual. For
purposes of guiding this paper through and reaching out to the
main objective or purpose of the study, the researcher is obliged
to hinge the study to a reasonable hypothesis. Both automated
and manual testing approaches are tailored to meet the demands
of computing and processing, albeit, in different ways. This
would imply that consideration of the two testing methodologies
should be given equal grounds when handling any research on
comparison between the two (Hayes, 2004).
The objectives of this study would be designed to ensure
that the purpose of the study is considered. This will include the
39. consideration of the hypothesis of the research and the desired
results for the study. The purpose of the study is quite broad;
however, this purpose could be achieved through the following
goals and objectives;
· To determine the major differences between automated and
manual testing
· To find out the major factors considered in evaluating which,
between manual and automated testing, would be most
preferable in handling different situations and,
· To determine how manual and automated testing perform with
regard to time consumed, initial and long term investment in
human resources, reliability and programming
Since test automation is an investment it is rare that the testing
effort will take less time or resources in the current release.
Sometimes there's the perception that automation is easier than
testing manually. It actually makes the effort more complex
since there's now another added software development effort.
Automated testing does not replace good test planning, writing
of test cases or much of the manual testing effort
(www.methodsandtols.com). This cannot be verified without
clear cut questions on the suitability of the two. Effectively, the
necessity for research questions on the same cannot be ignored.
A number of research questions could be developed to help
define and guide the research into meeting its purposes. The
following research questions would apply to this study:
1. What are the major differences between automated and
manual testing? How are these differences reflected in the
results or end of a testing practice?
2. What are the major factors considered in evaluating which,
between manual and automated testing, would be most
preferable in handling different situations?
3. How does manual and automated testing perform with regard
to time consumed, initial and long term investment in human
resources, reliability and programming?
The above research questions would be very instrumental in
delivering on the purposes of the research. The first question
40. seeks to build the ground for the research. For purposes of
getting to understand what automated and manual testing are,
the first question would bring the reader and the researcher to
terms with various elements regarding testing processes and
desired results. With the answering of this question, the reader
would get to understand and appreciate the role played by the
assumptions made on the preference of automated testing over
manual testing (Dustin, Garrett & Gauf, 2009).
The second question seeks to
develop the framework from which analysis of the main purpose
of the research can take place. In this regard, the study seeks to
use qualitative approaches seek to find out the main aspects
considered by users on what would amount to an effective
testing mechanism (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013).
The third question sums up the research through
direct analysis of a number of factors considered in computing
and testing. The mentioned factors, including; time consumed,
initial and long term investment in human resources, reliability
and programming have been considered as good enough to test
the assumption that automated testing is most preferred by users
to manual testing. By evaluating these factors, the research
would get the edge that each testing approach has with regard to
main functions of testing and the desired results.
References:
Hayes, L. G. (2004). The automated testing handbook.
41. Richardson, TX: Software Testing
Institute.
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Practical research:
Planning and design. Boston: Pearson.
Dustin, E., Garrett, T., & Gauf, B. (2009). Implementing
automated software testing: How to
save time and lower costs while raising quality. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
Zallar, Kerry. (n.d.). Practical Experience in Automated
Testing. Retrieved February 15, 2014,
from
http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=33.
Week 7 Assignment 5- Significance of the Study.docx
1
Assignment 5: Significance of the Study
Assignment 5: Significance of the Study
Jessica Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
February 23, 2014
42. This study is of great significance in as far as acquisition of
knowledge on automated and manual testing methods is
concerned. Through this study, the researcher would appreciate
the role of testing methodologies and how they can be used
differently by both individuals and organizations. By carrying
out this study the benefits of automated testing approach and
comparison with the manual testing method would be clearly
defined. Appreciation of the findings from this study would
inform the decisions of the research, together with other
individuals with regard to choice of testing methods.
This study will be of great help to IT
experts and technological innovators. Automation is indeed one
of the most important tools used in facilitating effective and
efficient operations. Whereas automated testing is good for
business operations, technologists can always find better ways
to develop better automated testing systems. This paper would
provide a good ground for designers to develop better systems,
43. through acknowledging the gap between desired characteristics
of testing methodologies and the existing designs (Leedy&
Ormrod, 2013). Even with increased automation, the design of
new automated systems must ensure that the testing processes
are much better every other time. This significance is in
recognition that technology is never static.
Researchers on testing
methods would greatly benefit from this study. The need for
secondary information on this research topic can never be
underestimated. Whereas primary researches are preferred in
giving credible information about any research topic including
that of testing method, secondary sources of information are
good for making direct and indirect inferences from past
findings (Hayes, 2004). This study will in effect provide a
framework through which other studies will make reference to,
compare and contrast the findings.
References:
Hayes, L. G. (2004). The automated testing handbook.
Richardson, TX: Software Testing Institute.
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Practical research:
Planning and design. Boston: Pearson
Week 8 Assignment 6 Research Design & Methodology.docx
1
Assignment 6: Research Design & Methodology
44. Assignment 6: Research Design & Methodology
Jessica Scott
Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
March 2, 2014
Qualitative research is a type of research characterized by aims,
which correspond to understanding some aspects of social life
and the method it applies which results to words rather than
numbers. It is a widely used method although it has its setbacks
such as the samples to be used may be small and not necessarily
representative of the boulder population. This makes it complex
to know how far we can generate results. The results may lack
rigor it gets complicated telling how far the findings go to
depending on the researcher’s opinion. Given an example of a
question, whether a person wants a lobby for better access to
45. health care in a location where user fees got introduced, you
might undertake a cross sectional survey which will tell the
researcher that a set percentage of the population does not have
access to care. Qualitative method can answer such a question
through interviews or focus groups. Qualitative method becomes
vital when little becomes known on the topic to be researched.
It helps in generating the hypothesis behind the
study. (Ericsson, 1984).
The nature of testing technology provides room for use of
either qualitative or quantitative methods to research design. In
this research, qualitative approaches to research design would
be most preferred. In this regard, descriptions on interrelations
between usage of the manual and automated software testing
would be prioritized over the frequencies (Quantitative)
provided by various measures of accuracy and efficiency.
Effectively, the study would be coined around the need to get a
comprehensive understanding of the uses and gratifications of
students in the use of manual and automated testing, rather than
being inclined to much of statistical figures on the same as it
would have been the case with a qualitative research.
Description would be given much priority as compared to
frequency. Whereas the efficiency of a testing method lies with
how the design of the method helps in realizing the goals of the
testing method, such efficiencies can be noted based on analysis
of the descriptions given by users of these testing methods.
The sampling
methodology for this study was a stratified random sample of
residents in these regions who are consumers of both automated
and manual testing methodologies. By rooting for the stratified
sampling methodology, the researcher improved the
representativeness of the sample by reducing sampling error.
Buber, Gadner & Richards (2004), are of the opinion that
random sampling would always be the best methods in obtaining
a representative sample. However, this does not imply that such
a methodology would guarantee of a 100% sample that is
representative. However, random sampling would provide a
46. higher probability in terms of accurate representation,
particularly where the targeted population or audience have
common or shared characteristics.
The research would really on the use
of questionnaire for the study. A total of 120 respondents were
given the questionnaires from which a number of questions were
answered regarding their experiences in the usage of both
qualitative and quantitative testing methods. In doing this, the
qualification for a respondent required that the respondent must
have used both manual and automated testing methodologies.
For purposes of efficiency, the study would concentrate on
employees from top research and consultancy firms in the US.
The choice of the firms in question was based on their
transitions from manual to automated systems used in these
organizations’. Questionnaires would be issued to twenty
respondents identified through stratified sampling in these
organizations. The
analysis and conclusions drawn from the research would really
on both primary and secondary data whereas the researcher
takes the primary data as is envisaged by the administration of
questionnaires, the efficiency of the research can only be
guaranteed where the findings and results from the
questionnaire can be supported by various theories and
concepts. Consistency of results from the questionnaires with
the theoretical underpinnings would to a great extent help in
arriving as reasonable conclusions on the suitability of the
automatic and manual testing methods (Wertz, Charmaz,
McMullen, Josselson, Anderson, & McSpadden (2011). The
result would be valid if the questions answered in the
questionnaire are reasonable and have the lowest levels of
conflict.
47. References:
Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1984). Protocol analysis:
Verbal reports as data. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Buber, R., Gadner, J. & Richards, L. (2004) Applying
qualitative methods to marketing management research. UK:
Palgrave Macmillan, pp141-156.
Wertz, Frederick J., Charmaz, Kathy, McMullen, Linda M.,
Josselson, Ruthellen, Anderson, Rosemarie, & McSpadden,
Emalinda (2011). Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis
Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse
Analysis, Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry. New York,
New York: Guilford Press.
Week 8 Assignment 7 Organization of the Study.docx
1
Assignment 7: Organization of the Study
Assignment 7: Organization of the Study
Jessica Scott
48. Dr. Teresa Wilburn
RES 531: Research Methods
March 9, 2014
Organization of the Study:
The need for a research that is well designed and allows for
ease in interrelating information is all that will inform my
designing of the research topic. Whereas this research is to take
a formal outline of a research paper, it would also be designed
to be contingent to the research purposes and objectives.
Effectively, all the topics and subtopics used in the research
would be chosen with the intention of dealing with all matters
concerning, Automated and Manual Testing. Effectively, the
researcher intends to use the following outline in the
development of the final research paper. The final chapter has
three sections: an Introduction, the Summary and Conclusion
49. Chapter One: Introduction
This chapter provides the basics of the research in terms of the
subject or topic and the trigger for researching on the topic. The
introduction provides a concise statement of the purpose of the
study, research sub questions, and the methodology used. Other
than this, the introduction would also have the justification for
the study and the significance of the same.
Chapter Two: Summary
In this chapter, researcher would provide the most important
substantive details of the research conducted in the previous
research chapters. A DRP summary must convey a very clear
and positive influence, providing a cogent grasp of the research
interest and findings. Through the research summary, a reader
would understand the major motivations and concepts being
advanced by the research. It is also through the summary that
the analysis of the research will take place.
Chapter Three: Conclusions
This chapter will present research conclusions based on the
consolidated summary of the analyses and findings as reported
in the summary section. The conclusions made would rely on
the inferences made to primary research, secondary research and
theoretical underpinnings of the research topic.
DRPManual.pdf
Directed
Research
Project
Manuscript Guidebook
and Project Format
Manuscript Guidebook
and Project Format
51. Grading
...............................................................................................
.................................................................................... 5
LRC Collection of Directed Research Projects
...............................................................................................
......................... 6
Information Literacy and Library Use
...............................................................................................
...................................... 6
Directed Research and Human Subjects Policy Statement
...............................................................................................
........ 6
Section 3: Stages of DRP Development
...............................................................................................
............... 7
Research Question and Subquestions
...............................................................................................
....................................... 7
Research Proposal (Chapter One)
...............................................................................................
............................................ 7
Chapter 1: Introduction
...............................................................................................
........................................................... 7
Chapter 2: Literature Review
...............................................................................................
................................................... 9
The Research Chapters
...............................................................................................
............................................................ 9
Summary and Conclusions Chapter
...............................................................................................
......................................... 9
Draft of the Directed Research Project
...............................................................................................
52. ..................................... 9
The Final Project
...............................................................................................
.................................................................... 10
The Defense
...............................................................................................
........................................................................... 10
Section 4: The Directed Research Project Proposal
.......................................................................................... 11
The Directed Research Project Proposal Flow Chart
...............................................................................................
.............. 11
Section 5: Characteristics of Research
...............................................................................................
.............. 12
Section 6: Planning and Designing the Research Proposal
............................................................................... 13
Key Questions for Planning and Designing the DRP Proposal
...............................................................................................
13
Components of the DRP Proposal
................................................................................ ...............
.......................................... 14
Context of the Problem
...............................................................................................
.......................................................... 14
Statement of the Problem
...............................................................................................
....................................................... 14
Research Question/Hypothesis and
Subquestions/Subhypotheses
.......................................................................................... 15
Significance of the Study
53. ...............................................................................................
........................................................ 16
Research Design and Methodology
...............................................................................................
........................................ 16
Premises of the Qualitative and Quantitative Research
...............................................................................................
.......... 17
Organization of the Study
...............................................................................................
...................................................... 17
Proposed Reference List
...............................................................................................
......................................................... 17
Section 7: Writing the Research Chapters 18
Citing the Literature
...............................................................................................
............................................................... 19
Research Sampling
................................................................................ ...............
................................................................. 20
Analysis and Findings
...............................................................................................
............................................................ 20
Section 8: The Final Chapter – Summary and Conclusions
............................................................................. 21
Section 9: DRP Format Requirements
...............................................................................................
.............. 22
Section 10: Certificate of Approval Form
...............................................................................................
......... 25
55. research project will be monitored by a supervising faculty
member and must be defended by
the student in an oral examination. The oral defense may be
conducted in a conference-style
meeting of student, instructor, and second reader or technical
advisor. A second type of defense
allows students to present a synopsis of their projects during
one of the last two scheduled
class meetings. Students are encouraged to discuss the project
with an instructor or Academic
Advisor early in their programs. Students may not fulfill the
directed research requirement by
completing another course.
LEArNING OuTCOMES
Upon completion of the Directed Research Project, the student
will be able to:
1. Design, conduct, analyze, interpret, apply and write original
research studies applicable
to academic course content and/or the professional work
environment.
2. Present research results in a clear, organized and effective
oral delivery.
3. Identify and use major reference tools appropriately.
3
SECTION 2:
Introductory
Guidelines
56. Introduction
The Directed Research Project (DRP) is designed as a vehicle
for the graduate student to complete
a research project in his/her field of major concentration. THE
DRP IS NOT A TERM PAPER. The
research project is monitored through its completion by a
supervising seminar professor and, in some
instances, an additional faculty technical advisor. Students must
defend the completed DRP in a
meeting attended by the seminar professor and technical advisor
(if applicable).
rEquIrED rEFErENCE
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research:
Planning and design (9th ed.).
New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.
Strayer University. (2009). Directed research project:
Manuscript guidebook and
project format. Washington, D.C.: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication
manual of the
American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington,
D.C.: Author.
Note to Instructors: The American Psychological Association
allows one desk copy per instructor; if you have ever received
one before,
a second copy can not be obtained. Copies should be requested
on an individual—not institutional—basis.
Maimon, E., Peritz, J., Yancey, K. (2010). A writer’s resource
(3rd ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw Hill Publishing.
57. 4
TEAChING STrATEGIES
The course will be conducted as an independent research
project, which will be monitored by
the instructor. The initial class sessions will be used to assist
the students to define their research
problems, develop their research proposals (Chapter 1 of the
DRP), and initiate their research
efforts. Subsequent Individual Project Review meetings between
the supervising faculty member
and each student will help address any individual concerns or
problems the student might be
having, and monitor the project’s progress. Instructors will
establish progress milestones and
requirements for draft writings to help the students in managing
their research projects. The final
DRP report will be defended by the student in a presentation to
the instructor, as a minimum,
with possible participation by a technical advisor and/or other
class members.
PEEr rEvIEwEr/TEChNICAL ADvISOr
In those rare instances when the project is out of the scope of
the expertise of the instructor, a
technical advisor may be required to assist the instructor in
guiding and assessing the student’s
project.
CErTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT FOrM
Both the Supervising Instructor and the Peer
Reviewer/Technical Advisor (if applicable) will
also complete a certification and an assessment form that helps
58. to assess student learning.
The completed assessment form goes to the appropriate
Department Chair and the Office of
Institutional Research for compilation and analysis.
CLASS SIzE
Limit class size to fifteen (15).
COurSE rEquIrEMENTS
Students are required to identify a problem within their major
fields that the research will intend
to solve. Chapter 1 will be written by the student detailing what
the completed DRP/research
will entail. This is to be submitted to the seminar professor by
the deadline prescribed by the
professor. Individual project reviews will be conducted with the
seminar professor. Every student
is expected to meet the scheduled times to review his/her
progress and to finalize the problem
statement research questions. The help of a technical advisor
may be solicited at the discretion
and approval of the seminar professor.
5
rEGISTrATION rEquIrEMENTS AND rECOMMENDATIONS
Students must meet three basic requirements prior to registering
for the DRP. These are noted
below. Two additional student status criteria are strongly
recommended to promote academic
success.
1. Required: Prior attendance in DRP Orientation (DRP 999).
Students will not be allowed
59. to register for the DRP without completion of this orientation
session.
2. Required: Completion of at least 45 quarter hours of graduate
study creditable to the
Master’s degree.
3. Required: Completion of RES 531, which is a prerequisite for
all 590 DRP courses.
3. Recommended: Cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, with no
pending “I” grades.
4. Recommended: Concurrent registration with, at most, one
other graduate course.
GrADING
The nature of this course precludes written examinations as a
means of determining student
achievement. Therefore, the DRP and its defense, along with
student attendance, will determine
the final grade.
1. To achieve an “A” grade, the DRP must be excellent in
content (both factual and
grammatical) and in presentation (both written and oral). The
student must have met
all the draft deadlines, and the final manuscript must have been
submitted by the last
scheduled class. Excellent DRPs that are submitted after the end
of the quarter in which
they are started are not likely to be awarded an “A”. Only
selected “A” graded projects
will be included in the Learning Resources Center (LRC)
collection at the Wilkes Library.
60. 2. The DRP is not a term paper; it is more than a term paper.
3. The DRP must be the student’s original work. Plagiarism will
result in an “F” for the
course and possible disciplinary action, which may include
expulsion from the program.
6
LrC COLLECTION OF DIrECTED rESEArCh PrOjECTS
Directed Research Projects may be recommended by the Dean of
the School to be submitted to
Strayer University’s Wilkes Library as part of its Directed
Research Project Collection. These
projects will be made available to other University students as a
demonstration of the University’s
expectations in completion of the Directed Research Project.
Although the basic criterion for
inclusion is an earned “A” grade, all aspects of a project will be
reviewed to judge the work’s
value to Strayer’s collection. Major points that will be screened
by seminar professors are
presentation (organized and professional approach),
grammar/mechanics, and content (factual
and analytical material). Students who would like to view bound
hard copies of previously
submitted Directed Research Projects can do so by showing
their IDs to their LRC Managers and
requesting copies from the Wilkes Library. These DRPs are for
in-library use only. Online model
DRPs are also available on the Strayer website under Learning
Resources Center (LRC).
INFOrMATION LITErACy AND LIbrAry uSE
61. All students taking the DRP are encouraged to visit their LRC
to tour of the facility and be
shown the online features. In addition, students may review the
collection of Directed Research
Projects that have been identified as those successfully
demonstrating the expected standards of
the DRP. Students may use this collection to extract content and
examine the format. Besides
LRC and Wilkes Library resources, use of institutional
collections such as Library of Congress
and large university libraries are recommended. Strayer
University has a consortium agreement
with the University of Alabama in Huntsville to assist with DRP
research. Resources may be
obtained in both hard copy and electronic formats. This
collection can be accessed through
Strayer University’s website: www.strayer.edu under Current
Students/Learning Resource Center.
DIrECTED rESEArCh AND huMAN SubjECTS POLICy
STATEMENT
The Directed Research Project (DRP) is intended to be
completed within a single quarter. Given
this time constraint, it would be difficult to collect data and
institute a review process to ensure
compliance with standards for gathering data from human
subjects to effectively contribute
toward and support the research project.
In view of these considerations, DRP research must be
restricted to projects that do not gather
primary data from individuals. This would include information
gathered through questionnaires,
tests, surveys, observations, or interviews.
This restriction only affects the use of persons as primary
62. sources. Any data that is available in
the public domain, such as information published by federal,
state or local governments and
various research organizations, colleges or universities may be
used. Likewise, information from
published sources may be freely used.
7
SECTION 3:
Stages of
DrP Development
rESEArCh quESTION AND SubquESTIONS
Each student is required to identify a problem within his/her
major field which the research
will intend to address. A research question proposal, written by
the student detailing what the
contemplated DRP will entail, is submitted to the seminar
professor for approval.
The research question and subquestions proposal consists of:
1. Topic
2. Statement of the problem
3. Specific research question and subquestions to be addressed
rESEArCh PrOPOSAL (ChAPTEr 1)
Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the DRP. This chapter
serves as the student’s research
proposal.
63. CHAPTER 1: InTRoduCTIon
After the research question and research subquestions are
approved, the student develops the
complete introduction for the professor’s review and approval.
This provides the reader with
a summary of the candidate’s research. In it, the researcher
outlines the research problem, the
research questions that need to be addressed to resolve this
problem, methods the researcher
has chosen to gather data to answer the research questions, and
possible implications of
resolving the research problem. Thus, Chapter 1 consists of:
8
1. Context of the problem (background information and
introduction to the problem)
2. Statement of the problem
3. Specific research question and subquestions to address the
problem
4. Significance of the study (Why is this study important? Who
will benefit?)
5. Research design and methodology (How will this research be
conducted?) This section
is used to describe and justify the research methodology used
for collecting the data to
answer the candidate’s research questions. Note the guidelines
below.*
64. 6. Organization of the study
7. Tentative Reference List
*Note: Guidelines for #5—Research Design and Methodology
rESEArCh quESTION AN D SubquESTIONS
Each student is required to identify a problem within his/her
major field which the research
will intend to address. A research question proposal, written by
the student detailing what the
contemplated DRP will entail, is submitted to the
It is generally required that a university establish an internal
review board (IRB) to scrutinize all
proposed research studies that involve human subjects. This is
necessary to assure that legal and
ethical procedures are followed. The manual entitled Research
and Strategic Communication
(Ormond & Leedy, 2010, p. 104) reiterates the requirement that
any college, university or
research institution will have an internal review board to protect
human subjects and their
privacy.
The two basic techniques for gathering data are primary and
secondary. Primary research
techniques are when information is obtained directly from a
person or his/her private records.
Primary research could involve interviews; surveys;
questionnaires; school, employment, and
health records; tests; observations; or any method that puts the
researcher in direct contact with
personal information related to the subject.
Secondary research information is obtained from primary
research sources. It could involve
65. scholarly books; peer reviewed journals; unpublished research
papers; information from federal,
state, county, or local governments; numerical data that is
available from government sources;
any data that has been published by private or nonprofit
organizations (this includes not for
profit organizations); and information available from a college,
university, or trade school.
Essentially, any information available in the public domain may
be analyzed in either a verbal
format or by applying statistical tests to numerical data to arrive
at a research conclusion.
Only the secondary research techniques and secondary data can
be used in the Directed Research
Project until Strayer establishes an Internal Review Board.
9
CHAPTER 2: REvIEw of THE LITERATuRE
In this chapter, the candidate reviews the main bodies of
existing knowledge and literature that
relate to addressing the research problem. It is during this
review that the candidate refines
the research questions that form the basis for his or her research
project. A DRP student is
expected to read, evaluate and synthesize at least twenty (20)
sources of literature relevant to
his/her research problem. While these sources will probably not
comprise a comprehensive
coverage of the available literature, they should reflect a
representative sampling of current and/
or classic findings and texts. This literature review is not an
annotated bibliography. Rather, the
66. review of the literature is used to examine relevant scholarly
sources and connections between
these sources with respect to analysis of factors such as the
following: comparisons, contrasts,
consistencies, inconsistencies, strengths, weaknesses,
reliability, validity, significance, limitations,
positions (and relation to the student’s perspective), theoretical
approaches, and/or research
methods.
Writing a review of the related literature takes planning and
organization, and the researcher
must emphasize the relationship of the literature to his/her
research topic. According to the
University of Toronto Writing Support website
(http://www.utoronto.ca/writing), the literature
review should “be organized around and related directly to the
thesis or research question…,
synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known,
identify areas of controversy in
the literature, and formulate questions that need further
research.” Various general approaches
can be used to select and organize information for a literature
review. One common method is to
review the literature historically/chronologically. Through this
approach, the DRP student might
identify common threads or trends. Another option is to employ
an issue oriented approach
through exploration of specific themes, conflicts, or debates.
Research methods, theories, or
content related standards (e.g., legal standards, international
regulations, ethical guidelines, etc.)
could also be applied as criteria for analysis and organizational
frameworks for presentation of
the literature.
67. ThE rESEArCh ChAPTErS
Each research subquestion in the statement of the problem
becomes a separate chapter in
the body of the work. In other words, Research Subquestion 1
becomes Chapter 3, Research
Subquestion 2 becomes Chapter 4, etc. Major concepts from
each subquestion should be
reflected in short chapter titles.
In these chapters, the researcher lays out the data gathered via
the research methodology
described in Chapter 1 in a form easily accessible to the reader.
Any analyses presented in these
chapters relate only to relationships between the data and the
research methodology.
SuMMAry AND CONCLuSIONS ChAPTEr
In this final chapter, the research process is concluded. The
researcher describes how the research
problem is resolved through ways that the researcher’s findings
answer the research subquestions
of Chapter 1. It is in this chapter that the contributions to
knowledge, in the realm of theory, are
fully developed and described. This chapter also contains a
discussion of the limitations of the
analysis and suggestions for future research.
DrAFT OF ThE DIrECTED rESEArCh PrOjECT
The draft consists of the entire research project, including the
prefatory pages, introduction,
content chapters, summary, conclusion and bibliography. The
draft becomes the final project
once the student incorporates the professor’s proposed changes
and revisions upon completion of
the defense.
68. 10
ThE FINAL PrOjECT
The final copy consists of:
PRELIMINARY PAGES (each separate; reference A Writer’s
Resource or the APA
Publication Manual for examples)
Title Page (required)
Approval Page (optional)
Abstract (required)
Acknowledgements (optional)
Table of Contents with page references, including preliminary
pages
List of tables with titles and page references
List of illustrations with titles and page references, including
figures, maps, etc.
INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
Note: The final document should be at least forty (40) pages,
excluding appendixes.
ThE DEFENSE
69. The defense takes place at a time specified by the seminar
professor. At the discretion of the
DRP professor, this oral defense can be conducted one-on-one
with the student, or presented to
the professor and other invited faculty members, or attended by
seminar classmates and their
guests. A successful defense requires completion of all DRP
chapters according to the design in
this manual. The conclusion must address the research question,
and it must be justified by the
research findings reported in the summary section.
11
SECTION 4:
The Directed research
Project Proposal
ThE DrP PrOPOSAL FLOw ChArT
1 Context of the Problem
2 Statement of the Problem
3
Primary Research Question or Hypothesis
and Subquestions or Subhypotheses
4 Significance of the Study
5 Research Design and Methodology
70. 6 Organization of the Study
7 Prospective References
12
SECTION 5:
Characteristics
of research
The research project focuses on a question in which the
researcher intentionally sets out to
enhance an understanding of a phenomenon and expects to
communicate what was discovered
to the larger community. Leedy and Ormrod (2010) advise:
“Research is the systematic process
of collecting and analyzing information or data in order to
increase our understanding of the
phenomenon about which we are concerned or interested” (p. 2).
ChArACTErISTICS OF rESEArCh
Research originates with a question or problem.1.
Research requires clear articulation of a goal.2.
Research requires a specific plan for proceeding. 3.
Research usually divides the principal problem into more
manageable subproblems.4.
Research is guided by the specific research problem, question,
or hypothesis.5.
71. Research accepts certain critical assumptions.6.
Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in an
attempt to resolve 7.
the problem that initiated the research.
Research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.8.
Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, pp. 2-3
13
SECTION 6:
Planning and Designing
The research Proposal
The DRP proposal provides the framework whereby the central
research problem can be
subjectively or objectively advanced. Leedy & Ormrod (2010)
list the following among the key
questions for planning and designing the DRP proposal:
KEy quESTIONS FOr PLANNING AND DESIGNING ThE DrP
PrOPOSAL
Purpose What does the researcher want to know, and why does
the researcher
want to know? What does the researcher want to be able to
decide or
offer as a result of the research? Why?
Target Audience Who will be interested in this research when it
is completed? Is anyone
providing funding, other resources, or support?
72. Data Needs and
Collection
What kinds of information or data (published information,
publicly
available numerical data, literature reviews, published
interviews,
documents, historical records, videotapes, annotated
bibliographies,
and/or other secondary sources) are needed to conduct an
analysis,
draw conclusions, and make decisions or recommendations?
How
can this data or information be collected? What are the
identifiable
resources available to support information or data collection?
14
Data Analysis What methodology seems most appropriate for
analysis and
interpretation of the data? The researcher must select an
approach that
is relevant to both the research question and available secondary
source
data such as a content analysis of written documents, historical
trend
analysis, correlational study, case study analysis, theory
development,
or analysis of conceptual representations.
Time Line When is the information or data needed? When must
it be collected?
73. How does data collection fit in with the overall research project
time
line?
Significance Why or how is the study important? Who or what
will benefit from the
research and work-product? Why?
The design of the DRP provides the overall structure for the
procedures the DRP student follows,
the information and data that the DRP student collects, and the
information or data analysis
the DRP student conducts. Simply put, the research design is
the most significant part of the
DRP proposal. Once a supervising faculty member approves the
proposal, it becomes the DRP
Chapter 1 – Introduction.
COMPONENTS OF ThE DrP PrOPOSAL
The seven parts of the DRP proposal include the context of the
problem, statement of the
problem, research question and subquestions or hypothesis and
subhypotheses, significance of
the study, research design and methodology, organization of the
study, and prospective reference
list.
Step 1. Context of the Problem sets up the research statement
with background, purpose and
perhaps some support from the literature or acceptable literature
alternatives. It is here that the
DRP problem or issue is discussed and gives a transitory
explanation of what the completed
research work-product will most likely contain.
Step 2. Statement of the Problem. The DRP research statement
74. of the problem is a three part
statement: an introductory sentence, a problem sentence, and a
transition/closing sentence.
Introductory Sentence: The first sentence introduces the topic of
the research problem that is of
primary interest to the DRP student.
Example:
“Organizational Behavior touts itself as a field that extracts its
contents
from various social sciences.”
The Problem Sentence: The second sentence presents the
structure from which the research
question will be derived.
Example:
“A review of academic and professional journals reveals no
studies
illustrating the Organizational Behavior/Social Science
linkage.”
15
The Transition/Closing Sentence: The third sentence is a
transition or closing sentence.
Example:
“Universities use an Organizational Behavior interdisciplinary
approach to educate business professionals about behaviors
occurring
within organizations and the Organizational Behavior/Social
Science
relationship.”
75. Anyone with or without expertise in this intended research area
of interest can immediately
understand where the DRP research effort is headed and why.
This provides a basis for how the
DRP student will relate the DRP research conclusion back to the
statement of the problem, and
either the primary research question or hypothesis as the
research moves forward.
Step 3. Research Question/Hypothesis and
Subquestions/Subhypotheses. The research question
or hypothesis is derived from the statement of the problem. This
provides a clear basis for the
research to be done. The research question/hypothesis can be
broken into applicable manageable
subquestions or subhypotheses.
Example:
Research Question and Subquestions
The purpose of this research is to determine the following:
How do
universities use Organizational Behavior’s interdisciplinary
approach to
educate business professionals about behaviors within
organizations and
the Organizational Behavior/Social Science relationship? To
answer this
question, the following subquestions will be addressed:
1. What is Organizational Behavior’s core body of knowledge
and
interdisciplinary approach? (Qualitative)
2. What Social Science concepts influence the Organizational
76. Behavior
field’s core body of knowledge and the correlation between
them?
(Quantitative)
3. How are business professionals educated about behaviors
occurring in
organizations? (Qualitative)
16
Step 4. Significance of the Study. The Significance of the Study
section is the researcher’s
opportunity to explain why the research problem under study is
significant in theory and/or
practice. The following example of a declaration of significance
may be helpful:
Example:
Significance of the Study
This case study is important because it recognizes the value and
benefits
of conducting e-business on the WWW.
The study will help clarify the nature of warranted change and
how a
significant segment of the corporate structure communicates
strategically
in business and the professions. This research is also of
importance
because it will add to the growing base of knowledge about e-
business
and the WWW global market place. A third consideration of the
77. significance is that much more can be learned about what
companies can
do to be successful and to circumvent initial failure in the first
place. It is
expected that insights will be gained regarding management and
the need
for effective strategic communication.
To the extent this study reveals how e-business can be
successful,
corporate management may or may not need to be concerned
with
whether or not organizational policy changes are necessary, or
whether
the phenomena are matters of environmental business changes
of the
day; then the study will have contributed to a better
understanding that
is unique to the larger WWW e-business community.
Step 5. Research Design and Methodology. There are two kinds
of DRP research design–
qualitative and quantitative. The first sentence of the section
explains which kind of design the
student will use.
Qualitative research focuses on understanding phenomena,
rather than predicting as in the
application of traditional quantitative or statistical research.
The methodology section describes the procedures the DRP will
follow, describes the information
and/or data that the student will collect, and describes how the
student will develop conclusions
to address the purpose of the study.
78. 17
PrEMISES OF ThE quALITATIvE AND quANTITATIvE
rESEArCh
Qualitative Quantitative
Research Definition A formal systematic, realistic
and consistent subjective strategy
for obtaining information
about a targeted research
group or individual situation
that can be used to describe
life experiences and give them
meaning. Qualitative researchers
explain the complexity of their
data using a literary (or written)
style.
A formal systematic, realistic
and consistent objective strategy
for obtaining information about
a targeted research population.
A method used to describe,
test relationships, and examine
cause and effect relationships.
Quantitative researchers
typically use descriptive
and inferential statistics to
summarize their data.
Research Goal The realistic goal is to clearly
identify a primary research
question to answer and gain an
understanding and insight by