The document discusses testing strategies such as isolation, generalization, regression testing, halo testing, and smoke testing. Isolation involves examining root causes of defects by reproducing them in different situations. Generalization understands a defect's broader impact since code is reused. Regression testing verifies fixed bugs and reproduction steps while smoke testing provides early assurance a system won't fail catastrophically. Halo testing hypothetically tests around a photo's content.

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Isolation/Generalization
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Ad-Hoc Testing
February 2013

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Isolation
Isolation is the process of examining the root causes of a defect.
• While the exact root cause might not be determined it is important to try and
separate the symptoms of the problem from the cause.
• Isolating a defect is generally done by reproducing it multiple times in different
situations to get an understanding of how and when it occurs.

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Generalization
Generalization is the process of understanding the broader impact of a defect.
• Because developers reuse code elements throughout a program a defect
present in one element of code can manifest itself in other areas.
• A defect that is discovered as a minor issue in one area of code might be a
major issue in another area.
• Individuals logging defects should attempt to extrapolate where else an issue
might occur so that a developer will consider the full context of the defect, not
just a single isolated incident.
• A defect report that is written without isolating and generalizing it, is a half
reported defect.

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Severity
The importance of a defect is usually denoted as its “severity”. There are many
schemes for assigning defect severity – some complex, some simple. In JIRA,
severity is synonymous with Priority.
• Almost all feature “Severity-1” (Blocker) and “Severity-2” (Critical)
classifications which are commonly held to be defects serious enough to delay
completion of a project or build release.
• “Severity-3” (Major) is the middle ground that is important enough to be fixed
relatively quickly, but not immediately.
• In many other companies, developers and testers get into arguments about
whether a defect is “Severity-4” (Normal) or “Severity-5” (Trivial) and time is
wasted.

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Priority
Bugs should be assessed in terms of impact and probability to determine
Priority.
• Impact is a measure of the seriousness of the defect when it occurs and can
be classed as “high” or “low”
– high impact implies that the user cannot complete the task at hand,
– low impact implies there is a workaround or it is a cosmetic error.
• Probability is a measure of how likely the defect is to occur and again is
assigned either “Low” or “High”.
Impact/Probability = Priority
High/High High
High/Low Medium
Low/Low Low

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Pokédex 000 item duplication glitch
The Pokédex 000 item duplication glitch (commonly referred to as the Rare Candy glitch due
to the preferred item chosen to duplicate) is an infamous glitch in the Pokémon Generation 1
games. It allows the player to duplicate items in their bag.
• Through the development of Pokémon Yellow, which occurred in the two years following
the release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan, the old man glitch was disabled by
blanking the data for wild Pokémon before overwriting it, and reprogramming shore tiles to
not have any Pokémon. However, a user can still encounter the glitch Pokémon and exploit
the item duplication glitch using the Ditto glitch or the Cable Club escape glitch.

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• RESULT: The sixth item in the bag is duplicated upon encountering the glitch Pokémon,
and again if it is caught. The quantity of this item will be increased by 128, provided that
the quantity is less than 128 before performing the glitch. This means that the player is
free to perform the glitch again by swapping the item, or using/tossing the duplicated
item to reduce its quantity back under 128.
• CAUSE: Every Pokémon has two separate bit lists that tells the game whether it has
been seen or caught. If the bit is off, that means it hasn't been caught or seen.
• Missingno.'s Pokédex seen bit is in the same location as the bit that stores how many of
the 6th item is in the bag, as well as 'M (00)'s. This is why, when Missingno. or 'M (00) is
encountered, the sixth item slot is increased by 128 if the quantity of the item is less than
128. The glitchy box symbol is a result of the game attempting to display a number
greater than 99, which causes it to grab sprites from beyond the number sprites.
Sometimes it can appear to be a blank tile, but if one goes somewhere else or out of
battle it will revert back to an unusual tile.
• A way to tell whether " 9" is in fact 9 or [blank tile]9 is to select Toss. The quantity is
displayed with a leading zero if the amount is actually 9, and as simply " 9" if not.

9. Bug Regression
&
Halo Testing
February 2013
GameHouse Confidential

10. Bug Regression
• Bug regression is among the most crucial qualities to have as a tester.
There is a broad generalization of regression being only verifying fixed bugs.
Actually there are two facets to regression
– Bug Fix Verification
– Validation of Reproduction Steps
• The first is simple. Fully comprehend the reproduction steps. If steps are not
entirely clear, we assign the bug back to the Reporter with comments as to
why it is not clear. As we do regressions, these are the ones sent back as
CONFUSED.
• As a Tester, our bugs need to be the most clear and concise bugs in the
JIRA database. Developers and artists will write bugs and tasks specific to
their production tracking.
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11. Regression Priorities
• Provide adequate coverage without wasting time should be a primary
consideration when conducting regression tests.
– Sort and assign groups of bugs to regress.
• Casino example: Slots, Blackjack, etc.
– If attempting to isolate a new issue, have a fellow team member try and reproduce
the issue with you.
• Try to spend as little time as possible doing regression testing without
reducing the probability that you will detect new failures in old, already tested
code.
– Make sure to check or keep a mental note of issues as you regress them.
• If time permits, check closed bugs of the same type and make sure they aren’t
reopened without us being aware.
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12. New Issues from Regression
• It is important to remember that when a bug is fixed and a new build is
released, that new bugs are likely to be introduced.
• Check surrounding issues through functionality testing. Look for general
problems within the game itself or its user interface, such as stability
issues, game mechanic issues, and game asset integrity.
– Example: Purchase Testing
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13. Halo Testing
• ha·lo (hl)n. pl. ha·los or ha·loes
A circular band of colored light around a light source, as around the sun or
moon, caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice particles suspended
in the intervening atmosphere.
Abstract Exercise: Halo Test around this photo
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14. Smoke Testing
Initially was used to refer to physical tests made to test for leaks by running non-
toxic smoke through a closed system of pipes.
By metaphorical extension, the term is also used for the first test made after
assembly or repairs to a system, to provide some assurance that the system
under test will not catastrophically fail.
• Smoke testing performed on a particular build is also known as a build
verification test. Microsoft claims that after code reviews, "smoke testing is the
most cost effective method for identifying and fixing defects in software
• Smoke tests can be broadly categorized as functional tests or unit tests.
Functional tests exercise the complete program with various inputs.
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