Decision Table Based Testing in Software Testing

Case 2 – Username was correct, but the password was wrong. This is called auto-addition as the value will be automatically added to the corresponding value set, as shown in Figure 5-57. Simple mode displays only the descriptions of conditions and actions and not the actual expressions.

• For example, see Figure 5-12 that shows conflicting values in an action cell.
• This technique is sometimes also referred to as a ’cause-effect’ table.
• Hence, the tester should follow specific rules to reduce the test data without affecting the test coverage intelligently.
• Case 3, 9, 10, and 15 cannot occur because, when an email is invalid, it cannot be saved in the database, so we can delete those cases.
• The advantage of doing this is that we may test a combination of things that otherwise we might not have tested and that could find a defect.
• The representation is simple so that it can be easily interpreted and is used for development and business as well.

Usually, we represent the decision rules as True/False or discrete values or numbers or range of numbers. The decision table or Cause-Effect Table is a technique, generally applied when the requirements/business rules are in the form of tables OR flow charts. The main and the most important objective of https://globalcloudteam.com/ is to ensure the overall test coverage without missing any possible relation. However, while creating the decision table coverage, it is essential to consider if there exists any boundary values check. This technique is related to the correct combination of inputs and determines the result of various combinations of input.

Simplify the decision tables

For example, see Figure 5-2 where the value false is assigned as the default value for the action property eligible. To help understand Decision Table concepts, consider a set of IF/THEN rules that determines if a driver is eligible for a license, and an equivalent Decision Table. Note if a driver has taken a driver training class then the driver has training certification.

Let’s look at a real example to understand the decision table process in detail. Some time ago, my team reviewed test scenarios for a medical prescription upload feature where the user could upload PDF, JPG, or JPEG files, up to 2 Mb in size. A decision table helps to depict all the decisions of a feature which sometimes may not be possible with a flowchart diagram.

Example 2 − How to Make an Upload Screen Decision Table

The initial status of the entity should be Pending Client Acknowledgement and on click of any of the buttons, and based on the number of days. The entity status should be changing to either to the Closed status or the Dispute status. Just write down all available variants in a few lines and put your opinion right next to each one – you have your first decision table.

This technique eliminates superfluous conditions that are irrelevant to the outcome and generates distinct outputs. The test design is enhanced with an additional layer of analysis to enable the tester to perform more effective testing. https://globalcloudteam.com/glossary/decision-table/ is also an excellent method for identifying gaps in requirements. Once you map out all the condition variations and actions, it will be easy to determine if the expected result for a given rule is unclear or not specified in the requirements. Decision table testing is a software testing technique used to lay out the Software’s behavior by providing various user inputs and the expected outcome. I answered based on my understanding that the system should show an error message, even though I had not covered that scenario in my list.

Working with Decision Tables

One advantage of using decision tables is that they make it possible to detect combinations of conditions that would otherwise not have been found and therefore not tested or developed. The requirements become much clearer and you often realize that some requirements are illogical, something that is hard to see when the requirements are only expressed in text. The techniques of equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis are often applied to specific situations or inputs.

This table will aid in the creation of successful combinations and can improve testing coverage. If any of the requirements are not satisfied, the system will display an error notice describing the problem, and if all conditions are met, the photo will be correctly updated. The third is to print a message box, shown in Figure 5-62. Note that the box is only shown the first time when the value is auto-added. You can make action parameters fixed or variable, as shown in Figure 5-55.

Software Testing

For example, if you have a set of variables which are hard to remember and manage, a Decision Table will help to organize them to simplify identification of the right cases. Map out the decisions on how an interface should respond when a user attempts to log in. For example, you can create a rule that the screen should display an error if the user enters a username without a password or incorrect ID/password combination.

The split table operation eliminates the “do not care” cells from the table. The table now shows eighteen rules that cover all ranges as shown in Figure 5-34. To use a Decision Table for rules in this sample application you work with facts representing a customer spending level and a customer credit risk for a particular customer and a particular order. Then, you use a Decision Table to create rules based on customer spending, the order amount, and the credit risk of the customer. Tab, and select the Decision Table where you want to split a condition cell and click Edit.

Shrink your table

Decision tables can be used in all situations where the outcome depends on the combinations of different choices, and that is usually very often. In many systems there are tons of business rules where decision tables add a lot of value. Why is the Decision table commonly used in Software testing? Decision table technique is one of the widely used case design techniques for black box testing.

The first is to highlight the newly added value in the value set sheet as shown in Figure 5-60. To add a new value, for example, [18..30] and (30..60), type 30 in the cell as shown in Figure 5-58 and press Enter. You can select the action state (active/inactive) from the drop down, as shown in Figure 5-54.

What is a Decision Table

However, in a system where for each set of input values the system behavior is different, boundary value and equivalent partitioning technique are not effective in ensuring good test coverage. Boundary value and analogous partition are two more related strategies used in Software Engineering to provide greater coverage. They’re utilized when a system’s behavior is consistent over a wide number of inputs. However, in a system with varied system behavior for each set of input values, the boundary value and equivalent partitioning techniques are ineffective in guaranteeing appropriate test coverage. If the user types the erroneous username and password and then clicks Login, the user should receive an error message.