Most of the Software Test requirements we see are for Software Test Embedded Engineers.
These individuals will have experience not only with different software testing techniques, but also testing of embedded systems where they understand the software/hardware interface issues. They are usually testing some type of a control system where the software drives the hardware, i.e. an electrical signal is sent to the hardware and a software algorithm shows measurements on the screen as a final output making it visible to the end user.
A Software Test Engineer will perform all sorts of tests to make sure the process is functioning correctly. For example they may test with a certain level of variances to make sure the results are the same consistently, test on different systems and in different environments to make sure a unique system or environment does not alter the final results. They will also test for bugs, problems that erupt as a result of changed unforeseen variables, etc.
There are different levels of testing. Functional Testing is to identify the software functions properly in different environments. Performance Testing measures the response time and transaction rates. Stress testing identifies errors produced by low resources or competition for resources. Volume testing identifies if larger amounts of data have an impact on the point of failure. Unit testing is used to validate individual units of the source code are working properly. System testing is performed on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the system's compliance with specified requirements. Regression testing is used to uncover bugs where the software functionality that previously worked as desired stops working or no longer continues to work in the same way. This usually occurs when there are program changes.
Black box testing is where the user selects valid and invalid input and determines the correct output. White box testing is where the user tests the internal aspects of the system utilizing programming skills to identify all paths through the software. Inputs are chosen to exercise paths through the code and determine the appropriate outputs. In embedded hardware, testing every node in a circuit may be probed and measured.
Automated testing where tools are designed and used to test the software. In Manual testing software test scripts are often times written and used to perform the tests.
A Software Test Engineer can also be known as a Systems Engineer or a Software Quality Assurance Engineer. |
