How can you possibly test modern software fully?

Pairing up for fun and profit

By Keith Vanden Eynden • Get more from this author

Posted in Developer, 15th July 2007 07:02 GMT

Matching the other pairs of values

To add a third variable, start by entering the values in order in a third column, repeating as necessary (Figure 11):

Figure 11.

Next, compare the combinations and make sure you have all the possible pairs for the second and third variables. In our example, there is a pair for the Windows Operating System and each Client Type (Figure 12):

Figure 12.

There is also a pair for the Linux Operating System and each Client Type (Figure 13):

Figure 13.

Finally, there is a pair for the Solaris Operating System and each Client Type (Figure 14):

Figure 14.

If a pair is missing, rearrange the values to create the necessary combinations. Notice that it only takes six test runs to cover all the Operating System and Client Type combinations (Figure 15):

Figure 15.