What is the entry and exit criterion for unit testing?

First let us brief up ourselves with what the concepts of the unit testing and then we shall proceed further in discussing about the entry and exit criterion for unit testing.

About Unit Testing

- Unit testing is a self explanatory term.

- It involves the testing of the smallest units or modules of the software system or application in order to determine whether or not they are working properly and in the desired manner.

- Since this testing methodology is employed for testing the smallest individual unit of the software system or application, hence it got the name “unit testing”.

- If the program or application has been developed using procedural programming oriented language then the entire module is treated as units in the unit testing or else in general, the individual procedures and functions are the units.

- For the applications and softwares in which objected oriented programming has been implemented, the entire application’s interface.

- The test cases for the unit testing are created by the white box testers since they have an in depth knowledge of the software system or application.

- Sine the units are tested in isolation with the other units and independently, hence the test cases created for unit testing are also independent in nature.

Unit Test Case

- A unit test case can be assisted in unit testing by using substitutes like those mentioned below:
1. Mock objects
2. Methods stubs
3. Test harnesses
4. Fakes and so on.

- The test cases for the unit testing are both written and executed by the software developers.

- This ensures that the source code is at par with the design and architecture of the software system or application and works as accordingly as specified.

- The test cases can be implemented in two ways i.e., manually or through the use of automation tools as a part of build automation.

Entry Criterion for Unit Testing

- The functional specifications requirements of the software system or application under test need to be frozen.

- The technical design specifications need to complete and approved. They should have been released.

- The system specifications document also should be complete, approved and released.

- No issue should be pending in the query issue register regarding the requirements under the unit testing.

What else unit testing involves?

- Apart from just testing the modules, the unit testing involves the verification of the requirement specifications in regard with the finalized design and functional specifications requirements.

- For harnessing the maximum benefits of the unit testing, all of the requirements specifications should be signed off.

- Unit testing is said to be complete when the source code is complete and that too according to the specifications.

- All the design specifications should meet the design standards and the entire unused variable, code files should have been removed from them.

- The code documentation including the commenting and AOT documentation must also be complete and approved.

- To put it simple the code should be in such a state so as to be released to the customers or the clients.

Exit Criterion for Unit Testing

- All the units have successfully passed the unit test.

- The code is complete according to the requirements.

- No elements and features are missing.

- The possible errors and warnings have been resolved. This criterion is optional since most of the times it’s not possible to remove all of the errors.

- Code optimization for all the three tiers has been done.

- There is no error in the performance optimization.

- All label files have been created.

- All unused files have been removed.

- Redundant code is removed.