Test Purpose

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A Test Purpose identifies why a Test or related testing construct is performed.

The concept is aligned with the Test Information Interchange Format (TestIF), where Test Purpose provides a textual description of the reason for a test.

Within DIDO-TE, Test Purpose provides the semantic rationale for conducting testing and may be used to organize, select, govern, or interpret related Test Objects.

A Test Purpose is distinct from:

• a test objective, which may state a specific measurable outcome
• a Requirement, which establishes a normative obligation
• Validation criteria, which determine how results are evaluated
• a Test Set, which groups related Test Objects for the defined Test Purpose

The reason for performing a Test or grouping related Test Objects.

• Object Management Group, Test Information Interchange Format (TestIF) 1.0, TestSet.testPurpose
• [DTE4] DIDO Reference Data Model

A Test Purpose describes the intended reason or motivation for testing rather than the procedure used to perform the Test.

Examples of Test Purposes may include:

• demonstrating conformance with a specified requirement
• evaluating interoperability between implementations
• determining whether a Node behaves correctly under a defined network condition
• evaluating performance under a specified workload
• verifying behavior following a state transition
• comparing two candidate implementations

A single Test Purpose may be associated with multiple Test Objects.

A Test Set may group related Test Objects that contribute to the same Test Purpose.

For a Test Set containing Test Cases that evaluate Node behavior following loss and restoration of network connectivity, the Test Purpose may be:

Determine whether a Node maintains and restores the required operational behavior when network connectivity is interrupted and subsequently restored.

The individual Test Cases define specific conditions and actions used to evaluate that purpose.