Software testing tools immature: Ovum (Computer-Aided Software Testing (CAST))

LONDON, England -- Although growing strongly -- supplier revenues increased by o ver 35 per cent in 1993 -- the market for Computer - Aided Software Testing (CAST) products is still immature, according to a report in the Ovum Evaluates series, Ovum Evaluates: So ftware Testing Tools.

CAST products are a new generation of sophisticated software products whose mission is to test other software automatically. Interest in and awareness of automatic te sting is increasing. For example, in 1982 there was only one public conference dedicated to testing a nd related activities. In 1992, there were at least seven such conferences in the U.S. alo ne.

Last year saw the first international conference on testing held in Europe (London): The Software Testing, Analysis and Review (STAR). One reason for the growing intere st in CAST is financial. Testing consumes between 30 to 50 per cent of a software departme nt's budget. Manual testing has a broadly - linear cost structure: the more you do, the more it costs. With the industry's focus on higher quality and reliability of delivered software, th e advent of efficient testing tools will make a big difference to software budgets.

Another key factor in introducing a CAST tool, cited by many software devel opment departments, is the beneficial effect on the morale of developers.

The task of development staff is less fraught; they can 'push the button' a nd leave the system to test itself automatically," says Dr. Stephen Norman, author of the report. " I have seen mature systems tested without manual intervention for periods as long as a week. In the long term, CAST tools will almost eliminate the need for manual regression testing."

According to Ovum, the report provides a comprehensive introduction to CAST technology, including a detailed taxonomy of CAST, defining the different types of tools ava ilable. The report contains detailed evaluations of 26 leading tools. The tools evaluated i nclude dynamic testing tools and coverage analysers for testing applications on all the major p latforms: PC - DOS, Windows, Unix/Motif, VMS and mainframes. The tools are evaluated against s tandard criteria.

For more information about Ovum Evaluates: Software Testing Tools, contact Jennie Batchelor, Ovum Ltd., One Mortimer Street, London, England W1N 7RH. Telephone: 44 (O) 71 255 - 2670. Fax: [phone] - 1955.