APPENDIX A: ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

Surname Abrahams
First Name/s Zakariya
Student Number 158761
Subject Informatics 3B
Assignment Number 2 (INF3B7)
Tutor’s Name Mr. Victor Mashakada
Examination Venue N/A
Date Submitted 31 August 2022
Submission (√) First Submission Yes Resubmission
11 Denneboom Street
Bosmont
Postal Address
Johannesburg
Gauteng
South Africa 2093
E-Mail zakabrahoo1@gmail.com
(Work)
Contact Numbers (Home) 011 474 3648
(Cell) 0673193607

Course/Intake Bachelor of Commerce in Information and Technology Management – 2022 Intake

Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.

Signature: Mr. Zakariya Abrahams Date: 31 August 2022

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Question 1

Discuss in detail the need for Alpha Testing. Include in your discussion the main objectives
of alpha testing. (10 Marks)

An alpha test is conducted on a different system in a test lab setting. In this approach, the project
manager collaborates with the developer to provide clear objectives for alpha testing and to
incorporate the outcomes into iterative project plans. Software testing known as "Alpha Testing"
is done to find issues before a product is made available to the general public or real users. One
of the user acceptance tests is alpha testing. Beta testing is carried out in a genuine setting by
actual users of the software program. Beta and Alpha Testing are Customer Validation
procedures (types of Acceptance Testing) that aid in boosting confidence prior to product
introduction and ultimately lead to the product's success on the market. Both depend on actual
users and diverse team comments, but they are motivated by different methods, strategies, and
objectives. Together, these two forms of testing improve a product's marketability and shelf life.
These stages can be applied to products for consumers, businesses, or enterprises. The major
goals of the alpha and beta testing phases are to find flaws in a product that has already been
tested and to provide a detailed picture of how the product is utilized in practice. Additionally,
they assist in testing the product prior to launch and provide insightful input that is effectively
used to improve the product's usability The objectives and techniques used for beta and alpha
testing change depending on the project's methodology, and they can be adjusted to fit those
methodologies. Both of these testing methods have helped firms like Apple, Google, Microsoft,
and others produce large-scale software at a fraction of the cost.

The objectives of Alpha Testing:

• It is the one that is to refine the software products in order to find the bugs which are not
identified in the previous tests.
• The testing is to refine the product and fix the bugs which are not identified in the
previous stage.
• The testing involves the customers in the deep process of the developments.

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The alpha testing thus gives a better advantage to the software reliability at the early stages of the
development.

Question 2

Explain in detail how Alpha Testing works. (10 Marks)

Software testing refers to the process of evaluating and verifying the software product or the
applications that does and what it is supposed to do in the process. The benefits of the testing of
the software include preventing bugs or errors which is happening, reducing development costs,
and improving performance.

Alpha Testing refers to the type of software testing that is performed in order to identify bugs
before the release of the product to real users or customers or to the public. Alpha Testing is
called one of the user acceptance tests. This testing is done in the early stages near the end of the
development. It is commonly performed by the homestead software engineers or the quality
assurance staff. It is the testing which is the last stage before the release of the software.

The process involved in Alpha Testing are:

• Review the design specification and the requirements of the functional

• To develop test cases and test plans which are comprehensive in nature.
• Execute the plans for tests.
• To identify the log defects.
• Retest again until the issues are fixed.

Phases of Alpha Testing:

There are two phases in the Alpha Testing:

1st Phase refers to the testing done by the house developers or the software engineers. They have
to either make use of aided debugger hardware or the Debugger software. The aim is to identify
the bug as fast as. Making use of this testing the tester comes across bugs, crashes, and missing
features and documents.

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2nd phase refers to the testing done by the quality assurance staff for the additional testing for
the software in the environment and also includes the black box and white box testing.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Alpha Testing:

The software reliability at the early stages, free up the team for other projects, reduces the
delivery time of the software products, and has early feedback which improves the software
quality.

It will need a long time for the plan executions, the defects could not be easily identified, it is
difficult to test the entire project, for the small project the alpha testing could not be suited, the
lack of security in testing, it satisfies the only needs of the business requirements by the clients, it
also requires separate lab for the testing environments.

Question 3

Elaborate on any five advantages of Alpha Testing. (10 Marks)

Alpha Testing is the earliest process of evaluating whether a new product will function as
planned. Alpha testing is carried out early in the development process by internal personnel. It is
followed up by beta tests, in which a sample of the target audience tries the product out.

1. You achieve proper and comprehensive testing:

Alpha testing utilizes both black box and white box testing. The black box testing approach will
examine the system's input and output functioning at a high level. At the same time, the white
box methods evaluate the system's architecture and internal structure. This is vital to test the
product's input, and output flows for all needed and feasible circumstances.

2. Improved software quality:

In alpha testing, the system is tested in a simulated environment comparable to the one in which
it will be utilized. This establishes realistic testing circumstances, seeking to sympathize with
end-users as much as feasible. Of course, if the product is subsequently brought into beta testing,

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the team will also gain feedback from actual end-users. Any early input should enhance the final
product quality tremendously.

3. A variety of insights regarding usability and reliability:

Alpha testing allows the ability to learn how the system will function when delivered to the end-
users. The product team will be able to test the system's performance and acquire a sense of its
usability and dependability in advance. These insights will allow the product team to make the
proper choices regarding the future developments of the system.

4. Less re-work and quicker delivery time:

Alpha testing helps the testing team to discover any production concerns in advance. This allows
the development team to address the potential production concerns and correct them before the
system launches. This lowers development re-work and the delivery time of the following
editions.

5. Client satisfaction:

It helps attain customer satisfaction if minimal faults are detected in beta testing, most of which
are covered in alpha testing.

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Bibliography

1. Leszek Maciaszek, César González-Pérez, Jablonski, S. and Springerlink (Online Service

(2010). Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering : 3rd and 4th
International Conference, ENASE 2008 / 2009, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, May 4-7,
2008 / Milan, Italy, May 9-10, 2009, Revised Selected Papers. Berlin, Heidelberg:
Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

2. Jorgensen, P. (2014). Software testing : a craftsman’s approach. Boca Raton Florida: Crc
Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

3. Whittaker, J.A. (2003). How to break software : an example-rich explanation of how to

effectively test software that anyone can understand and use. 出版商： Boston, Ma:
Addison-Wesley.