[IxDA Discuss] how to test GUI requirements

[Elizabeth Bacon]

Hi folks,

I was hoping that some of you might have wisdom to share with me on  
the issue of testing GUI requirements.

Some background.... One of my clients is a medical device company  
making Class III devices, so their formal requirements validation &  
verification process (more commonly called testing) is an extremely  
significant portion of the overall development cycle. They mainly use  
automated testing protocols to test the software, ensuring that it  
responds as specified to user & system actions. The outcome of all  
formal testing is reported to the international regulatory agencies  
and is the primary source of product approvals before they are released.

The formal GUI requirements under discussion consist of visual  
requirements for large set of GUI components & controls (involving  
layout, color, labeling, dimensions, states, etc.) as well as  
operational requirements (involving how controls are physically  
activated by the user, what they do after activation, what the  
system's modality is, etc.). The testing team is having hard time  
defining a comprehensive yet cost-effective testing strategy for  
these GUI requirements -- they just don't fit the mold of other  
software requirements. Yet it seems very important to keep GUI  
specifications as formally-tested requirements, in order to enforce  
the integrity of the software's look & feel.

How have your organizations or clients solved this issue? Are there  
any best practices that you could point me towards which I could  
share with the testing team? I really appreciate any insights on this  
bedeviling subject!

Cheers,
Liz