Tool Mentor: Using Rational Robot^TM to Execute Test

Purpose

This tool mentor describes how to use Rational Robot to execute testing (playing back the test scripts).

Related Rational Unified Process activities:

• Section "Execute Test Procedures" of Activity: Execute Integration Tests
• Section "Execute Test Procedures" of Activity: Execute Performance Tests
• Section "Execute Test Procedures" of Activity: Execute System Tests

Overview

This Tool Mentor is applicable when running Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT 4.0.

To execute the test scripts recorded / programmed using Rational Robot, play back the test script.

1. Play the script back
2. Evaluate the execution of test

1. Play the script back

When you play back a script, Robot repeats your recorded actions and automates the execution of the test. With automation, you can test each new build of your application faster and more thoroughly than by testing it manually. This decreases testing time and increases both coverage and overall consistency.

Test Scripts are played back at several times during the test life cycle:

• Test Implementation  – Play back the scripts to verify that they work as intended, using the same build of the application-under-test that you used to record. This verifies the baseline of expected behavior for the application-under-test.
• Test Execution and Regression – Play back the scripts to compare the latest build of the application-under-test to the baseline established during test implementation. Ongoing play back of all test scripts during test execution reveals any differences that may have been introduced into the application since the last build. These differences can be evaluated to determine if they are actual defects or deliberate changes.

Before playback, Robot automatically compiles a script if it has changed since it last ran.

For information on preparing the test environment for script playback, see Tool Mentor: Setting Up the Test Environment.

To play back a script:

1. Click the Playback Script button on the toolbar. The Playback dialog box will appear.
2. Type a script name or select it from the list.

The query determines which names and fields appears in the list. To change the list, select a query from the Query drop-down list. You create new queries in TestManager^TM.

To change the Playback options, click GUI Options.

When finished, click OK. For information on playback options, see  Tool Mentor: Setting Up the Test Environment.

3. Click OK to continue.
4. If the Specify Log Information dialog box appears, do the following:

• Select a build from the list. To create a new build, click the build button on the right. Builds can also be created in TestManager^TM.
• Select a log folder from the list. To create a new log folder, click the log folder button on the right. Log folders can also be created in TestManager^TM.
• Accept the default log name, which is the same as the script name, or type a new name.
• Click OK.

6. If a prompt appears asking if you want to overwrite the log, click Yes.

Note: To stop playback of a script, press the F11 key. Robot recognizes the F11 key only when playing back Object-Oriented commands. The F11 key does not stop playback during low-level actions.

2. Evaluate the execution of test

See Tool Mentor: Using Rational LogViewer to Evaluate the Execution of Test for details on evaluating the execution of test.