Keep Your BVTs Clean

What Tests Belong in the BVTs?

Noticias externas — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:08:31 GMT

BVTs or Build Verification Tests are standard Microsoft parlance for the tests we run every day to ensure

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

SteveRowe — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:06:19 GMT

Leah, what you describe is sometimes called a BAT or build authentication test. Other times it is called a BVT. Either way, it's a little different than what I'm describing. The purpose of what I'm describing is to determine if major functionality has broken. This is a step up the ladder from just "is the build corrupt"? Both sorts of test suites are useful. Often a build must pass BATs before being released to BVTs.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

LeahE — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 07:41:59 GMT

I was always under the notion that BVTs were supposed to be a small set of tests to ensure the build output was not corrupted and the product was in a testable state. I feel that BVTs are pointless if they don’t do this - since a rebuild must happen - and that general feeling comes nearer the beginning of the product cycle when one is trying to figure out how to get setup right or put new components in, and again near the end, when all the pieces are finally coming together.

Steve Rowe

ronpih's weblog — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:44:39 GMT

Steve Rowe joins my blogroll due to a nice post about Keeping your BVTs Clean.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

SteveRowe — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:51:33 GMT

@IM Testy - go ahead and link. It is definitely an important point and one which is often overlooked. It's very important to have a bright line between failure and success.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

SteveRowe — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:06:00 GMT

@Jason, that's a great suggestion that almost made it into the article. Make sure the BVTs run quickly. 10-15 minutes is a good target.

@Anonymous, that is a good question which I'll try to cover in a post soon.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

I.M.Testy — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:57:00 GMT

Hey Steve,

Great post, and I will link to it on my post about the subject if you don't mind.

I think your point "The last thing you want is to become numb to failure" is an excellent point, and something that anyone engaged in automated testing or analysis should keep in mind.

For example, we know that if static analysis tools are throwing too many red flags, the devs become anesthetized and begin to disregard the potential errors as red-herrings.

- Bj -

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:19:46 GMT

on a different topic:

Would you kindly shed some light on the career path an SDET might take (did it change since your famous post in 2005), where would SDET end up in 2 years and let’s say 5 years? Any feedback the future of SDET outside of Microsoft? Would the SDET learn technologies similar to a DEV, for instance, a DEV may develop a tool for WE and gain great experience, While the SDETs are writing the same type of code over and over again that just calls different methods.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

Jason coutu — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:46:49 GMT

One of the metrics we use for our BVT's is that they should take no more than 15 minutes to run (10 is better). Since we use a continuous integration processes, this limit allows the developer to run the test before checking in new code, and near imeadiate feed back fromt he build system if somthing goes wrong.

re: Keep Your BVTs Clean

phil Kirkham — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:25:06 GMT

Nice article and I learned something new...

I learned there are Tennessee fainting goats and what they are !

( great analogy BTW )