Schedule

Revision 38 as of 2008-09-29 13:19:05

Clear message

Testing of the major milestones Beta, RC and Final stretches over about a week and is done in two stages, smoke and validation testing.

Intrepid ISO test schedule

Release

Task

Date

Beta

Smoke testing

Sept. 25-30

ISO validation testing

Sept. 30-Oct. 1

Release Candidate

Smoke testing

Oct. 16-21

ISO validation testing

Oct. 21-22

Final

Smoke testing

Oct. 23-28

ISO validation testing

Oct. 28-29

Testing details

In the first smoke test phase we perform a wide series of tests to cover every ISO and install method but do not attempt to test every combination. The aim is to find bugs quickly so they can be addressed for the milestone. As candidate ISO images become available we test each image following the relevant test case to each ISO in order to ensure that every ISO we ship works as expected. This phase is quite labor intensive and will require the participation of 20 or more people in a short window of time.

Smoke testing

The first round of testing is designed to find high impact bugs in a short period of time so they can be addressed before the milestone is released. Smoke testing should occur just after the archives are frozen. Upgrade and netboot testing can start immediately; ISO testing starts after the first daily images based on the frozen archive appear. The following elements should receive coverage during smoke testing:

  • Core distro flavours: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Server

  • Supported architectures: i386, amd64, sparc

  • Image types: Live CD, Alternate, Netboot (not DVDs)

  • Install methods: erase disk, auto-resize, manual partitioning, entire disk with encryption, Netboot, Upgrade

  • Select features: Session management applet, encrypted folder, Wubi

Testing will be coordinated in #ubuntu-testing and the results tracked on a simple checklist. The number of tests is kept low intentionally, but they should be performed with care (e.g. there are only 3 Live CD session test in total, but they should be thorough; testing much of the default applications and installing others).

Image validation testing

Complete validation testing of all images and test cases. If the smoke testing was effective there should not be any show-stopper bugs appearing at this stage. The broader testing is likely to reveal a large number of minor bugs though. These should be targeted at the next milestone or stable release updates. Track image validation testing at iso.qa.ubuntu.com.