Testing Methodologies to Validate Functionalities Research Paper

Introduction

The aim of testing is to ensure that an application is meeting the expectations of the users or clients. There are different types of testing, including unit, integration, performance, usability, and system testing (Hamilton, 2022a). For the proposed solution, testing will ensure that EPIC produces better results than the current CERNER in IV pump integration. While both EPIC and CERNER are types of Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) systems, EPIC is expected to improve the interoperability between smart IV pumps and the electronic medical records (EMR) system (Wilson, 2019). Therefore, testing of the transition process and new software should focus on integration and performance. A testing strategy is a series of steps and actions taken to ensure that software meets the desired quality. Testing strategy types include static, behavioral, and structural strategies (‘Software testing strategies,’ 2021). The testing strategy selected will assure the hospital that EPIC meets all the quality requirements for an EHR.

Testing Methodologies

There are four major testing methodologies: extreme, waterfall, agile, and iterative. When clients’ needs are constantly changing, the Extreme methodology is used because it breaks the project into simple tasks, completes them, and checks with the customer before proceeding to the next one (Hamilton, 2022a). Such a methodology will not be applicable to the EPIC adoption project because the client’s requirement is clearly stated. The Waterfall model includes sequential steps of development and once a stage is completed it cannot be repeated (Hamilton, 2022a). The key steps include requirements gathering, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance. This methodology would not allow any changes to the transition process and will not be used. The iterative testing model breaks down the project into simple units and subjects them to repeated waterfall model stages (Hamilton, 2022a). Since it involves a lot of feedback gathering that consumes time, the methodology will not be used. The agile methodology uses incremental testing to check a system’s quality and fix any problems identified before the next release (Hamilton, 2022a). This testing model will be utilized because it will allow a gradual rollout of the EPIC software and prevent errors in the transition process, as every step is thoroughly tested and fixed before the next one.

How to Develop a Testing Scenario

The testing scenario will follow the Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle (PDSA) to collect data about EPIC’s ability to reduce errors in IV medications. Following the steps under each action as stipulated by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2020), various testing scenarios will be tested. The ‘plan’ stage will involve the establishment of goals for the smart pump and EMR integration and preparing the nursing team for change. The ‘do’ step will entail the creation of measures for monitoring progress and quantifying outcomes, implementing, and dealing with barriers. The ‘study’ stage will involve testing the system’s validity by measuring actual outcomes and comparing them against the created measures. The ‘act’ step is meant to end the process in a suitable direction depending on the success of the project.

Any system functionality that the implementing team can test is known as the test scenario. Therefore, transitioning from CERNER to EPIC electronic medical record system will involve several test scenarios. Hamilton (2022c) lists five steps for test scenario development, including requirements reading, user actions prediction, test scenarios formulation, creation of a traceability matrix, and review by the project team and other stakeholders. This second process offers a longer but more straightforward method of creating test scenarios for the transition project compared to the PDSA method. Nevertheless, any of the two processes discussed will lead to the creation of test scenarios to cover every transaction in the system.

“Test Item” Vs. “Test Condition” in Software Testing

In software testing, the terms test item and test condition have distinct meanings and applications. Van Veenendaal (2019) defines a test item as “the individual element to be tested” and a test condition as “an item or event of a component or system that could be verified by one or more test cases.” For example, in the EPIC integration process, a test item would be ‘smart IV pump automation.’ A test condition in this item would be ‘successful scanning of medication by attending nurse.’

How the Test Results are Documented and Issues Are Mitigated

Test documentation refers to all the information recorded before, during, and after the testing process. Test results appear in documents recorded after the test process is completed. The test results are documented in a defect report or the test summary report. The defect report only highlights where the system failed to meet expected quality levels while the summary report includes all the information involved in the testing process, including use cases, scenarios, and results (Hamilton, 2022b). For the proposed project, the results would be documented in the test summary report to capture every detail of the testing.

Conclusion

Proper mitigation of issues in software testing requires preparedness through the identification of possible risks. Some of the risks that transitioning to EPIC might encounter include unavailable prerequisites, an unexpectedly high number of tests, unrecognized or unresolved metrics and outcomes, and incomplete validation processes (Adanza, 2018). Planning or risk management is the best method of mitigating issues and it goes through five steps, namely, planning, tracking, control, identification, and analysis.

References

Adanza, F. (2018). How to identify and manage software-testing risks. Web.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Section 4: Ways to approach the quality improvement process (page 1 of 2). Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. Web.

Hamilton, T. (2022a). Software testing methodologies: Learn QA models. Web.

Hamilton, T. (2022b). Test documentation in software testing (Example). Web.

Hamilton, T. (2022c). What is test scenario in software testing (Examples). Web.

Software testing strategies for software development: Choose the right one. (2021). Web.

Van Veenendaal, E. (2019). Software testing definitions and terms glossary. Web.

Wilson, N. (2019). Enhancing DERS through smart pump-EMR integration. Web.