Hi Folks,
Can you think of any disadvantages of White Box testing - other that the tester needs to know and understand the code (which may have a cost)?
Thanks,
+4
A:
IMHO, The main disadvantage is that your test plan, execution, and coverage is more susceptible to changes in the underlying implementation, and is thus less useful for regression and acceptance testing.
White box testing is useful at lower-levels and in addition to black-box tests, but I would be nervous if I was due to deliver software with only white-box tests.
Uri
2010-05-17 23:43:15
+1 Interesting point - so WB tests get stale quicker. Have to agree with that alright!
David Relihan
2010-05-17 23:48:49
+1
A:
The biggest disadvantage of White Box testing IMHO, is the time it takes. Programmer and tester time is expensive. Better to catch the big show-stopping bugs first with broader testing methods.
Jweede
2010-05-17 23:43:41
+1 Good point - analogous to catching in requirements is cheaper than down stream.
David Relihan
2010-05-17 23:50:07
+1
A:
It is both an advantage and disadvantage as you're creating your tests to test the specific code implementation instead of designing tests to test how it will be used in a real situation. So basically it is a disadvantage that it does not catch all cases of use, which is why black box testing is a good compliment to whit box.
Jacob
2010-05-17 23:48:00