The steps involved in conducting black box testing.

by | Apr 24, 2025 | Essays

 

Discuss the steps involved in conducting black box testing.

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Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Black box testing is a software testing method where the functionality of an application is tested without looking at its internal structures, design, or code. The tester is only concerned with the inputs and the expected outputs. It’s like testing a black box – you know what goes in and what should come out, but you don’t know how it works inside.

Here are the typical steps involved in conducting black box testing:

1. Requirement Gathering and Analysis:

  • Objective: To thoroughly understand the software’s requirements and specifications from the user’s perspective.
  • Activities:
    • Reviewing functional specifications, user stories, use cases, and other documentation.
    • Identifying the intended functionality of the software.
    • Understanding the expected inputs, outputs, and behavior for various scenarios.
    • Clarifying any ambiguities or inconsistencies in the requirements with stakeholders (e.g., business analysts, developers, clients).

2. Test Planning:

  • Objective: To define the scope, objectives, resources, and schedule for the black box testing effort.

Black box testing is a software testing method where the functionality of an application is tested without looking at its internal structures, design, or code. The tester is only concerned with the inputs and the expected outputs. It’s like testing a black box – you know what goes in and what should come out, but you don’t know how it works inside.

Here are the typical steps involved in conducting black box testing:

1. Requirement Gathering and Analysis:

  • Objective: To thoroughly understand the software’s requirements and specifications from the user’s perspective.
  • Activities:
    • Reviewing functional specifications, user stories, use cases, and other documentation.
    • Identifying the intended functionality of the software.
    • Understanding the expected inputs, outputs, and behavior for various scenarios.
    • Clarifying any ambiguities or inconsistencies in the requirements with stakeholders (e.g., business analysts, developers, clients).

2. Test Planning:

  • Objective: To define the scope, objectives, resources, and schedule for the black box testing effort.
  • Activities:
    • Defining the testing scope (which functionalities will be tested).
    • Identifying the types of black box testing techniques to be used (e.g., equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, decision table testing, state transition testing, use case testing, exploratory testing). 1  
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    • Determining the test environment and required data.
    • Allocating resources (testers, tools).
    • Establishing a test schedule and timelines.
    • Defining entry and exit criteria for testing.
    • Identifying risks and mitigation strategies.

3. Test Case Design:

  • Objective: To create a comprehensive set of test cases that cover all aspects of the software’s functionality based on the requirements.
  • Activities:
    • Identifying valid and invalid inputs for each functionality.
    • Determining the expected outputs for each input.
    • Designing test cases using the chosen black box testing techniques to achieve maximum test coverage with a manageable number of test cases.
    • Creating test cases that cover positive scenarios (valid inputs leading to expected outputs) and negative scenarios (invalid inputs, edge cases, error conditions).
    • Documenting test cases clearly, including a unique identifier, test steps, expected results, and preconditions.

4. Test Environment Setup:

  • Objective: To prepare the necessary environment for executing the test cases.
  • Activities:
    • Setting up the software application in a dedicated test environment.
    • Configuring the required hardware and software.
    • Creating or preparing the necessary test data (e.g., user accounts, sample files, database entries).
    • Ensuring the test environment is stable and representative of the production environment (as much as feasible).

5. Test Execution:

  • Objective: To execute the designed test cases and record the actual results.
  • Activities:
    • Running the test cases one by one, following the documented steps.
    • Interacting with the software as an end-user would.
    • Observing the actual output and behavior of the software.
    • Comparing the actual results with the expected results documented in the test cases.
    • Documenting the outcome of each test case (pass, fail, blocked).
    • Collecting evidence for failed test cases (e.g., screenshots, log files, error messages).

6. Defect Reporting:

  • Objective: To clearly and concisely communicate any discrepancies between the actual and expected results (i.e., defects or bugs).
  • Activities:
    • Creating detailed defect reports for each failed test case.
    • Including all necessary information for developers to understand and reproduce the defect (e.g., steps to reproduce, actual results, expected results, environment details, severity, priority).
    • Using a bug tracking system to manage and track defects.
    • Assigning defects to the appropriate developers for fixing.

7. Test Cycle Closure:

  • Objective: To summarize the testing activities and outcomes after a specific testing phase.
  • Activities:
    • Analyzing the test results (number of test cases executed, pass rate, fail rate, defect distribution).
    • Preparing a test summary report that outlines the testing activities, findings, and overall assessment of the software’s quality for the tested functionalities.
    • Identifying any outstanding issues or risks.
    • Obtaining sign-off from stakeholders on the completion of the test cycle.

Throughout these steps, communication and collaboration among the testing team, developers, and other stakeholders are crucial for a successful black box testing process. The focus remains on verifying the software’s functionality from an external user’s perspective, ensuring it meets the specified requirements without delving into the underlying code.

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