What Should BVT test?

Original article address: What tests belong in the bvts?

By Steve Rowe

BVT (build verification test, build verification test) is a standard internal statement of Microsoft. It refers to the tests that are run every day to ensure that the contents written into the database the previous day do not undermine important functions. I have previously written an article about the importance of keeping BVT clean (this article will be translated later ). Which of the continuously passed tests should be put into BVT? When BVT fails, you must handle it immediately. That is to say, the failed test in BVT must be very important. Based on this perspective, the following are some guidelines for BVT:

• Test important scenarios, not secondary scenarios. If an important feature fails, it should be resolved immediately. However, if a failure occurs in a secondary scenario, you only need to pay attention to it. It may need to be pushed to the future for further processing.
• Main test cases, not secondary ones. Test on interaction between the three functional modules should not be placed in BVT. Tests outside of the most common use cases should not be placed in BVT. Although each test book says that the boundary value should be tested, bvt should not be used to test these things. BVT tests the most common input values and use cases.
• Perform a positive test instead of a negative test. Do not test the conditions and outliers outside the boundary. Of course, these tests are necessary, but they should not be performed in BVT. The API failure caused by passing a null pointer must be fixed, but it can be placed next week.

BVT should be a set of carefully selected tests. They should be able to run quickly and consistently, and their results should be very important. BVT is very effective if you stick to these principles, because any failure will be paid enough attention. Limiting BVT in the most important scenarios will ensure that the test results can be properly processed ..