Markets

• E-commerce (front and back ends)
• Telecommunications
• Finance
• Personal productivity
• Health Care
• Manufacturing
• Embedded

as well as OSs, middleware and development tools.

This broad background allows us to bring a seasoned perspective to evaluating our clients' needs in most any software project.

Projects

• COMPATIBILITY TESTING. Testing to ensure compatibility of an application or Web site with different browsers, OSs, and hardware platforms. ApTest operates testing labs offering all the hardware and software needed for such testing including PCs, MACs, and UNIX workstations and servers; Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP, MacOS, and many varieties of UNIX; and versions of Netscape, Internet Explorer, and AOL. Compatibility testing can be performed manually or can be driven by an automated functional or regression test suite.

  See additional details on our compatibility testing capabilities.

• FUNCTIONAL TESTING. Validating an application or Web site conforms to its specifications and correctly performs all its required functions. This entails a series of tests which perform a feature by feature validation of behavior, using a wide range of normal and erroneous input data. This can involve testing of the product's user interface, APIs, database management, security, installation, networking, etc. ApTest can perform functional testing on an automated or manual basis using black box or white box methodologies.
• PERFORMANCE TESTING. Performance testing can be applied to understand your application or WWW site's scalability, or to benchmark the performance in your environment of third party products such as servers and middleware for potential purchase. This sort of testing is particularly useful to identify performance bottlenecks in high hit-rate Web sites. Performance testing generally involves an automated test suite as this allows easy simulation of a variety of normal, peak, and exceptional load conditions.

  ApTest can assist with selecting and acquiring a testing tool, defining performance targets and metrics, test design, test development, test execution, and identifying and removing performance bottlenecks.

  We can also undertake performance testing in our testing lab, providing the all the tools and systems needed for your testing project. Contact us for details.

  See additional details on our performance/stress test offerings.

• REGRESSION TESTING. Similar in scope to a functional test, a regression test allows a consistent, repeatable validation of each new release of a product or Web site. Such testing ensures reported product defects have been corrected for each new release and that no new quality problems were introduced in the maintenance process. Though regression testing can be performed manually an automated test suite is often used to reduce the time and resources needed to perform the required testing.
• UNIT TESTING. Functional and reliability testing in an Engineering environment. Producing tests for the behavior of components of a product to ensure their correct behavior prior to system integration.
• CONFORMANCE TESTING. Verifying implementation conformance to industry standards. Producing tests for the behavior of an implementation to be sure it provides the portability, interoperability, and/or compatibility a standard defines.

Software Technologies

• Web sites, including multi-tier E-commerce sites
• Traditional GUI applications for Windows and UNIX
• Leading edge application technologies such as:
  • Java
  • CORBA
  • XML
  • WAP
  • Embedded systems
  • Client/server
• Middleware: ORBs, application servers, database servers, etc.
• System Software: Operating Systems, windowing systems, networking, realtime systems, etc.
• Development tools: compilers, linkers, archivers, etc.

• Test tools and processes that will scale to future needs and technologies
• Testing not only how a product works but also how it interacts with other software elements that impact its behavior
• Isolating performance bottlenecks in multi-layered software environments

Our staff are professional software developers and we approach each of our projects as a commercial development program, producing production quality products using the best available development methodologies.

Testing Technologies

Our staff is thoroughly trained and experienced in applying these tools and other tools to software from the Desktop to the Enterprise.

Certification Programs

There are two primary types of certification programs.

• Self-certification programs in which test technology is provided to vendors who execute testing themselves. The certification program develops and maintains the test technology, defines testing procedures, and reviews test results.
• Lab-based programs in which products are submitted to independent labs which perform compatibility testing. This sort of program is similar to a self-certification program but with the addition of third-party testing.

ApTest is uniquely experience with certification programs of both types from successful projects, including:

• ApTest operated the 88open Consortium's certification program for binary interoperability of UNIX systems and applications. A Lab-based program, 88open certification entailed patented test technology for OSs and applications, and is considered the most successful program of its kind.
• ApTest operates Sun Microsystem's Java Technology for Service Providers Certification Program for verifying conformance of Java telecommunications products. This is a self-certification program with a formal audit of test results performed by ApTest. The JTSP Certification Program offers a very low cost, quick turn around process based on a sophisticated database driven web site developed by ApTest.
• ApTest is a long time Test Laboratory for the Open Group, providing testing and branding services for products conforming to Open Systems standards. ApTest also developed the test suites for UNIX, X Windows, Realtime, and CORBA used in this program.

ApTest certification programs are customized to the unique needs of each technology, but leverage ApTest's experience and test technology to provide quick deployment of effective solutions with high market value.

Programs can include test development, distribution, support, and maintenance, process definition, web site development, program administration, lab testing and results auditing, as well as marketing and promotion of the program. Programs can be operated using ApTest's name or that of the client, as desired.