Envisioning the Next-Generation of Functional Testing Tools

The functional test-driven development (FTDD) cycle moves functional test specification to the earliest part of the software development life cycle. Functional tests no longer merely assess quality; their purpose now is to drive quality. For some agile processes such as extreme programming, functional tests are the primary requirements specification artifact. When functional tests serve as both the system specification and the automated regression test safety net, they must remain viable for the production code's lifetime. A successful functional test-driven development strategy relies on effective fools across the application life cycle. This article reflects on FTDD teams' core tasks performed over the full application life cycle. It then envisions a conceptual functional testing framework and a concrete list of capabilities that satisfy these needs