In general, testing is finding out how well something works. For human beings, testing tells what level of knowledge or skill has been acquired. In computer hardware and software development, testing is used at key checkpoints in the overall process to determine whether objectives are being met. For example, in software development, product objectives are sometimes tested by product user representatives. When the design is complete, coding follows and when finished, this is then tested at the unit or module level by each programmer; at the component level by the group of programmers involved; and at the system level when all components are combined together. At early or late stages, a product or service may also be tested for usability.
Safety Precautions
An Information and Communication technology (ICT) student should know how to behave when working in the computer laboratory, and to accomplish task safely. Safety practices should be learned early and always adheres in working with any electrical and electronic device, including personal computers and its peripherals. This is for your protection as well as to the people working with you, and for the devices that you are using.
A planned system of working to prevent illness and injury where you work by recognizing and identifying hazards and risks. Health and safety procedure is the responsibility of all persons in the computer and technology industries. You must identify the hazards where you are working and decide how dangerous they are. Eliminate the hazard or modify the risk that it presents.
Occupational Health and Safety standards
Each student has a responsibility to their colleagues and their organization to report and act upon any potential workplace hazard. Students need to be aware of the type of hazards that are possibly present in their work environment.
Procedure
1. Identify the hazard.
2. Clear the area close to the hazard.
3. Partition the hazard off or clearly identify the area to protect other people from harm.
4. If the hazard can be easily and safely cleared, then do so.
If not…
5. Report the hazard to the appropriate person (such as teacher in charge, principal etc.) to obtain assistance.
6. After clearing the hazard, fill out the correct documentation to assist in identifying improved practice to reduce further incidence of hazards.
All hazards must be reported using an Accidental Report form. This enables us to track the kinds of hazards we have in our workplace, and take action when necessary to make it safer for all student and clients.
Hazardous substances
If the workplace hazard appears to be dangerous to staff and clients and professional assistance is required:
A. Call the supervisor or manager and advise them of the problem and the urgency of the matter.
B. Depending on the risk, an evacuation may be called.
C. Follow the evacuation procedure.
D. The supervisor or manager will call in the fire brigade or specialized personnel who will deal with the spill.
Fire Exits
All fire exits should be kept clear from any obstacles. All students have a responsibility to make sure that chairs, empty boxes or any other type of obstacle are not placed in or near fire exit doorways.
All corridors also need to have equipment stored on one side only to ensure that in the event of an emergency there is a clear exit.
Fire Safety Procedure
Each work area has a designated fire warden, who in the event of a fire will take charge. They are recognized by the use of the red hard hat they wear.
If you find the fire:
· Assess the danger prior to doing anything.
· If it is safe, assist anyone to move away from the vicinity of the fire.
· If it is possible, close the door to the fire area.
· Call for assistance. Verbally call FIRE, FIRE, in a loud and clear voice.
· Break the glass section of the fire alert call point.
· Call to the switch; ensure you know where the fire is, any other details that may be of assistance to the fire brigade. Details could be size of the fire, cause or type of fire, any people hurt or trapped, has anyone tried to put it out.
· If it is safe to do so, put out the fire with the correct extinguisher or fire hose.
If the designated fire officer is not present, someone quickly needs to take responsibility and:
1. Locate the source of the fire.
2. Locate any people.
3. Remove all people from the building.
4. Once outside, do a head count.
5. Notify the authorities.
Personal Safety While Working with PCs
Computer equipment can be dangerous, and you or others can be injured or even killed if you don’t follow proper safety guidelines when working along with PCs. The following are some precautionary measures to take before working with any computer equipment:
· Wear shoes with non-conductive rubber soles to help reduce the chance of being shocked or seriously injured in an electrical accident.
· Do not work on components that are plugged into their power source.
· Do not remove expansion cards from a computer when it is turned on.
· Remove jewelries when working inside any computer-related equipment.
· Be sure not to pour water on electronic components.
Guidelines for Testing Configured Computer System and Network
Testing Your Computer Network
You've set up all your network switches, plugged in all the cables, and configured all your computers. One task remains before you can declare your network is finished: You must verify that the network works as expected.
Here are a few simple tests you can conduct to make sure your network is functional:
· Check the physical connections.
Check that the Link light the little red or green light next to the RJ-45 port is lit on every computer. You must check this light both on the computer itself and on the switch or router the computer is plugged into. If this light is not on, you have a connection problem most likely a bad cable.
When you're sure the physical connections are good, you should attempt to log in to each of your network computers using a valid domain user account.
· Check the network configuration.
Click the Start button, type cmd and press Enter. Then, enter the command ipconfig /all and press Enter.
This command will spit out numerous lines of information. The line you're looking for should resemble this:
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.125 (Preferred)
If this part of the output does not show a valid IP address, you need to check that your IP configuration is set correctly and that your DHCP server is working.
· Verify that the computers can ping each other.
Another basic test you should perform is to use the ping command from a command prompt to make sure that the computers on your network can contact one another.
Do several ping tests. First, make sure that TCP/IP is up and running by having the computer try to ping itself. Open a command prompt and type ping local host. The output from this command will indicate whether or not the ping was successful.
Next, try to ping your servers by name. For example, if your file server is named FileServer01, use the command ping FileServer01.
Writing a Technical Report on Test Conducted
Technical Report is any document that records the procedure adopted and results obtained from a scientific or technical activity or investigation. Use the following format for a technical report for your recently conducted test.