Partitiointikokeita

Partitiointikokeita is a term used in software testing to describe a set of methods for designing test cases by partitioning the input domain into distinct groups, or partitions, that are expected to exhibit similar behavior. By selecting representative values from each partition, testers can achieve broader coverage with fewer tests. The most common form is equivalence partitioning, which assumes that all inputs within a partition will be processed similarly by the software.

Equivalence partitioning divides possible inputs into valid partitions that should be accepted and invalid partitions that should be rejected. Each partition is intended to be tested by at least one representative value, plus additional tests at the partition’s boundaries to probe edge behavior.

Boundary value analysis is closely related and often used with Partitiointikokeita. It focuses on values near the partition borders, expecting that errors frequently occur at the edges such as the smallest or largest valid inputs, just-below-invalid values, and just-above-valid values.

Typical steps include identifying input domains, defining partitions based on functional requirements, choosing a small set of test values from each partition (including boundary values), and executing tests while recording outcomes. The approach helps reduce combinatorial explosion in test case design.

Limitations include the risk of missing defects that arise from interactions between multiple inputs, or from partitions that were misdefined. Consequently, Partitiointikokeita is usually combined with other techniques such as decision tables, state-transition testing, or pairwise testing to improve coverage.

In practice, the term and its methods are widely used in quality assurance to plan efficient functional testing.