San Francisco depot

San Francisco depot is a mnemonic for the SFDPO software exploratory testing heuristic. SFDPO stands for Structure, Function, Data, Platform and Operations. Each of these represents a different aspect of a software product.

Structure

Structure is what the entire product is. This is its physical files, utility programs, physical materials such as user docs, specifications and design docs, etc.

Function

Function is what the product does. This is the product's features. How does it handle errors? What is its UI? How does it interface with the operating system?

Data

Data is what the product processes. What kinds of input does it process? This can be input from the user, the file system, etc. What kind of output or reports does it generate? Does it come with default data? Is any of its input sensitive to timing or sequencing?

Platform

Platform is what the product depends upon. What operating systems and related service packs, browsers, runtime libraries, plug-ins, languages and locales, etc. does it run on? Does the user need to configure the environment? Does it depend on third-party components?

Operations

Operations are scenarios in which the product will be used. Who are the application's users and what are their patterns and sequences of input? Where and how will they use it? What are the different ways a user can use the product's features?

ee also

* Ad hoc testing
* Exploratory testing
* Session-based testing

External links

[http://www.satisfice.com/articles/sfdpo.shtml How Do You Spell Testing?]