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APPENDIX G
Plan to Field Test Software Tool
Objective Portability
The objective of this task was to test the software developed Before the release of a beta version, the software was
for risk analysis of runway safety areas (RSA) developed under evaluated for portability using different computers with
ACRP 4-08. The feedback obtained helped improve the final various operational systems (e.g., Windows 7, Windows
software and mitigate any problems associated with its instal- XP). The objective was to search for possible conflicts with
lation, operation, and analysis of results. computer operational systems and supporting software
This plan describes the procedures used for testing the soft- versions.
ware developed in this project. It includes the identification
of volunteer stakeholders that utilized a beta version to carry
out analysis with sample data provided. Installation
The installation was tested on different computers to
check for problems with installation of the files required
Phase I to run the program and the supporting software that is
During this phase, the software was evaluated during devel- required. The analysis software makes use of common
opment before a final beta version was released to volunteers Microsoft Office products, including Excel and Access.
for testing. The user must have such software to run the risk assess-
ment analysis. Access is necessary to handle the various
databases, and Excel is used to characterize the RSA's,
Software Development the type of terrain, and the existing obstacles with their
and Algorithm Tests classification.
During this phase the software algorithms and database
management procedures were tested before a beta version
Preliminary Testing
was created.
The research team installed the software and ran some analy-
sis using the guidance material prepared. Any problems
Input Data Quality Assurance (QA) detected were solved before the final beta release was provided
Users may input incorrect information, use units that are not to volunteers for testing.
compatible, or enter the correct information in incorrect fields.
Several help features were incorporated, including the checking
Phase II
of values to ensure the input was within allowable ranges.
The analysis software includes features to check missing During this phase, a beta version of the software was tested
data and advise the user to make the necessary corrections. by volunteers. Despite the attempts to make the software tool
The software will not run if there are missing data or if the as user-friendly and practical as possible, the research team
values are outside normal ranges. asked the volunteers that are familiar with airport planning
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Table G1. List of volunteers to test analysis software.
Name Stakeholder Organization Comments
Doug Mansel Airport Oakland International Chair of ACI-NA
Operator Airport Operations and Technical
Affairs Committee
Mike Hines Airport Metropolitan MWAA Planner
Operator Washington Airport
Authority
Don Andrews Consultant Reynolds, Smith and Airport planning
Hill
Tom Cornell Consultant Landrum and Brown Consultant
Amiy Varma Professor University of North Chair of TRB Committee
Dakota of Aircraft/ Airport
Compatibility
Ernie Professor University of Member of TRB
Heymsfield Arkansas Committee of Aircraft/
Airport Compatibility
Michael A. Government FAA - AAS-100 Engineer in the Airport
Meyers Engineering Division
Ken Jacobs Government FAA APP-400 FAA Liaison for ACRP 4-
01
and the analysis methodology rationale to provide additional Assist Volunteers
suggestions to improve software and to identify any software
A helpdesk was established to assist volunteers, answering
bugs they encountered.
questions and resolving software issues, particularly with instal-
To facilitate the assessment, data for a couple of airports
lation. Volunteers could ask for help by phone or by e-mail. The
was prepared and provided to the volunteers to run the
phone number and e-mail address was included in the beta ver-
analysis.
sion user manual.
Table G1 presents the list of eight software beta testers. The
research team proposed a small number of volunteers to facil-
itate obtaining meaningful feedback and to ensure the research Track Problems/Bugs and Fixes
team could provide the necessary support to these volunteers The beta testers' feedback was recorded. Bugs were fixed as
during the beta testing period. soon as possible, and the updated software was distributed to
the beta testers. Suggested improvements were considered and
Perform Tests modifications made, as warranted, both during the beta test-
ing phase and after.
Beta testers installed the software and ran analyses.
A user manual was provided to the testers as well. Feed-
Retest
back was requested through a basic questionnaire that so-
licited comments on the use of the software, practicality, After all bugs were fixed and improvements made, another
documentation, etc. round of internal tests to fix any new bugs was carried out.
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ACRP 4-08--Improved Models
for Risk Assessment of Runway Safety Areas (RSA)
Analysis Software Evaluation Questionnaire
The purpose of this software beta testing effort is to test and help improve the software for analysis of runway safety areas.
Although measuring software effectiveness is no easy task, the feedback provided will help identify the need for critical improve-
ments to the software.
Name:________________________________________________
Organization: __________________________________________
Position: ______________________________________________
1. How easy was it to install the software?
a. Difficult to install
b. I had problems
c. About right
d. Easy to install
Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. How easy was it to follow the user guide and documentation?
a. Very difficult to follow
b. It is necessary to understand risk assessment to use it
c. Simple guidance but satisfactory for the purpose
d. Easy to follow
Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Are the screens user-friendly and easy to understand?
a. No
b. I had a few problems (see my comments)
c. Easy to follow
Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. Was it easy to input operational data?
a. No
b. I had a few problems (see my comments)
c. Yes
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Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. Was it easy to input weather data?
a. No
b. I had a few problems (see my comments)
c. Yes
Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
6. Was it easy to understand output results?
a. No
b. I had a few problems (see my comments)
c. Yes
Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
7. Please list the good and the bad points of the software.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
8. Would you use this software again?
a. Yes
b. Possibly (see my comments)
c. No (see my comments)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
9. How long did it take to run the "Example 1" analysis?________ minutes
10. Any other comments that you care to offer.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
