How to Test a microwave oven?

Welcome back to my 4th post of the “How To Test” series. The Testing Mission will continue to remain the same as I have mentioned in the very first post of this series. You might want to take a look at the testing mission before proceeding to read this post. Here I am going to generate and list out some test ideas (Not test cases) on how to test a Microwave oven [A microwave oven, is a kitchen appliance employing microwave radiation to cook food, either in the home or in commercial or other premises.]

Note: These are few context-based questions that came into my mind while generating test ideas for a microwave oven.
a) What kind of model is it? A Solo model, Grill model or a Convection model?
b) What is the capacity (in terms of liters) of the oven?
c) What is the microwave output (700W, 800W, 850W etc)?
d) What is the Max power consumption (1000W, 1150W, 1200W, 1210W, 1450W etc)?

Test Ideas:1. Test the structure and dimensions of the microwave and see if it confirms to the specified dimensions mentioned in the user manual. [Build Verification Testing!]
2. Test if the door of the oven fits squarely and securely and opens and closes smoothly. [Installability Testing!]
3. Test if the door hinges are in proper condition and the surface of the door is not damaged.
4. Test if there is no corrosion is evident on the door, the door hinges or the oven interior.
5. Plug the power terminal and see if the LED glows. And test if the oven is actually getting power supply. Also test the current received and maximum allowed. [Usability Testing!]
6. Test if the microwaves generated in the microwave oven cease to exist once the electrical power to the magnetron is turned off.
7. Test how the microwave performs under different voltage conditions. Test how it is able/unable to sustain fluctuating voltage. [Performance Testing!]
8. Test the power consumption of the microwave.
9. Switch ON the oven for a very long time (say up to 12-24 hours continuously) and see the result. Test if the thermostat works fine under such situation. [Stress Testing!]
10. Test if the timer is working and the microwave switches off automatically after the preset time. [Usability Testing!]
11. Keep the oven door open and test if you are able to set a timer for cooking. [Usability Testing!]
12. Test if you are able to switch off the microwave before the timer has counted down to the preset time. [Usability Testing!]
13. Test the cooking time for different food items. [Performance Testing!]
14. Test if the oven results in uneven absorption causing localized "hot spots".
15. Test if the bowls made up off glass and plastics are heated when used in the oven. Ideally, they should not. [Usability Testing!]
16. Test if parts of frozen food remain frozen if insufficient time is allowed for the heating process.
17. Test if the oven walls and other non-metallic cooking utensils are not directly heated by microwaves.
18. Test if the microwave exposure causes serious health effects such as deep tissue burns and hyperthermia. Test if it either causes or promotes cancer. [Security Testing!]
19. Test if the microwaves make the food or the oven radioactive. [Security Testing!]
20. Test if the safety interlock switches stop the generation of microwaves immediately the door is opened. [Security Testing!]
21. Test that there is no microwave leakage from the device. If it is there it should not exceed the recommended limit (differs from country to country).
22. Test if cardiac pacemakers are likely to be susceptible to microwave interference, when very close to an oven. [Security Testing!]
23. Test the operation of the oven without a load (i.e. an absorbing material such as food or water). See if it results in fire hazards due to resonance of the magnetron tube itself. [Security Testing!]
24. Test by using the oven for sterilizing baby bottles or other food utensils. [Capability Testing!]
25. Test if closed containers and eggs explode when heated in the microwave oven due to the pressure build-up of steam. [Security Testing!]
26. Try to heat grapes in the oven and see if it explodes due to arcing! [Security Testing!]

These were few test ideas that came in my mind while attempting to generate ideas to test a microwave oven. But I am sure there can be lot more test ideas like these. Why don't you take this as a Testing Challenge and come up with your very own test ideas? Let me (and others) know about your test ideas by leaving behind your comment.
Share on Google Plus

About Debasis Pradhan

Debasis has over a decade worth of exclusive experience in the field of Software Quality Assurance, Software Development and Testing. He writes here to share some of his interesting experiences with fellow testers.

5 Comments:

  1. Hi, I'm a first time visitor to your site, Nice Blog and interesting reading as well :)

    I'm a big fan of a tool by name "Total Commander" and I must say it has very few bugs; you might want to give a crack at it and also learn the tool, I'm sure it will make you very productive :)

    Here is the tool’s forum link http://www.ghisler.ch/board/index.php?language=english

    ReplyDelete
  2. nice one..that helped

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great article about Microwave Testing. I like this article very much. Really it is very informative details about Microwave Testing. I will share this information between our friends.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Write testcases for thermostat(that controls room temperature) that connects to web and server


    please help me to write cases for scenario.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, I was looking for some tests, and found your site. But I'm so curious about the last idea: Try to heat grapes in the oven and see if it explodes due to arcing! [Security Testing!] The result will be explode or not explode? Could you explain better this idea? Thanks

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: Comments posted on Software Testing Tricks are moderated and will be approved only if they are on-topic. Please avoid comments with spammy URLs. Having trouble leaving comments? Contact Me!