Test Planning
Having a test plan before starting testing is crucial for the overall success of the QA process and results in saving time. QA test plans are documents that outline the steps required to perform proper QA testing; this includes the test strategy, objectives and resources required for testing. It also lists the topics that need testing, as well as the necessary timelines for the test conduction. A test plan will help identify potential problems early on, which saves time and money in the long run; it is more or less like a blueprint of how the testing activity is going to take place in a project.
A typical Test Plan Document has the following sections:
- INTRODUCTION: A brief summary of the product being tested. Outline all the functions at a high level.
- SCOPE: describes what features within the project to be tested and what not to be tested.
- TESTING STRATEGY: Test Strategy is an outline or approach to the way testing will be carried out in the software development life cycle. Its purpose is to define the exact process the testing team will follow to achieve the organizational objectives from a testing perspective.
- Quality Objectives: The overall objective that you plan to achieve with your testing that could be as follow:
- Ensure the application under test conforms to functional and non-functional requirements.
- Ensure the AUT meets the quality specifications defined by the client
- Bugs/issues are identified and fixed before going live
- Test Methodology: Specify the testing methodology and the reason.
- Resources and Environment Requirements
- Hardware Requirements: List all the devices that are needed to properly test the system including the quantity and the specifications.
- Software Requirements: List the software’s and tools required to be installed in addition to the specific software under test.
- Risks / Assumptions: Specify all the risks or assumptions that are discovered during the testing process.
- Exit Criteria: Define the criteria that will deem the testing is complete.