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| Plan Your Testing Activity |
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The success of testing activity generally depends on how well you plan for it. This article provides a few guidelines based on which you can plan your testing activity better. Remember the article is only a guideline to your planning process. You have to innovate and develop your own plan based on the application you are working on.
Build the Plan
1. Analyze the product.
What to Analyze
· Users (who they are and what they do)
· Operations (what its used for)
· Product Structure (code, files, etc.)
· Product Functions (what it does)
· Product Data (input, output, states, etc.)
· Platforms (external hardware and software)
Ways to Analyze
· Perform product/prototype walkthrough.
· Review product and project documentation.
· Interview designers and users.
· Compare w/similar products.
Possible Work Products
· Product coverage outline
· Annotated specifications
· Product Issue list
Status Check
2. Analyze product risk.
What to Analyze
· Threats
· Product vulnerabilities
· Failure modes
· Victim impact
Ways to Analyze
· Review requirements and specifications.
· Review problem occurrences.
· Interview designers and users.
· Review product against risk heuristics and
quality criteria categories.
· Identify general fault/failure patterns.
Possible Work Products
· Component risk matrices
· Failure mode outline
3. Design test strategies.
General Strategies
· Domain testing (including boundaries)
· User testing
· Stress testing
· Regression testing
· Sequence testing
· State testing
· Specification-based testing
· Structural testing (e.g. unit testing)
Ways to Plan
· Match strategies to risks and product areas.
· Visualize specific and practical strategies.
· Look for automation opportunities.
· Prototype test probes and harnesses.
· Dont overplan. Let testers use their brains.
Possible Work Products
· Itemized statement of each test strategy chosen and how
it will be applied.
· Risk/task matrix.
· List of issues or challenges inherent in the chosen
strategies.
· Advisory of poorly covered parts of the product.
· Test cases (if required)
4. Plan logistics.
Logistical Areas
· Test effort estimation and scheduling
· Testability engineering
· Test team staffing (right skills)
· Tester training and supervision
· Tester task assignments
· Product information gathering and
management
· Project meetings, communication, and
coordination
· Relations with all other project functions,
including development
· Test platform acquisition and configuration
Possible Work Products
· Issues list
· Project risk analysis
· Responsibility matrix
· Test schedule
· Agreements and protocols
· Test tools and automation
· Stubbing and simulation needs
· Test suite management and maintenance
· Build and transmittal protocol
· Test cycle administration
· Problem reporting system and protocol
· Test status reporting protocol
· Code freeze and incremental testing
· Pressure management in end game
· Sign-off protocol
· Evaluation of test effectiveness
5. Share the plan.
Ways to Share
· Engage designers and stakeholders in the
test planning process.
· Actively solicit opinions about the test plan.
· Do everything possible to help the
developers succeed.
· Help the developers understand how what
they do impacts testing.
· Talk to technical writers and technical
support people about sharing quality
information.
· Get designers and developers to review
and approve all reference materials.
· Record and reinforce agreements.
· Get people to review the plan in pieces.
· Improve reviewability by minimizing
unnecessary text in test plan documents.
Goals
· Common understanding of the test process.
· Common commitment to the test process.
· Reasonable participation in the test process.
· Management has reasonable expectations about the test
process.
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