A test plan is a document describing the approach to be taken for intended testing activities and serves as a service level agreement between the quality assurance testing function and other interested parties, such as development. A test plan should be developed early in the development cycle and help improve the interactions of the analysis, design, and coding activities. A test plan defines the test objectives, scope, strategy and approach, test procedures, test environment, test completion criteria, test cases, items to be tested, the tests to be performed, the test schedules, personnel requirements, reporting procedures, assumptions, risks, and contingency planning.
While developing a test plan, one should be sure that it is simple, complete, current, and accessible by the appropriate individuals for feedback and approval. A good test plan flows logically and minimizes redundant testing, demonstrates full functional coverage, provides workable procedures for monitoring, tracking, and reporting test status, contains a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved, target delivery dates, and clearly documents the test results.
There are two ways of building a test plan. The first approach is a master test plan which provides an overview of each detailed test plan, i.e., a test plan of a test plan. A detailed test plan verifies a particular phase in the waterfall development life cycle. Test plan examples include unit, integration, system, acceptance. Other detailed test plans include application enhancements, regression testing, and package installation. Unit test plans are code orientated and very detailed but short because of their limited scope. System or acceptance test plans focus on the functional test or black-box view of the entire system, not just a software unit.
The second approach is one test plan. This approach includes all the test types in one test plan, often called the acceptance/system test plan, but covers unit, integration, system, and acceptance testing and all the planning considerations to complete the tests.
A major component of a test plan, often in the Test Procedure section, is a test case. A test case defines the step-by-step process whereby a test is executed. It includes the objectives and conditions of the test, the steps needed to set up the test, the data inputs, the expected results, and the actual results. Other information such as the software, environment, version, test ID, screen, and test type are also provided.
Major steps to develop a test plan
A test plan is the basis for accomplishing testing and should be considered a living document, i.e., as the application changes, the test plan should change.
A good test plan encourages the attitude of “quality before design and coding.” It is able to demonstrate that it contains full functional coverage, and the test cases trace back to the functions being tested. It also contains workable mechanisms for monitoring and tracking discovered defects and report status.
The following are the major steps that need to be completed to build a good test plan:
- Define the Test Objectives. The first step for planning any test is to establish what is to be accomplished as a result of the testing. This step ensures that all responsible individuals contribute to the definition of the test criteria that will be used. The developer of a test plan determines what is going to be accomplished with the test, the specific tests to be performed, the test expectations, the critical success factors of the test, constraints, scope of the tests to be performed, the expected end products of the test, a final system summary report, and the final signatures and approvals. The test objectives are reviewed and approval for the objectives is obtained.
- Develop the Test Approach. The test plan developer outlines the overall approach or how each test will be performed. This includes the testing techniques that will be used, test entry criteria, test exit criteria, procedures to coordinate testing activities with development, the test management approach, such as defect reporting and tracking, test progress tracking, status reporting, test resources and skills, risks, and a definition of the test basis (functional requirement specifications, etc.).
- Define the Test Environment. The test plan developer examines the physical test facilities, defines the hardware, software, and networks, determines which automated test tools and support tools are required, defines the help desk support required, builds special software required for the test effort, and develops a plan to support the above.
- Develop the Test Specifications. The developer of the test plan forms the test team to write the test specifications, develops test specification format standards, divides up the work tasks and work breakdown, assigns team members to tasks, and identifies features to be tested. The test team documents the test specifications for each feature and cross-references them to the functional specifications. It also identifies the inter dependencies and work flow of the test specifications and reviews the test specifications.
- Schedule the Test. The test plan developer develops a test schedule based on the resource availability and development schedule, compares the schedule with deadlines, balances resources and work load demands, defines major checkpoints, and develops contingency plans.
- Review and Approve the Test Plan. The test plan developer or manager schedules a review meeting with the major players, reviews the plan in detail to ensure it is complete and workable, and obtains approval to proceed.
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