How do you plan and prioritize your regression testing activities and resources?

1 Identify the scope and goals of regression testing

The first step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to identify the scope and goals of your testing. What are the changes or updates that you need to test? How do they affect the existing features and functions of the system? What are the risks and impacts of not testing them? What are the expected outcomes and benefits of testing them? By answering these questions, you can define the scope and goals of your regression testing and align them with the business and user requirements.

2 Select the appropriate regression testing techniques and tools

The next step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to select the appropriate techniques and tools for your testing. There are different types of regression testing techniques, such as retest all, selective, prioritized, and risk-based, that vary in their coverage, efficiency, and effectiveness. You should choose the technique that best suits your scope, goals, and resources. Similarly, there are different tools and frameworks that can help you automate, manage, and execute your regression testing, such as Selenium, TestNG, JUnit, and Cucumber. You should choose the tools that best fit your system, technology, and skills.

3 Design and maintain your regression test cases and suites

The third step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to design and maintain your regression test cases and suites. You should create test cases that cover the critical and high-risk features and functions of your system, as well as the changes or updates that you need to test. You should also organize your test cases into logical and modular test suites that can be executed independently or together. You should maintain your test cases and suites by updating, adding, or deleting them as needed, based on the changes or updates in your system.

4 Schedule and allocate your regression testing resources

The fourth step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to schedule and allocate your resources. You should estimate the time and effort required for your regression testing, based on the scope, goals, techniques, tools, test cases, and suites that you have defined. You should also identify the resources that you need for your testing, such as testers, developers, machines, environments, data, and licenses. You should then schedule and allocate your resources according to the availability, priority, dependency, and risk of your testing.

5 Execute and monitor your regression testing activities

The fifth step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to execute and monitor your testing. You should follow the schedule and allocation that you have set for your testing and use the techniques and tools that you have selected for your testing. You should also monitor your testing progress and performance by tracking and reporting the test results, defects, issues, and metrics. You should also communicate and collaborate with your stakeholders and team members throughout your testing.

6 Evaluate and improve your regression testing process

The sixth and final step in planning and prioritizing your regression testing activities and resources is to evaluate and improve your testing process. You should review your testing outcomes and benefits by comparing them with your testing scope and goals. You should also analyze your testing strengths and weaknesses by identifying the best practices, challenges, lessons learned, and improvement opportunities. You should then implement the necessary changes and actions to improve your testing process for future projects.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?