How to write test cases?

In the software development process, the Quality Assurance (QA) team plays a crucial role in ensuring that digital products are launched to the market with the expected functionalities, aiming for user satisfaction. In order to do so, a key responsibility within QA involves the meticulous creation of test cases.

?? What’s a test case?

A test case is a predefined sequence of actions that are systematically performed to verify whether an application, system, website, or feature, behaves as expected.?

For example, when testing the shopping cart on an e-commerce website, a test case description would be: “click the ‘add to cart’ button to check if the item is added correctly”, or “use the code received by email to create a password”. These actions will lead to a result. There’s an expected result (“the item should be added correctly”, or “login should be successful”), and an actual result for each test case (“an error message appears”, or “successful login”). When comparing both, if there is a match, the test case will be considered “passed”. If there is a difference, the test case will be considered “failed”, documented, and reported to the development team to solve the problem.

?? Tips for designing test cases

1. Understand product requirements to create well-informed and effective test cases.
2. Set clear and simple objectives for each one.
3. Write them in simple and clear language to avoid confusion within the team.
4. Include negative cases, to explore potential software vulnerabilities.
5. Prioritize test cases based on importance to focus on critical functionalities first.
6. Perform regular updates and maintenance of test cases to reflect software changes and ensure accurate assessments.

?? As a QA tester, what other factors do you consider when designing your test cases??Share your comments below!

If you enjoyed this article, you can dive deeper into Test Cases and QA work here.