Are you worried about how to prepare a Test Plan? Just have a look on this Article.

Test plan is a document prepared at the project level. In general it defines work products to be tested, how they will be tested and test type distribution among testers.

Test Case

Test case is a complexity of inputs, series of steps, and conditions that can be used during the process of testing.

Test Scenario

Test scenario can be considered as a single line statement which notifies the area in which your application will experiment. This artifact is needed for ensuring the overall procedure tested from start to finish.

Traceability Matrix

Traceability Matrix is a table that is used to trace the requirements during the Software Development Life Cycle.

What is Test Plan?

A test plan is a document describing the scope, approach, objectives, resources, and schedule of a software testing effort. It is the document that outlines the what, when, how, who, and more of a testing project.

Test Plan: What's the value?

·???????? Acts as a quick guide for testing process.

·???????? Helps avoid effort in 'Out of Scope' functionalities.

·???????? Determines time, cost & efforts needed.

·???????? Defines roles & responsibilities for tester.

·???????? Provides schedule for testing activities.

·???????? Outlines resource requirements & equipment.

·???????? Acts as source of proof if need in future.

What happens when there is no test plan?

·???????? Misunderstandings about roles & responsibilities.

·???????? Test team will have not so clear test objectives.

·???????? No surety about when the test process ends.

·???????? Undefined test scope misleads testers & users.

Test Plan Types

1. Master Test Plan

A single high-level test plan for a project / product that unifies all other test plans.

2. Level Specific Test Plan

Intermediate plans specifically related to a level of software testing.

3. Type Specific Test Plan

Plans for major types of testing like Performance Test plan and Security Test plan.

Steps of Test Plan

1. Analyse the product

As first step tester must learn about the product thoroughly before testing it.

·???????? Who will use the software?

·???????? What is it for?

·???????? How will it work?

Interview client, designer & developer -> Review product & project -> Perform product walk-through.

2. Develop Test Strategy

The tester should design a strategy which can assist him in defining the scope of testing. Test Strategy defines

·???????? The project's testing objectives and the means to achieve them.

·???????? Determines testing effort and costs.

3. Define Test Objectives

A good test plan clearly defines the testing scope and its boundaries. The basic goal of any software project is to ensure that software is bug free. Tester can do the following to define scope.

·???????? List features to be tested.

·???????? List features not to be tested.

·???????? Define the goal based on above features.

4. Resource Planning

Resource plan is a detailed summary of all types of resources required to complete project task.

It includes the below.

·???????? Different software & hardware requirements (Server, Computers, Network, Test tools etc.)

·???????? Employees’ requirement (Test Manager, Testers, Developers, Test Admin etc.)

5. Schedule & Estimation

A good test plan clearly lists down the 'roles and responsibilities' of testing team along with 'schedule' and tells everyone what to do and when to do. A schedule usually has multiple components like below.

·???????? Tasks.

·???????? Members responsible for tasks.

·???????? Estimated effort.

·???????? Employee & project deadline.

·???????? Project estimation.

·???????? Possible project risks.

6. Determine Test Deliverables

Test Deliverables is a list of all the documents tools and other components that has to be developed and maintained in support of the testing effort.

Before Testing

·???????? Test plan documents.

·???????? Test cases documents.

·???????? Test design specifications.

During Testing

·???????? Test scripts.

·???????? Simulators.

·???????? Test data.

·???????? Test matrix.

·???????? Error logs.

·???????? Execution logs.

After Testing

·???????? Test Results.

·???????? Defects Report.

·???????? Release Notes.

Elements of Test Plan Document

Test Plan Identifiers

Uniquely identifies the test plan & may include version number.

Introduction

Sets objectives, scope, goals, resources & budget constraints.

Test Items

Lists the systems and sub systems which to be tested.

Features to be tested

All the features & functionalities to be tested are listed here.

Features not to be tested

Lists the characteristics of products that need not be tested.

Approach

Have sources of test data, inputs and outputs, testing priorities.

Item pass / fail

Describes success criteria for evaluating the test results.

Suspension Criteria

Have Criteria that may result in suspending testing activities.

Test Deliverables

Includes test cases, sample data, test report, issue log.

Testing Tasks

Describes dependencies between tasks & resources needed.

Environmental Needs

Lists software, hardware or other testing requirements.

Responsibilities

Lists roles and responsibilities assigned to the testing team.

Staffing needs

Describes the additional training needs for the staff.

Schedule

Details on when the testing activities will take place are listed.

Risks

Lists overall risk of the project as it pertains to testing.

Approvals

Contains signature of approval from stakeholders.