Software Test Plans: A How To Guide for Project Staff

I N T R O D U C T I O N Systematic and comprehensive testing is known to be a major factor contributing to Information Systems Quality. Adequate testing is however often not performed, leading to a higher number of software defects which impact the real and perceived quality of the software, as well as leading to time and expense being spent on rework and higher maintenance costs. How to Write Software Test Documentation is a plain-English, procedural guide to developing high quality software test documentation that is both systematic and comprehensive. It contains detailed instructions and templates on the following test documentation: Test Plan, Test Design Specification, Test Case, Test Procedure, Test Item Transmittal Report, Test Record, Test Log, Test Incident Report, Test Summary Report, How to Write Software Test Documentation is derived principally from IEEE Std 829 Standard for Software Test Documentation. It contains clear instructions to enable project staff with average literacy skills to effectively develop a comprehensive set of software test documentation. D E T A I L Test Plan: a document describing the scope, approach, resources and schedule of testing activities. Test Design Specification: a document that provides details of the test approach in terms of the features to be covered, the test cases and procedures to be used and the pass/fail criteria that will apply to each test. The test design specification forms the entry criteria for the development of Test Procedures and the specification of Test Cases on which they operate. Test Case: a document specifying actual input values and expected outputs. Test cases are created as separate documents to allow their reference by more than one test design specification and their use by many Test Procedures. Test Procedure: a document describing the steps required to prepare for, run, suspend and terminate tests specified in the test design specification. As an integral part of the test the document specifies the test cases to be used. Test procedures are created as separate documents as they are intended to provide a step by step guide to the tester and not be cluttered with extraneous detail. Test Item Transmittal Report: a document identifying the test items being transmitted for testing. Test Records: a suite of documents which record the results of testing for the purposes of corrective action and management review of the effectiveness of testing. Test records are represented as: Test Log: a document used by the test team to record what happened during testing. The log is used to verify that testing actually took place and record the outcome of each test (i.e. pass/fail). Test Incident Report: a report used to document any event that occurs during testing that requires further investigation. The creation of a Test Incident Report triggers corrective action on faults by the development team at the completion of testing. Test Summary Report: a management report summarising the results of tests specified in one or more test design specifications. This document informs management of the status of the product under test giving an indication of the quality of software produced by the development team.