Software Testing Processes

Test Planning Phases

Defining the Test Scope

Establish a common baseline that clearly lays out the goals of the testing, expected outcomes, and what is going to be tested.
Identify new features being added to the release.
Identify risk areas within the product or software.
Review historical issues to identify features that might still be high priority to include in testing.
Determine the type of release (major feature release, small bug fix, etc.).
Define the end condition or when the test is complete (team’s “Definition of Done”).

Scheduling the Test Timelines

Review the current release timelines and compare them against previous timelines to ensure they are realistic.
Consider external factors and the development timeline.
Build some room into the timeline for unknowns and update the schedule regularly.

Defining the Test Objective

Determine the type of tests to be performed (functional testing, performance testing, security testing, usability testing, etc.).

Determining the Test Deliverables

The deliverables are the outputs from the testing process that help track testing progress and prove that features have passed or failed the testing.
Examples of deliverables: test plan document, test suite and environment specifications, test log, defect report, test data, test summary report, test completion report, user acceptance testing report, and release notes.

Test Strategy Design

Planning the Test Data and Environments

Select the hardware and resources needed based on the project to carry out testing.
Ensure all required software and services are available.
Create a real-life test dataset within the environment.
Ensure a deployment mechanism is in place to effectively and efficiently deploy the software into a running state.
Verify that the test environments meet the testing needs.