Unit 3 -Testing Management

Q.1] What is test plan? What is its need? List test planning
activities.
Test Plan:
Test Plan is A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule
of intended test activities.
Activities of test plan/Steps to prepare test plan:
1. Scope Management: Deciding what features to be tested and not to be
tested.
2. Deciding Test approach /strategy: Which type of testing shall be done
like configuration, integration, localization etc.
3. Setting up criteria for testing: There must be clear entry and exit criteria
for different phases of testing. The test strategies for the various features
and combinations determined how these features and combinations would
be tested.
4. Identifying responsibilities, staffing and training needs.
5. Identifying resource requirements
6. Identifying test deliverables.
7. Testing tasks: size and effort estimation.
State any four needs to prepare a test plan:
1. Test Plan Ensures all Functional and Design Requirements are
implemented as specified in the documentation.
2. Test plan gives detail aspects such as test scope, test estimation, strategy,
etc.
3. Test plan determines the time, cost, and effort.
4. It helps in determining the quality of software applications.
5. Provide a schedule for testing activities.
6. Test Plan Document can be used for similar projects.
7. It helps to understand the test details.

Advantages of Test Planning:

1. Optimizes resource usage and focuses on critical areas.
2. Allocates tools and team members efficiently.
3. Ensures comprehensive test coverage.
4. Enables progress and defect tracking.
Q.2] Describe the factors considered to decide test approach.
1. Analytical Approach: This test approach is based on an analysis of some
factor, which strongly effects the testing environment, e.g., Requirements
might be analysed in order to design a test approach such that the most
important requirements get tested first and test cases for other requirements
get designed / executed later.

2. Methodical Approach: This test approach depends heavily upon

following a predetermined method to perform testing. The method used can
vary widely, ranging from adherence to certain checklists to error guessing
and experience-based approaches.

3. Dynamic (Heuristic) Approach: This test approach involves performing

heuristic testing. Exploratory testing is a good example of the type of
testing performed, when this approach is followed. Here, the tests are
designed and executed simultaneously, and hence, it is a reactive test
approach.

4. Regression-averse Approach: This approach recommends designing tests

such that regression defects get detected at the earliest. This may involve
extensive automation of functional regression tests as well as re-use of
existing test material

Q.3] Explain test case specification

Test case specification:
The test case specifications should be developed from the
test plan and are the second phase of the test development life cycle. The test
specification should explain "how" to implement the test cases described in the
test plan. Test case specifications are useful as it enlists the specification details
of the items.
A test case specification should clearly identify,
1. The purpose of the test: This lists what features or part the test is intended for.

2. Items being tested, along with their version/release numbers as appropriate.

3. Environment that needs to be set up for running the test cases: This
includes the hardware environment setup, supporting software environment
setup, setup of the product under test.
4. Input data to be used for the test case: The choice of input data will be
dependent on the test case itself and the technique followed in the test case.

5. Steps to be followed to execute the test: If automated testing is used, then,

these steps ate translated to the scripting language of the tool.

6. The expected results that are considered to be “correct result”.

7. A step to compare the actual result produced with the expected result:
This step should do an “intelligent” comparison of the expected and actual results
to highlight any discrepancies.

8. Any relationship between this test and other test: These can be in the form
of dependencies among the tests or the possibilities of reuse across the tests.

Q.4] State the contents of "Test Summary Reports" used in test

reporting
Test reporting is a means of achieving communication through the testing cycle.
There are 3 types of test reporting.
1. Test incident report:
2. Test cycle report:
3. Test summary report:
Test summary Report:
The final step in a test cycle is to recommend the
suitability of a product for release. A report that summarizes the result of a test
cycle is the test summary report.
There are two types of test summary report:
1. Phase wise test summary, which is produced at the end of every phase.
2. Final test summary report, which has all the details of testing done by all
phases.
A Summary report should be presented.
1. Test Summary Report Identifier
2. Description: Identify the test items being reported in this report with test id
3. Variances: Mention any deviation from test plans, test procedures, if any.
4. Summary of results: All the results are mentioned here with the resolved
incidents and their solutions.
5. Comprehensive assessment and recommendation for release should
include: Fit for release assessment and recommendation of release.
Q.5] Explain test management with Test Infrastructure
Management components and Test People Management.
Test infrastructure management:
Testing requires a robust infrastructure to be
planned upfront. This infrastructure is made up of three essential elements.

1. A test case database (TCDB):

A test case database captures all the relevant
information about the test cases in an organization.
Some of the entities and the attributes are given in following table

2. Defect Repository:
It captures relevant details of defects. It is a tool of
communication. Defects matrices are derived from defect repository.
 3. Configuration management repository and tools:
They keep track of
change control of all the files/entities that make up a software product.
They keep track of version control of all files/entities that makeup a
software product.

Fig. Test infrastructure

Test People Management

▪ People management is an integral part of any project management and test
planning.
▪ People management also requires the ability to hire, motivate, and retain
the right people.
▪ These skills are not required to be taught formally.
▪ Primary responsibility of Test lead is to lead a team of testers with full
efficiency.
Test Lead responsibilities and activities:
1. Identify how the test teams are formed and aligned within organization
2. Decide the roadmap for the project
3. Identify the scope of testing using SRS documents.
4. Discuss test plan, review and approve by management/ development team.
5. Identify required metrics
6. Calculate size of project and estimate efforts
7. Identify skill gap and balance resources and need for training education.
8. Identify the tools for test reporting, test management, test automation,
9. Create healthy environment for all resources to gain maximum throughput.
Test team responsibilities and activities:
▪ Initiate the test plan for test case design
▪ Conduct review meetings
▪ Monitor test progress, check for resources, balancing and allocation
▪ Check for delays in schedule discuss, resolve risks if any
Q.6] Describe standards included in Test management
Internal standards are:
1. Naming and storage conventions for test artifacts.
2. Document standards
3. Test coding standards
4. Test reporting standards.

1. Naming and storage conventions for test artifacts:

Every test artifact (test specification, test case, test results and so on) have to
be named appropriately and meaningfully.
It enables
1. Easy identification of the product functionality.
2. Reverse mapping to identify the functionality corresponding to a given set
of tests.
E.g. modules shall be M01, M02. Files types can be .sh, .SQL.
2. Documentation standards:
a) Appropriate header level comments at the beginning of a file that outlines
the functions to be served by the test.
b) Sufficient inline comments, spread throughout the file
c) Up-to-Date change history information, reading all the changes made to the
test file.
3. Test coding standards:
a) Enforce right type of initialization
b) Stipulate ways of naming variables.
c) Encourage reusability of test artifacts
d) Provide standard interfaces to external entities like operating system,
hardware and so on.
4. Test reporting standard:
All the stakeholders must get a consistent and
timely view of the progress of tests. It provides guidelines on the level of
details that should be present in the test report, their standard formats and
contents.
[Link] Standards:
These are the standards made by an entity external to
an organization. These standards are standards that a product should comply
with, are externally visible and are usually stipulated by external parties.
 Q.7] Explain test deliverables in detail.

Test Deliverables:
Test Deliverables are the artifacts which are given to the
stakeholders of software project during the software development lifecycle. There
are different test deliverables at every phase of the software development
lifecycle. Some test deliverables are provided before testing phase, some are
provided during the testing phase and some after the testing cycles is over.
The different types of Test deliverables are:
1. Test cases Documents
2. Test Plan
3. Testing Strategy
4. Test Scripts
5. Test Data Test
6. Test Results/reports
7. Test summary report
8. Defect Reports / Release notes
1. Test Cases:
Detailed documents describing individual tests, including test steps,
input data, expected results, and conditions for success or failure to validate the
software.
2. Test Plan:
A Test Plan is a document that outlines the overall testing strategy,
objectives, scope, schedule, resources, and risk management. It defines the testing
approach, responsibilities, and provides a roadmap for the entire testing process.
3. Defect Report:
A Defect Report is used to document defects discovered during
testing. It describes the defect, steps to reproduce, severity, status, and resolution,
helping to manage and track issues to closure.
4. Test Data:
Test Data includes the input data necessary to execute test cases. It
covers valid, invalid, and boundary data conditions to check the software’s
behaviour under various scenarios.