Determination of Test Criteria Is a Demanding Challenge

Determination of Test Criteria Is a Demanding Challenge

The purpose of defining test criteria is to establish a set of rules at the customer’s site that govern the flow of testing. It is very important to determine the test criteria before testing itself begins. After you have begun to implement the test plan, it is too late to announce the criteria for initiating or terminating the testing activity. For example, if you expect a software product to successfully pass unit testing and system testing, you must preliminarily document these assumptions in the test plan. Then the plan should be checked and approved by people who will be engaged in unit testing and system testing. Using and meeting the test criteria helps the project to withstand work pressures and cope with the planned deadlines.It can be achieved by eliminating the time losses that will be inevitable in the event that a software product which is not ready for testing gets to the test stand or in a situation where the product that requires rework is still under review.

Since test criteria affect the interests of other groups involved in the project, they cannot be unilaterally established by a testing team. The application of criteria should be agreed upon with all stakeholders. Criteria can be set for unit testing and system testing, but such criteria are usually determined by the manufacturing company. The test criteria considered below are mainly applied to system testing. By the way, offshore software testing is often used by developers of digital products to save on costs and time, and resources.

There are some types of criteria that can be determined before system testing starts.

The entrance criterion describes what you need to do before you start testing. For example, it may be necessary to have the terms of reference document in its final form. You can set the task for a software product to be packed in the same way that it will be delivered to the customer. During the test, you may need to use utility programs, configuration files or data that the customer will need. If you are responsible for verifying the documentation accompanying the software product, it must also be available during testing. One way to fulfill the entry criterion is to check whether the product is ready for testing. This inspection uses a checklist of action items that other groups agreed to transfer as input to the test.

The suspension / renewal criterion describes what happens if, due to defects, the testing cannot be continued further. In other words, if things turn out so unsuccessfully that planned tests cannot be carried out, they must be stopped until exposed defects are eliminated.