What Do Test Activities Entail

What Do Test Activities Entail

This article gives a brief overview of what the test activities involve. This implies that Software Test Management is highly dependent on Software Configuration Management, while the success of any testing activity depends on how comprehensive, extensive and detailed qa plan is.

Planning

Like the other aspects of project, testing should be planned in advance. Test planning as a relevant process is as important as sticking to the plan. Key aspects of test planning activities include:

• staff coordination;
• management of equipment and other facilities necessary for a test organization;
• planning process for processing of undesirable results (that is, managing certain types of risks).

If several versions of a software system or several systems are maintained simultaneously, pride of place should go to planning of software test time, effort and resources. This approach is related to the project portfolio management challenges in terms of overall project management.

Test-case generation

Test-case generation is based on models that represent the desirable behavior of the object under test and specific testing techniques. Testware should be placed under the control of the configuration management system and describe the expected test results.

Test environment development

Test environment should be compatible with the software engineering tools. This environment should ensure the success of software testing. It is used for development and maintenance of test cases, the test logging, and the ability to recover the expected and trackable test results, test scripts, and other test artifacts.

Execution

Test execution should be based on the basic principles of experimental scientific research:

• all test efforts and test deliverables must be recorded;
• test efforts and test deliverables should be provided in a clear, concise, unambiguous manner and easy understandable by other persons (not only by those who originally conduct the testing);
• testing should be carried out in accordance with specified and documented procedures;
• testing should be performed on a uniquely identifiable version and configuration of the software system.

Test execution procedure and other test activities are covered in more detail in the IEEE 1008¬87 standard.

If your primary concern is quality, you will choose to use outsourced software testing services. All the more so, they are cost-effective and become irreplaceable when it comes to meeting key milestones.