Kapil Saxena

Contrary to popular belief, Software Testing is not a just a single activity. It consists of series of activities carried out methodologically to help certify your software product. These activities (stages) constitute the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC).

The different stages in Software Test Life Cycle -

Each of these stages has a definite Entry and Exit criteria, Activities & Deliverables associated with it. In an Ideal world you will not enter the next stage until the exit criteria for the previous stage is met. But practically this is not always possible. So we will focus of activities and deliverables for the different stages in STLC. Let’s look into them in detail.

Requirement Analysis

During this phase, test team studies the requirements from a testing point of view to identify the testable requirements. The QA team may interact with various stakeholders (Client, Business Analyst, Technical Leads, and System Architects etc.) to understand the requirements in detail. Requirements could be either Functional (defining what the software must do) or Non Functional (defining system performance /security availability). Automation feasibility for the given testing project is also done in this stage.

Activities

·         Identify types of tests to be performed. 

·         Gather details about testing priorities and focus.

·         Prepare Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM).

·         Identify test environment details where testing is supposed to be carried out. 

·         Automation feasibility analysis (if required).

Deliverables 

·         RTM

·         Automation feasibility report. (if applicable)

Test Planning

This phase is also called Test Strategy phase. Typically, in this stage, a Senior QA manager will determine effort and cost estimates for the project and would prepare and finalize the Test Plan.

Activities

·         Preparation of test plan/strategy document for various types of testing

·         Test tool selection 

·         Test effort estimation 

·         Resource planning and determining roles and responsibilities.

·         Training requirement

Deliverables 

·         Test plan /strategy document.

·         Effort estimation document.

Test Case Development

This phase involves creation, verification and rework of test cases & test scripts. Test data , is identified/created and is reviewed and then reworked as well.

Activities

·         Create test cases, automation scripts (if applicable)

·         Review and baseline test cases and scripts 

·         Create test data (If Test Environment is available)

Deliverables 

·         Test cases/scripts 

·         Test data

Test Environment Setup

Test environment decides the software and hardware conditions under which a work product is tested. Test environment set-up is one of the critical aspects of testing process and can be done in parallel with Test Case Development Stage. Test team may not be involved in this activity if the customer/development team provides the test environment in which case the test team is required to do a readiness check (smoke testing) of the given environment.

Activities 

·         Understand the required architecture, environment set-up and prepare hardware and software requirement list for the Test Environment. 

·         Setup test Environment and test data 

·         Perform smoke test on the build

Deliverables 

·         Environment ready with test data set up 

·         Smoke Test Results.

Test Execution

During this phase test team will carry out the testing based on the test plans and the test cases prepared. Bugs will be reported back to the development team for correction and retesting will be performed.

Activities 

·         Execute tests as per plan

·         Document test results, and log defects for failed cases 

·         Map defects to test cases in RTM 

·         Retest the defect fixes 

·         Track the defects to closure

Deliverables 

·         Completed RTM with execution status 

·         Test cases updated with results 

·         Defect reports

Test Cycle Closure

Testing team will meet , discuss and analyze testing artifacts to identify strategies that have to be implemented in future, taking lessons from the current test cycle. The idea is to remove the process bottlenecks for future test cycles and share best practices for any similar projects in future.

Activities

·         Evaluate cycle completion criteria based on Time,Test coverage,Cost,Software,Critical Business Objectives , Quality

·         Prepare test metrics based on the above parameters. 

·         Document the learning out of the project 

·         Prepare Test closure report 

·         Qualitative and quantitative reporting of quality of the work product to the customer. 

·         Test result analysis to find out the defect distribution by type and severity.

Deliverables 

·         Test Closure report 

·         Test metrics

Finally, summary of STLC along with Entry and Exit Criteria

STLC Stage	Entry Criteria	Activity	Exit Criteria	Deliverables
Requirement Analysis	Requirements Document available (both functional and non-functional)	Analyse business functionality to know the business modules and module specific functionalities.	Signed off RTM	RTM
	Acceptance criteria defined.	Identify all transactions in the modules.	Test automation feasibility report signed off by the client	Automation feasibility report (if applicable)
	Application architectural document available.	Identify all the user profiles.
		Gather user interface/authentication, geographic spread requirements.
		Identify types of tests to be performed.
		Gather details about testing priorities and focus.
		Prepare Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM).
		Identify test environment details where testing is supposed to be carried out.
		Automation feasibility analysis (if required).
Test Planning	Requirements Documents	Analyze various testing approaches available	Approved test plan/strategy document.	Test plan/strategy document.
	Requirement Traceability matrix.	Finalize on the best suited approach	Effort estimation document signed off.	Effort estimation document.
	Test automation feasibility document.	Preparation of test plan/strategy document for various types of testing
		Test tool selection
		Test effort estimation
		Resource planning and determining roles and responsibilities.
Test case development	Requirements Documents	Create test cases, automation scripts (where applicable)	Reviewed and signed test Cases/scripts	Test cases/scripts
	RTM and test plan	Review and baseline test cases and scripts	Reviewed and signed test data	Test data
	Automation analysis report	Create test data
Test Environment setup	System Design and architecture documents are available	Understand the required architecture, environment set-up	Environment setup is working as per the plan and checklist	Environment ready with test data set up
	Environment set-up plan is available	Prepare hardware and software requirement list	Test data setup is complete	Smoke Test Results.
		Finalize connectivity requirements	Smoke test is successful
		Prepare environment setup checklist
		Setup test Environment and test data
		Perform smoke test on the build
		Accept/reject the build depending on smoke test result
Test Execution	Baselined RTM, Test Plan , Test case/scripts are available	Execute tests as per plan	All tests planned are executed	Completed RTM with execution status
	Test environment is ready	Document test results, and log defects for failed cases	Defects logged and tracked to closure	Test cases updated with results
	Test data set up is done	Update test plans/test cases, if necessary		Defect reports
	Unit/Integration test report for the build to be tested is available	Map defects to test cases in RTM
		Retest the defect fixes
		Regression testing of application
		Track the defects to closure
Test Cycle closure	Testing has been completed	Evaluate cycle completion criteria based on - Time, Test coverage , Cost , Software Quality , Critical Business Objectives	Test Closure report signed off by client	Test Closure report
	Test results are available	Prepare test metrics based on the above parameters.		Test metrics
	Defect logs are available	Document the learning out of the project
		Prepare Test closure report
		Qualitative and quantitative reporting of quality of the work product to the customer.
		Test result analysis to find out the defect distribution by type and severity