Test plans and test strategies create integral components of a robust and efficient software quality assurance (QA) system, a domain where Acrosoft excels in providing services. Although they frequently collaborate and complement each other while serving distinct objectives.
What sets them apart? This common question arises because there's some overlap in how they're used. Here you’ll learn the difference between test strategy and test plan.
What is a Test Plan?
The test plan, also known as a QA test plan, serves as an instructional manual or roadmap for a company's testing initiative. It consolidates all the elements of a QA project in a single document, establishing a schedule, outlining the project's scope, defining roles and responsibilities, identifying risks, specifying entry and exit criteria, articulating testing objectives, and more.
In most cases, the test plan is formulated according to the software requirements. Ideally, it should include identified risks within the QA project, enabling QA managers to prioritize testing based on these risks.
Types of Test Plans
Test plans are categorized based on testing types, levels, and plan sizes, offering broad insights into software testing techniques and processes. Thus, the various types of test plans are:
- Level-specific test plans: They involve the planning of Unit testing, Integration testing, and System testing.
- Type-specific test plans: These include specific parameters, such as performance.
- Master test plan: It provides a comprehensive overview of the entire testing process, featuring high-level information and detailed procedures. This plan is rarely revised once finalized.
A test plan serves as a roadmap for software or app testing throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). In the planning phase, QA engineers simply need to outline test points. This document outlines the various testing methods employed and can be reused if regression testing is conducted in subsequent stages.
The key purposes of test plans are as follows:
Testing Process Guide:
The test plan document serves as a roadmap for testing and outlining the methodologies to be employed. It contains the scope of testing, test items, pass/fail criteria, and resources needed for the test environment setup. Moreover, it explains the testing timeline and specifies the responsibilities of each team member involved in the process.
Connecting Teams:
The test plan serves as a vital link between developers, testers, and stakeholders, facilitating effective communication. It enables all involved parties to collectively examine the requirements, collaborate on revisions, and make the desired changes by tracking each other's comments. Additionally, the test plan consolidates essential information commonly shared among teams, including budget estimates, scheduling details, software and hardware prerequisites, and more.
Efficient Functional Coverage:
A comprehensive test plan is essential to cover all aspects of the product under examination. It outlines the scope of testing, detailing the functionalities and features to be assessed. Additionally, it specifies the types of testing to be conducted and assigns responsibilities to the testers for each type. This systematic approach ensures thorough evaluation of every component within the Application under Test (AUT).
What is a Test Strategy?
A test strategy is a comprehensive document outlining the methodology for conducting software testing. It informs project managers, developers, and testers about crucial aspects of the process. Developing an effective test strategy is a skill that can be improved through experience.
The testing strategy outlines the approach for addressing risks at the test level, specifies the criteria for application, and defines the types of testing to be conducted. This strategy is communicated to the entire team to ensure a unified approach and mindset towards testing.
Types of Testing Strategies:
Testers utilize a testing strategy to outline the levels and methodologies of software testing to be employed in the project with the relevant techniques and tools. Furthermore, it incorporates the test cases and specifications that consolidate all these elements for execution.
Each of the testing strategies listed below provides the tester with a framework for conducting tests.
Analytical Approach:
This approach combines formal and informal techniques to evaluate and prioritize testing risks. Analytical testing delivers a concise overview of requirements, processes, and implementation, aiming to determine the underlying purpose of testing.
Model-Driven Strategy:
It involves evaluating software functionality within real-world contexts, such as its performance within organizational settings. Through model-based testing, the focus is on identifying the data domain and selecting appropriate test cases based on the potential error probabilities within this domain.
Methodical Strategy:
This approach evaluates the application's features based on a user-centric checklist. Software testers conduct systematic testing to examine essential aspects of the software, including functionality, reliability, usability, and performance.
Conclusion:
When distinguishing between test strategy and test plan, many people struggle to pinpoint the crucial distinctions. A test strategy typically remains static, whereas a test plan outlines what, when, and how testing will be conducted.
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