subject: Test Management [print this page] Software development is a continuous process of evaluation and improvisation to eliminate flaws and develop a superior product. The quality of a product can only be ensured when it has undergone rigorous testing procedures at every stage and the final product has proven to deliver commendable performance.
Test management focuses primarily on planning, developing, executing and assessing testing activities to develop application life cycle management software. It coordinates the activities governing the test management process, tracks dependencies and relationships between assets, and defines, measures and tracks quality goals. Test management can be conducted either manually or through an automated process.
Stages of test management
Before the process of test management is initiated, organizing an inventory of items or assets for testing, such as test scripts, test software, test data and test hardware, is required. There are four basic stages of test management:
Test planning addresses queries, like why a test is required, what needs testing, and where and when to test.
Test authoring deals with how testing can be done.
Test execution is the process of organizing test scripts to run the test itself.
Test reporting determines how the tests will be analyzed and how the current testing results will be reported.
The test reports help in setting up parameters to classify, calculate and track quality goals. The test reports also help highlight defects. A good testing process identifies the various defects throughout the process, which helps to develop an effective product. Apart from this, the testing team is also part of test management, and their contributions are used to promote coordination within the team.
Test Case Generation
Test case generation is the description of a test developed based on the specifications and system requirements. These test cases are typically developed at an early stage to be used before the completion of the software development process. This process checks for any irregularities and uncertainties in the design and requirements specifications. An early detection of defects saves on costs.
Various techniques are available for test case generation. Path-oriented techniques identify paths using the flow of information to generate the test cases for these paths. Static techniques and dynamic techniques generate test cases by running the program. Goal-oriented techniques generate test cases based on a particular goal, while intelligent techniques use automated processes.
Requirements and test case traceability
Requirements and test case traceability is a very good practice that keeps track of all tested requirements, allowing both forward and backward tracking. Forward traceability ensures that the requirements follow a certain direction, while backward traceability makes sure that the responsible departments are capable of fulfilling the requirement. This procedure helps identify missing requirements, reveal unidentified ones, analyze the impacts and provide a platform for construction and comparison along with coverage reporting.
Test integrations
It is very important that components be integrated with the rest of an application. This test checks for any defects caused by integrations. Test integration can only be successful when all components are unit tested.
Test management is a core feature of application life cycle management that emphasizes automated processes delivering consistent quality. A wrong or misguided step could upset the balance, resulting in a malfunctioning or erroneous product. The test management process only validates after thorough investigation, guaranteeing quality assurance.
