An In-Depth Breakdown of the Comprehensive QA Software Testing Process Flow:
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The occupation of a software testing professional is not a walk in the park. It’s a demanding and challenging role requiring testers to maintain a high level of alertness and enthusiasm throughout each stage of the application lifecycle.
Regardless of the hurdles, there are plenty of chances to obtain fresh knowledge and delve into various aspects of testing methods, procedures, and the software itself.
The role of a test engineer commences at an early stage of the process. Testers are drawn into discussions with the product owner, project manager, and different stakeholders right from the project design phase.
This useful tutorial on “Software Testing Process flow” offers a complete breakdown of the multiple stages in STLC, highlighting the challenges therein and the best practices to address these hurdles in an easy-to-understand fashion.
What You Will Gain:
Requirement to Release – An All-Inclusive Perspective
From Requirement to Release, each stage is clearly explained. Let’s dive deeper into the details.
#1) Requirement
A clear requirement is essential to kickstart any project. This phase is pivotal as it entails documenting ideas in an easily graspable and formatted document. Participating in the requirement gathering stage is a golden opportunity, enabling you to experience the project from its birth.
However, this phase is accompanied by responsibilities and challenges. Accumulating all the requirements in one go is unrealistic, and it takes patience. Some discussions may seem unrelated to your project, but they may carry crucial information. It’s vital to remain attentive to the product owner and clarify any ambiguities.
Obstacles:
Collecting requirements might necessitate multiple discussions, and the pace of talks may surpass your comprehension or attentiveness ability. It is essential not to overlook any detail as it can significantly influence the overall comprehension and testing of the project. To combat these challenges, here are some best practices:
Best Practices:
- Concentrate on every word uttered by the product owner.
- Clarify any uncertainties, no matter how minor they appear.
- Utilize notebooks for note-taking to guarantee swift and precise documentation. Use a laptop only if you can type at a brisk pace.
- Recap what you’ve understood to the product owner to ascertain clarity.
- Craft diagrams and connect text to make requirements more clear-cut.
- If teams are geographically separated, contemplate using web conferencing tools for discussions to build a record for future reference.
Requirements may alter even late in the development process, so it’s vital to capture as many requirements as feasible and document them properly. Disseminate and dialog the documented requirements with stakeholders to ensure unanimity before proceeding further.
#2) Test Strategy
Testers must devise a test strategy that not only guarantees exhaustive testing but also fosters confidence in stakeholders about the product’s quality.
Obstacles:
This phase is of utmost importance as it involves creating a strategy that assures a bug-free and top-quality software. Test strategies are not altered frequently, and at times, they might have to be discussed with consumers as well. Thus, it is critical to assign a high priority to this phase.
Best Practices:
- Review the requirement document and earmark vital points pertinent to the target software environment.
- Compile a list of environments where the software will be deployed, including operating systems and mobile devices.
- If the software is web-oriented, specify the target browsers and their versions.
- List any auxiliary software required or supported by the application.
The objective is to possess a comprehensive understanding of the platforms, devices, and software that the application necessitates. This information is fundamental for formulating an effective test strategy.
The illustration below depicts the structure of a test strategy for an Agile project:
#3) Test Planning
In the test planning phase, testers execute the test strategy by devising an intricate plan.
This phase is vital and necessitates careful consideration.
Obstacles:
The success of the application mainly hinges on how effectively the tests are conducted, rendering this phase a critical part of the entire testing lifecycle. To overcome challenges, consider the following best practices:
Best Practices:
- Ensure meticulous testing of every part of the application.
- Develop a test strategy based on the requirement document.
- Formulate a matrix of the target environments for testing.
- List all pertinent versions of operating systems, browsers, and other platforms.
- If the application operates with multiple databases, incorporate them into the test matrix.
- Configure test machines in line with the matrix and name them accordingly.
- Guarantee comprehensive coverage of all supported platforms.
#4) Testing
At last, the application build is ready for testing. Testers concentrate on test planning and endeavour to discover as many bugs as feasible. Depending on the development process (e.g., Agile), there might be extra stages such as scrum.
The diagram below categorizes different kinds of testing:
Obstacles:
Testing is a tough and time-intensive process, but it plays a pivotal role in ensuring the application’s quality. To overcome challenges, consider the following best practices:
Best Practices:
Adopt a fresh standpoint when testing, not just relying on test cases. Get acquainted with the application and make a note of any departures from expected conduct. Capture corroborating documentation like screenshots, error logs, and server logs to back up discovered defects. Don’t hesitate to consult developers or the product owner when unsure.
#5) Pre-Release
Before the product is released, its quality must be thoroughly assured. The software is repeatedly tested until it’s replaced or removed.
Obstacles:
The software must endure intensive testing to satisfy various parameters, including functionality, performance, scalability, and compatibility across different platforms.
Best Practices:
- Confirm extensive testing of all features on all supported platforms.
- Highlight any sections that need further testing efforts or haven’t been fully tested.
- Maintain a test matrix to evaluate the product’s stability and assist in release decisions.
- Share your insights and experiences with the team to improve the software for end-users.
- Convey the testing status to your manager, even if some testing might have been skipped due to time restrictions.
- Generate an application health card that presents a synopsis of logged, open, closed, and intermittent defects, along with their severity and priority.
- Draft a release document and distribute it to the team.
- Respond to the feedback and suggestions from the management and the team.
The image below depicts the software release lifecycle:
#6) Release
At last, it’s time to deliver the product to its intended users. The software test engineers mainly handle the release, which necessitates a process-centric workflow. Here are some best practices involved in this phase:
- Arrange the release activity in advance, ensuring it’s not done on the actual release date.
- Standardize the release document as per company policies.
- Clearly state the software and hardware requirements in the release document.
- Include unresolved defects and their severity in the release document.
- Review and digitally sign the document as necessitated by company policies.
- Confidently dispatch the release document along with the software.
Real Project QA Testing Process – Waterfall Approach
A reader posed an intriguing question: How is testing performed in a company, in a practical setting?
Those who have recently graduated and are job hunting often ponder about the actual working environment in a company.
In this segment, we will concentrate on the actual functioning process of software testing in companies.
When a fresh project arrives, an introductory project familiarity meeting is held. This meeting entails talks about the client, project duration, delivery date, and the team members involved in the project, such as the manager, tech leads, QA leads, developers, and testers.
Based on the software requirement specifications (SRS), a project plan is devised. Testers conjure a test plan from the SRS and project plan, while developers initiate coding based on the design. The project is split into modules, which are assigned to developers.
Simultaneously, testers construct test scenarios and draft test cases for the assigned modules. They aim to cover all functional test cases from