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Why is Test Documentation Necessary in Software Testing?

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Why Is Test Documentation Necessary in Software Testing?

In software testing, test documentation provides a detailed reference point for what should be tested, how testing should be done, and by whom. Test documentation enables developers or other team members to learn the specifics of testing conducted on a system or product, allowing them to make educated decisions when updating or improving the system or product.

The only way of communicating software test requirements to development and maintenance teams is through test documentation. It serves as a Testing Quality Assurance reference for testers as well as a checklist for developers.

Software testing is both a process and a task. The principles of software testing are the guidelines that assist testing teams in making the best use of their time and effort in order to discover hidden effects of a testing project.

Test documentation assists team members in designing test cases to be run throughout the testing phase or regression period.


During development, we often focus on the product rather than the process. We are more familiar with the features of the software product than with how it will be tested. During the testing process, we often consider how we would test this software product. If we want to enhance our present goods or develop new ones, we may use this document to see what has previously been tested (and what needs to be tested).

In software testing, there are several types of test documentation.


Bug Trackers
Use bug tracking software that is simple to use and allows you to find issues fast. A bug tracker is one of the most significant forms of documentation since it captures all defects as well as the methods to replicate them. When it is impossible to keep track of the test stages, a bug tracker can be utilized for any test cases. A bug tracker can be as simple as an excel spreadsheet or as complex as JIRA or Trello (which are more task productivity tools). Although, there are more specialized bug tracking tools available, such as TestQuality.

TestQuality.com, provides a Powerful yet Easy Test Management case that will help you to easily create, manage, and assign test plans, milestones, test cases, and testing cycles, but also build your test cases and store and organize in your global test repository - with preconditions, steps, attachments, and much more such as: Test execution, Track Results, Team Collaboration and always seamlessly integrated testing for your DevOps Workflowthat ensure quality product delivery to help speed up time-to-market, reduce test efforts and cost.



Although these Test Management Case tools such as TestQuality identify defects, they also provide much more functionality, such as overall test case management and documentation. For convenience of use, having a single tool that provides all of the documentation you want is far superior to having many tools do partial work.



Other tools are used to disseminate information about the system being tested, connect with other team members, report on testing progress, and track how defects are detected.

The tools might be extremely simple or highly complex. If you wish to communicate information regarding the system being evaluated, for example, you may simply use e-mail or instant messaging. Rather of utilizing a wiki or blog tool to communicate, you may configure your workspace to ask your peers (or the team lead) questions regarding what has previously been tested and how it has been tested.

Test documentation is critical in managing test cases; testers must be aware of any faults that have already been discovered and how they were discovered. This approach allows the tester to arrange his testing operations by taking previously identified flaws into consideration.
The process of developing test documentation varies based on who is doing it, how it is done, and when it is done. If you wish to build new tests, you should write them down before you begin testing. This is the greatest moment to make your checklist, because later in the testing process you may forget about items that needed to be done earlier.

The following are a few critical software testing documents that we must use/maintain on a daily basis:

  • Plan of Testing
  • Test Design and Test Case Specification
  • Test Strategy
  • Test Summary Reports
  • Weekly Status Report
  • User Documents / Manuals
  • User Acceptance Report
  • Risk Assessment
  • Test Log
  • Bug Reports
  • Test Data
  • Test Analysis

Software testers must frequently refer to the following documents:

1) Specifications for Software Requirements.
2) Functional documents.

Plan of testing
This is a critical document that outlines the overall objectives of the testing process, non-functional requirements (if any), the test environment, and the document structure that explains what tests will be executed. The test plan serves as a high-level blueprint for the tests that will be carried out throughout the testing phase. It serves as a navigation tool for both testers and developers.

The following items would be included in the test plan:

  • Procedure for testing and test cases (test instructions): The term "Test Procedure" refers to the step-by-step instructions for carrying out a test case. Test instructions are designed to guarantee that each test case is completed thoroughly and that each result or defect noticed has been taken into account in the analysis of results or faults. The test procedure specifies what, how, when, where, and who must be conducted during the testing process. A test method may include specific steps or simply an overview with missing detailed stages that must be filled in by the developer (s).This is a collection of instructions or input data that must result in the product's desired behavior (i.e., what happens when you do this). Test cases can be used to determine if a software system satisfies or complies to specifications. They are organized into test groups known as test suites. Creates a distinct ID for each ID number for identifying reasons. It's employed in all test plans, processes, and so on.

  • Test Enviroment: A test environment is the set of resources necessary to test an application or system, which includes the hardware, operating system, and application applications utilized during testing. For developers and testers, test papers are more than simply a checklist; they enable them to convey precisely what needs to be checked.

  • Logging of tests, auditing, and traceability: More complex software development projects need greater documentation and more comprehensive test environments (for example, virtual machines and emulators for testing older systems), which make understanding the impact of changes on the various components more difficult. Test execution tools often create logs or records of tests that may be compared to results automatically. Such logs assist testers in determining whether changes they made had an unexpected effect on other components (breaking existing functionality).

According to the IEEE standard for software test documentation, a test plan document should contain the following information:

  • Test plan identifier
  • Introduction
  • References (list of related documents)
  • Test items (the product and its versions)
  • Features to be tested
  • Features not to be tested
  • Item pass or fail criteria
  • Test approach (testing levels, types, techniques)
  • Suspension criteria
  • Deliverables (Test Plan (this document itself), Test Cases, Test Scripts, Defect/Enhancement Logs, Test Reports)
  • Test environment (hardware, software, tools)
  • Estimates
  • Schedule
  • Staffing and training needs
  • Responsibilities
  • Risks
  • Assumptions and Dependencies
  • Approvals


Conclusion
It is quite difficult to determine whether or not documentation strategies are being used properly. There are numerous strategies that have an impact on test case development and should be considered.

Software testing documentation is usually essential during the project development/testing process. So, wherever feasible, keep everything documented. Do not rely completely on verbal communication. Always err on the side of caution.

However, it is critical to understand what you can do to assure the quality of your testing effort. When developing test scripts, a solid document structure and appropriate testing tools like TestQuality might come in help. It can also assist with testing difficulties by providing a good location to turn for support if there are any difficulty executing the scripts or discovering errors thanks to link to requirements using seamless two way integrations by choosing the integration type, then which repository/project you would like to link with the project..

Get in touch with us and talk to our experts how TestQuality can help to document your  Test manage and optimize your life-cycle testing software.
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