In the Software development process, the software can never be said as a fully developed output. A constant process of developing and testing newer versions and updates is a must for delivering a fine product.

After the primary development, software and applications need to test vigorously to detect bugs and sendthem again to the developers’ team to correct the code. Before releasing the product in the market, this happens several times.

To go through the above-mentioned process smoothly and efficiently, Drafting of Test plans is a necessary step taken by the testing team. It is a go-to guide of the test consisting of the objective, resources, estimation, schedule, and strategy of the test to be conducted.

It is an outline of the activities to be conducted while performing a test. It requires timely supervision and control of the testing team.

It is generally written by a member of the testing team who has a managerial sense. He/she needs to have full knowledge of the functionality of the system. The test cases are then submitted to seniors for review.

Let’s see why drafting a test plan is important.

It helps the team to understand and decide the variables involved in the process and anticipate the efforts required to authenticate the system. It also helps in executing a qualitative analysis of the software under different tests.

The document helps other developers and business managers to gain knowledge about the details of the tests.

It serves as a manual that leads testers throughout the process and allows them to follow the standards. The team can later review and use the plan again for scope, test estimation, test strategy, etc.

Now to the main part. How? Let’s see how to create a test plan for testing an application. Below are the 8 steps,

1. Product Analysis
2. Strategy Design
3. Interpretation of the test objectives
4. Outlining test criteria
5. Resource Planning
6. Defining test Environment
7. Estimation and Scheduling
8. Governing test deliverables

For creating a test plan, first, one needs to know all about the product he/she is testing. A proper study of requirements and analysis of the system is the first step.

It involves several things like Client research, End users and their needs and expectations, Product delivery expectations, etc. Consider the following points.

• The intention of the system
• Usageof the system
• Users and Usability
• Development Requirements

The client can be interviewed to get more detailed insights or if the team has any doubts about the points mentioned above.

Designing the strategy is one of the prominent steps in drafting a test plan. The test manager designs document here which is of high importance in the whole process. It consists of testing objectives and the pointers to attain the objectives by deciding the budget and several other variables.

Mandatory inclusions in this document are as follows:

• Scope of the test
• Testing type
• Document hazards and problems
• Test logistics creation

Interpreting and defining the precise objectives of the respective test is the building block of the process. The obvious objective here is to detect as many bugs possible and remove them from the software. To do this step, there are 2 sub-steps as follows,

1. Make a list of all the features and functionalities of the software. Include notes about its performance and User interface here.
2. Target identification based on the above list.

Here a rulebook or standard for the test is made. The boundaries get decided. The whole process is supposed to play between this. 2 types of test criteria are supposed to be decided,

1. Suspension – Specifying critical suspension for a test. When this is fulfilled, the active test cycle is adjourned.
2. Exit – This criterion states a positiveconclusion of a test chapter.

As in the name, here, one is supposed to plan the resources. To make a list and analyze and summarize all the resources required for the test is the gist of this step. This list of resources can consist of anything and everything needed. People, hardware, and software resources, etc.

This step is mainly helpful to the test manager to plan a precise test schedule and estimate the resource quantity more accurately.

Don’t get worried about the big word here. This ‘Environment’ includes a combination of software and hardware on which the testing is to be performed. It also includes other elements such as the user, servers, front-end interface, etc.

Continuing from the earlier step, now the main task is to make an estimation and schedule of the testing process. It is a common practice to break down the estimations into small units and then noting the whole estimation while documentation.

While scheduling, many things are to be taken into account while scheduling the test such as Project estimation, Employee deadline, Project deadline, Project risk, etc.

This final step includes all the documents, components, and tools that are developed for the testing efforts by the whole team. Most of the time, the test manager gives the deliverables at definiteintermissions of the development.

The deliverables consist ofdesign specifications, error and execution logs, plan documents, simulators, installation, test procedures, etc.

We covered the whole drafting of the test plan in these 8 steps. We hope that this will help you or your team to create the test plan. Remember, every software requires different specifications and requirements in the test plan. While making your plan, make sure you are considering all the factors proposed by your specific software.

The executive qualities of the testing team of VTEST are its main benefit. Here at VTEST, we don’t have only geek testers who are new to the industry. We work professionally with ace testers who also have the necessary managerial skillset.

The whole process of testing at VTEST including the drafting of the test plans is as efficient as the abacus and as solid as a rock.

As they say, VTEST it! .

About VTEST

VTEST is independent software testing company catering to product and services teams across the globe. We are a team of software testers that are passionate about quality and love to test. We develop an in-depth understanding of the applications under test and include software testing services strategies that deliver quantifiable results.

In short, we help in building incredible software.