Chapter 5 Flashcards
What is a Test Plan?
A test plan describes the objectives, resources and processes for a test project.
A test plan:
* Documents the means and schedule for achieving test objectives
* Helps to ensure that the performed test activities will meet the established criteria
* Serves as a means of communication with team members and other stakeholders
* Demonstrates that testing will adhere to the existing test policy and test strategy (or explains why the testing will deviate from them)
What does a Test Plan include?
The typical content of a test plan includes:
* Context of testing (e.g., scope, test objectives, constraints, test basis)
* Assumptions and constraints of the test project
* Stakeholders (e.g., roles, responsibilities, relevance to testing, hiring and training needs)
* Communication (e.g., forms and frequency of communication, documentation templates)
* Risk register (e.g., product risks, project risks)
* Test approach (e.g., test levels, test types, test techniques, test deliverables, entry criteria and exit criteria, independence of testing, metrics to be collected, test data requirements, test environment requirements, deviations from the organizational test policy and test strategy)
* Budget and schedule
What are 2 kinds of Planning?
release and iteration
What is Release planning?
Release planning looks ahead to the release of a product, defines and re-defines the product backlog, and may involve refining larger user stories into a set of smaller user stories. It also serves as the basis for the test approach and test plan across all iterations. Testers involved in release planning participate in writing testable user stories and acceptance criteria, participate in project and quality risk analyses, estimate test effort associated with user stories, determine the test approach, and plan the testing for the release.
What is Iteration planning?
Iteration planning looks ahead to the end of a single iteration and is concerned with the iteration backlog. Testers involved in iteration planning participate in the detailed risk analysis of user stories, determine the testability of user stories, break down user stories into tasks (particularly testing tasks), estimate test effort for all testing tasks, and identify and refine functional and non-functional aspects of the test object.
What is Entry Criteria?
Entry criteria define the preconditions for undertaking a given activity. If entry criteria are not met, it is likely that the activity will prove to be more difficult, time-consuming, costly, and riskier.
Typical entry criteria include: availability of resources (e.g., people, tools, environments, test data, budget, time), availability of testware (e.g., test basis, testable requirements, user stories, test cases), and initial quality level of a test object (e.g., all smoke tests have passed).
What is Exit Criteria?
Exit criteria define what must be achieved in order to declare an activity completed.
Typical exit criteria include: measures of thoroughness (e.g., achieved level of coverage, number of unresolved defects, defect density, number of failed test cases), and completion criteria (e.g., planned tests have been executed, static testing has been performed, all defects found are reported, all regression tests are automated).
Running out of time or budget can also be viewed as valid exit criteria. Even without other exit criteria being satisfied, it can be acceptable to end testing under such circumstances, if the stakeholders have reviewed and accepted the risk to go live without further testing.
What are 4 Estimation Techniques?
- Estimation based on ratios
- Extrapolation
- Wideband Delphi
- Three-point estimation
Describe: Extrapolation
In this metrics-based technique, measurements are made as early as possible in the current project to gather the data. Having enough observations, the effort required for the remaining work can be approximated by extrapolating this data (usually by applying a mathematical model). This method is very suitable in iterative SDLCs. For example, the team may extrapolate the test effort in the forthcoming iteration as the averaged effort from the last three iterations.
Describe: Estimation based on ratios
In this metrics-based technique, figures are collected from previous projects within the organization, which makes it possible to derive “standard” ratios for similar projects. The ratios of an organization’s own projects (e.g., taken from historical data) are generally the best source to use in the estimation process. These standard ratios can then be used to estimate the test effort for the new project. For example, if in the previous project the development-to-test effort ratio was 3:2, and in the current project the development effort is expected to be 600 person-days, the test effort can be estimated to be 400 person-days.
Describe: Three-point estimation
In this expert-based technique, three estimations are made by the experts: the most optimistic estimation (a), the most likely estimation (m) and the most pessimistic estimation (b). The final estimate (E) is their weighted arithmetic mean. In the most popular version of this technique, the estimate is calculated as E = (a + 4m + b) / 6. The advantage of this technique is that it allows the experts to calculate the measurement error: SD = (b – a) / 6. For example, if the estimates (in person- hours) are: a=6, m=9 and b=18, then the final estimation is 10±2 person-hours (i.e., between 8 and 12 person-hours), because E = (6 + 49 + 18) / 6 = 10 and SD = (18 – 6) / 6 = 2.
What are 3 ways to prioritize Test Cases?
by rick, coverage, and/or requirements
Describe: Wideband Delphi
In this iterative, expert-based technique, experts make experience-based estimations. Each expert, in isolation, estimates the effort. The results are collected and if there are deviations that are out of range of the agreed upon boundaries, the experts discuss their current estimates. Each expert is then asked to make a new estimation based on that feedback, again in isolation. This process is repeated until a consensus is reached.
What is Planning Poker?
Is a variant of Wideband Delphi, commonly used in Agile software development. In Planning Poker, estimates are usually made using cards with numbers that represent the effort size.
What is Risk-based prioritization?
where the order of test execution is based on the results of risk analysis. Test cases covering the most important risks are executed first.
What is Coverage-based prioritization?
Test cases achieving the highest coverage are executed first. In another variant, called additional coverage prioritization, the test case achieving the highest coverage is executed first; each subsequent test case is the one that achieves the highest additional coverage.
