Test Plan

Test Plan

ISTQB Definition:

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Test plan is the project plan for the testing work to be done. It is not a test design specification, a collection of testcases or a set of test procedures; in fact, most of our test plans do not address that level of detail. Many people have different definitions for test plans.

The Test Plan document on the other hand, is derived from the Product Description, Software Requirement Specification SRS, or Use Case Documents.
The Test Plan document is usually prepared by the Test Lead or Test Manager and the focus of the document is to describe what to test, how to test, when to test and who will do what test.

It is not uncommon to have one Master Test Plan which is a common document for the test phases and each test phase have their own Test Plan documents.

There is much debate, as to whether the Test Plan document should also be a static document like the Test Strategy document mentioned above or should it be updated every often to reflect changes according to the direction of the project and activities.
My own personal view is that when a testing phase starts and the Test Manager is “controlling” the activities, the test plan should be updated to reflect any deviation from the original plan. After all, Planning and Control are continuous activities in the formal test process.

·         Test Plan id

·         Introduction

·         Test items

·         Features to be tested

·         Features not to be tested

·         Test techniques

·         Testing tasks

·         Suspension criteria

·         Features pass or fail criteria

·         Test environment (Entry criteria, Exit criteria)

·         Test delivarables

·         Staff and training needs

·         Responsibilities

Schedule