Software Development Testing Life Cycle

[Michael]

SoftwareTesting Life Cycle (STLC) is a sequence of specific activities conducted during the testing process to ensure software quality goals are met. STLC involves both verification and validation activities. Contrary to popular belief, Software Testing is not just a single/isolate activity, i.e. testing. It consists of a series of activities carried out methodologically to help certify your software product. STLC stands for Software Testing Life Cycle.

Requirement Phase Testing also known as Requirement Analysis in which test team studies the requirements from a testing point of view to identify testable requirements and the QA team may interact with various stakeholders to understand requirements in detail. Requirements could be either functional or non-functional. Automation feasibility for the testing project is also done in this stage.

Test Planning in STLC is a phase in which a Senior QA manager determines the test plan strategy along with efforts and cost estimates for the project. Moreover, the resources, test environment, test limitations and the testing schedule are also determined. The Test Plan gets prepared and finalized in the same phase.

The Test Case Development Phase involves the creation, verification and rework of test cases & test scripts after the test plan is ready. Initially, the Test data is identified then created and reviewed and then reworked based on the preconditions. Then the QA team starts the development process of test cases for individual units.

Test Environment Setup decides the software and hardware conditions under which a work product is tested. It is one of the critical aspects of the testing process and can be done in parallel with the Test Case Development Phase. Test team may not be involved in this activity if the development team provides the test environment. The test team is required to do a readiness check (smoke testing) of the given environment.

Test Execution Phase is carried out by the testers in which testing of the software build is done based on test plans and test cases prepared. The process consists of test script execution, test script maintenance and bug reporting. If bugs are reported then it is reverted back to development team for correction and retesting will be performed.

Test Cycle Closure phase is completion of test execution which involves several activities like test completion reporting, collection of test completion matrices and test results. Testing team members meet, discuss and analyze testing artifacts to identify strategies that have to be implemented in future, taking lessons from current test cycle. The idea is to remove process bottlenecks for future test cycles.

The software testing life cycle is the sequence of activities that happen during software testing. By employing a sane software testing life cycle, an organization ends up with a quality strategy more likely to produce better results. Why is this so important, though? It all boils down to customer satisfaction. Presenting a perfect product to the customer is the end goal of every organization.

Nothing puts off customers more than bug-filled user experience. So when enterprises realized this, they began to include testing as a mandatory part of the SDLC. Since then, testing has become an integral part of every organization.

A life cycle is the sequence of changes an entity goes through from one form to another. Many concrete and obscure entities go through a series of changes from start to finish. When we talk about the software testing life cycle, the software is an entity. The software testing life cycle is the process of executing different activities during testing.

These activities include checking the developed software to see if it meets specific requirements. If there are any defects in the product, testers work with the development team. In some cases, they have to contact the stakeholder to gain insight into different product specs. Validation and verification of a product are also important processes of the STLC.

Validating every module of software or application is a must to ensure product precision and accuracy. Since software testing itself is an elaborate process, testers carry it out in the following phases:

Complexities can pop up if testing lacks organization. The complexities may include unresolved bugs, undetected regression bugs, or in the worst case, a module that skipped testing because the deadline got closer.

Your valuable software testers have to view, study, and analyze the available specifications and requirements. Certain requirements produce outcomes by feeding them with input data. These requirements are testable requirements. Testers study both functional and non-functional requirements. After that, they have to pick out testable requirements.

These things are universal and should always be tested. But the requirement analysis phase is about knowing more specific details about the product. You need to learn how the product should be in its ideal state. This phase generates as deliverables a detailed requirements report, besides analysis of test automation feasibility.

The second step is test planning, and the QA team creates this plan after analyzing all the necessary testing requirements. They outline the scope and objectives after understanding the product domain. The team then analyzes the risks involved and defines time schedules and testing environments to create a strategy.

After that, management finalizes the tools and assigns roles and responsibilities to individuals. An approximate timeline is also defined by which the testing of each module should be completed. The most important delivery generated in this step is the test plan, which is a document describing the motivation and details of the testing activities for a given project. To sum it up:

You can prioritize these test cases by researching which of them are most common or which of them would affect the product the most. Next comes the verification and validation of specified requirements in the documentation stage. Also, the reviewing, updating, and approval of automation scripts and test cases are essential processes of this stage.

This phase also includes defining different test conditions with input data and expected outcomes. So, the main deliverables produced in this phase are the actual test cases organized in their test suites. To sum it up:

An application is ready for testing once the team is done with all the previous phases. According to the test plan, the testers execute test cases. They also identify, detect, and log the defects, thus reporting the bugs. The team is also responsible for comparing expected results with the real outcome. If any bugs are found, they need to be documented to pass it on to the development team for a fix.

Once the development team removes a bug, regression testing begins. Regression testing is to ensure that the software or application works even after deploying a change. When testing after a bug fix, test the complete product again. Because a fix for a bug could create a bug on some other part of the product.

Apart from that, the team also considers test metrics, the fulfillment of goals, and their adherence to deadlines. Once they have a total grasp on what happened, they can evaluate the entire testing strategy and process. To sum it up:

Exit criteria state the requirements and actions to complete before the testing ends. In other words, they include items to cross off the task list and processes to complete before testing comes to a halt.

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is a testing strategy that can help you efficiently meet software quality standards. STLC enforces systematic testing, which is performed in phases. STLC is often confused with Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), but while STLC is focused on testing, SDLC encompasses all development stages. Read on for an in-depth look at STLC and its six phases.

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is a process used to test software and ensure that quality standards are met. Tests are carried out systematically over several phases. During product development, phases of the STLC may be performed multiple times until a product is deemed suitable for release.

Although both are related to software development, with overlapping timelines, Software Development Life Cycle and Software Testing Life Cycle follow different goals and guidelines. STLC can be performed as a series of steps within the SDLC cycle or can be performed alongside SDLC phases.

Both life cycles require the cooperation of stakeholders, DevOps, and testing teams. Without this cooperation, you cannot verify that requirements are properly defined, that tests are relevant, or that results are applied properly.

Software Testing Life Cycle consists of 6 phases, each with defined entry and exit criteria and associated activities and deliverables. Entry and exit criteria define when a phase can start and when it can end. Activities and deliverables define what actions are performed and what the expected result is. Some of these phases can be performed simultaneously while others require previous phases to be completed first.

During this phase, the test strategy is outlined in a test plan document. This strategy includes tools needed, testing steps, and roles and responsibilities. Part of determining this strategy is a risk and cost analysis and an estimated timeline for testing.

During this phase, test cases are created. Each case defines test inputs, procedures, execution conditions, and anticipated results. Test cases should be transparent, efficient, and adaptable. Once all test cases are created, test coverage should be 100%. Any necessary automation scripts are also created during this phase.

During this phase, testing environments are configured and deployed. This phase may include a variety of testing tools, including TestComplete, Selenium, Appium, or Katalon Studio. Sometimes, this phase also includes setting up test servers. Once environments are deployed, smoke tests are performed to ensure that environments are working as expected with all intended functionality.

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