Test Plan

The Test Plan module enables you to develop a test plan and design tests for your application. A good test plan helps you assess the quality of your application at any point in the application management process.

Before you plan tests

Before you plan tests in ALM, outline a strategy for achieving your requirements, as defined in the Requirements module. Ask yourself two basic questions:

How should you test your application?

  • Which testing techniques will you use (stress tests, security tests, performance and load tests, etc.)?

  • How will you handle defects (severity classification, authorization to open and close defects, etc.)?
What resources do you require?

  • What resources do you require to test (personnel, hardware, etc.)?

  • When will the various tasks be completed?

Example:  Consider a flight reservation application that lets you manage flight scheduling, passenger bookings, and ticket sales. Testing will require designing both manual and automated tests. You could assign testing personnel with programming experience the task of designing automated tests, while non-programmers could design manual tests.

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Plan tests in ALM

The following procedures summarize how to plan tests in ALM.

Higher-level task: This task is part of a higher-level task. For details, see ALM lifecycle.

Prerequisite:

A set of requirements is defined in the Requirements tree. For task details, see Requirements.

Tip: You can automatically create tests based directly on your requirements in the Requirements module. For details, see the step for converting requirements to tests in the Create requirements task.

To plan tests:

  1. Create a test plan tree.

    Create a test plan tree of test subject folders and tests. For task details, see Create tests.

  2. (Optional) Create dependencies with test resources.

    You can associate tests with a set of resources that you upload to the ALM repository. You can then view these dependencies and determine the resources that are in use. For details, see Test Resources.

    Business Process Testing: You can associate component design steps with application area resources that you upload.

  3. Define test parameters.

    To make tests more flexible, you can include parameters in test steps. This enables you to run the same test repeatedly and assign different values to the parameters. For details, see Test parameters.

  4. Define test configurations.

    To run tests for different use-cases, you can define test configurations. This enables you to run the same test under different scenarios. For details, see Test configurations.

  5. Create test steps.

    Create test steps describing the operations to perform and their expected results. After you define the test steps, decide whether to perform the test manually or to automate it. For details, see Design tests.

  6. Automate tests.

    After designing test steps, decide which tests to automate. Factors influencing test automation include frequency of execution, volume of data input, length of execution time, and complexity. For details, see Design tests.

    System Tests You can also create automated system tests that provide system information for a machine, capture a desktop image, or restart a machine. For details, see Create and run system tests.
    UFT Developer Tests You can also create or import automated UFT Developer tests. For details, see Create and import UFT Developer tests.

  7. Create requirement coverage.

    Link each test in the test plan tree with a requirement or requirements in the requirements tree. By defining requirements coverage for a test, you keep track of the relationship between the tests in your test plan and your original requirements. For details, see Create requirement coverage.

  8. Link a test to a defect.

    Link a test to specific defects. This is useful, for example, when a new test is created specifically for a known defect. By creating a link, you can determine if the test should be run based on the status of the defect. For details, see Linked Defects/Entities Page.

  9. Analyze test plan data.

    Analyze the test plan by generating reports and graphs. Use one of the following:

    View dynamic graphs of test subjects In the test plan tree, select a test subject, and click the Live Analysis tab. For task details on generating live analysis graphs, see Live Analysis graphs.
    View test plan data in a graph On the Test Plan module menu, select Analysis > Graphs. For task details on generating graphs, see Generate an entity graph.
    Create a report of test plan data On the Test Plan module menu, select Analysis > Project Report. For task details on creating reports, see Create and configure project reports.

    For details on additional analysis tools in ALM, see Analysis.

  10. Establish a baseline.

    After your test plan has been reviewed and approved, you can create a baseline. A baseline provides you with a snapshot of your test plan at a specific point in time. Use a baseline to mark any significant milestone in the application lifecycle. The baseline then serves as a point of reference against which changes can be compared. For task details, see How to Use Libraries and Baselines in ALM.

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See also: