We live in a world where software is integral to our daily lives. We have all experienced situations where software failed to perform as expected. Poor quality software can result in significant financial impact and brand damage for organizations. Consumers are picky about the software they choose.
- According to Statista, more than a third of smartphone users delete an app when they encounter a software bug,
- According to Localytics, 21% of users abandon an app after one use.
Today's digital users are more demanding than ever. As a result of growing consumer demands, organizations invest in software testing to provide high-quality software for their customers. This article will look at the Software Testing course, the fundamentals of software testing, and some tips on getting started.
What is Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) & Why It Important?
STLC is a sequence of activities performed during the software testing process. Despite being part of SDLC, it only consists of testing phases. It begins with the definition of requirements or the sharing of software requirements documents by stakeholders. To ensure the quality of our products or software, we follow a step-by-step process.
As the software product or application is developed, the testing team analyses and defines the scope of testing, entry and exit criteria, and test cases. In addition to helping to reduce test cycle time, it also assists in improving the quality of the product. Immediately after the development phase is over, the testing team prepares test cases and begins executing them. As a result, bugs can be found earlier in the development process.
Role of Software Testing Life Cycle
Teams can benefit from an STLC in the following ways:
- Improve the consistency and effectiveness of the agile testing process .
- Define clearly each project aspect's goals and expectations.
- Time constraints should be applied to project testing.
- Prior to adding any additional features, ensure that each feature has been tested and passed.
- Ensure that project requirement is met.
- Software Testing Life Cycle frameworks typically include the following activities:
- Analyzing the system requirements of clients and stakeholders.
- Creating a traceability matrix (a document that compares requirements with features to determine project completion).
- Identifying the testing techniques and types required for each feature.
- Identifying target features and prioritizing them.
- Analyzing how tasks can be automated.
- Information about the environment is identified.
Characteristics of STLC
The STLC is a fundamental part of the SDLC, but it consists only of the testing phases.
For the STLC to start, the requirements must be defined, or the software requirement document must be created and shared by stakeholders. To ensure quality software, STLC follows a step-by-step process.
As the software product or application is being developed, the testing team analyzes and defines the scope of testing, the entry and exit criteria, as well as the test cases. In addition to reducing test cycle time, it improves the quality of the product.
In the wake of the development phase, the testing team is ready with test cases and starts executing them as soon as possible. Early detection of bugs during the defective life cycle in software testing is made easier this way.
Advantages of Software Testing Lifecycle
The following are the advantages of software testing life cycle.
- The development cycle shifts testing to the left. As a result, meaningful tests are designed, and feature specs are clear.
- The systematic testing process speeds up the testing process and allows teams to uncover and address issues faster.
- The tracking of project progress is easier because testing is done with well-described goals and phases.
Phases of Software Testing Life Cycle
1. Requirement Analysis
In the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC), the Requirement Analysis is the first step. It is during this phase that the quality assurance team understands the requirements. When anything is missing or unclear, the quality assurance team meets with the stakeholders to understand the requirements better.
Activities in Requirement Analysis:
- Identify the types of tests required based on customer needs.
- Gather the requirements for the application from the customer.
- Identify requirements and prepare a Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM).
- Identify the details of the test environment.
- Feasibility study for automation (if required).
Deliverables of Requirement Analysis:
- Traceability matrix of requirements (RTM).
- Feasibility report for automation (if applicable).
2. Test Planning
A test plan is the most efficient phase of the software testing life cycle, where all testing plans are defined. During this phase, the testing team manager calculates the estimated effort and cost for testing. Once the requirements-gathering phase has been completed, this phase begins.
Activities in Test Planning:
- Test plan preparation for different types of tests
- Tool selection for testing.
- Estimation of test effort.
- Planning resources and deciding roles and responsibilities.
- The requirement for training.
Deliverables of Test Planning:
- Document for test plan preparation.
- Document for estimating effort.
3. Test Case Development
Once the test planning phase is complete, the test case development phase begins. As part of this phase, the testing team notes down in detail the test cases. As part of the testing process, the testing team prepares the required test data. Test cases are prepared and reviewed by the quality assurance team after they have been prepared.
Activities in Test Case Development:
- Development of test cases and automated scripts (if applicable).
- Perform a review of test cases and scripts.
- Creating test data (if Test Environment is available).
Deliverables of Test Case Development:
- The test cases or scripts.
- Data from a test.
4. Test Environment Setup
The setup of a test environment is one of the most important steps in the STLC. Fundamentally, test environments determine what conditions software will be tested in. This is an independent activity that can be started simultaneously with the development of test cases. A member of the testing team does not participate in this process. It is either a developer or a customer who creates the testing environment.
Activities in Test Environment Setup:
- The test environment must be prepared by understanding the architecture, setting up the environment, and listing the hardware and software requirements.
- Obtain test data and set up the test environment.
- Test the build by performing a smoke test.
Deliverables of Test Environment Setup:
- Ready with the prepared test data in the test environment.
- Results of the smoke test.
5. Test Execution
The test execution phase begins after the test case development and test environment setup phases. As part of this phase, the testing team executes the test cases prepared in the previous step.
Activities in Test Execution:
- Test cases should be executed according to plan.
- Test reports should be generated, and defects should be logged for failed cases.
- Test cases should be mapped to defects in RTM.
- A retest should be performed.
- Complete the test by tracking the defects.
Deliverables of Test Execution:
- RTM completed with execution status.
- Updated test cases with pass/fail results.
- Reports of defects.
6. Test Closure
As the final step in the STLC, analysis of the testing process takes place here.
Activities in Test Closure:
- The completion criteria for test cycles should be based on Time, Test Coverage, Cost, Software, Critical Business Objectives, and Quality metrics.
- Based on the above parameters, prepare test metrics.
- Report on the test closure.
- Analysis of test results in order to determine how defects are distributed by type and severity.
Deliverables of Test Closure:
- Report on test closure.
- The metrics of the test.
Benefits of STLC
Some advantages of STLC include the following:
- Development cycles are shifted to the left to accommodate testing. It ensures that test specifications are clear and that meaningful tests are designed.
- Systematic testing speeds up the testing process and enables teams to identify and resolve issues faster.
- Project progress can be tracked more easily because testing is conducted with well-defined objectives and phases.
- Increased consistency and effectiveness as project requirements are analyzed.
- It is easier to track project progress when testing products have clearly defined goals.
- Before adding additional features, the confidence in each feature is tested.
- It is important to design tests in a meaningful way.
- The specifications are clear, which makes the team's job easier.
- The QA process is a systematic approach to fixing bugs and defects in a product as quickly as possible.
Entry and Exit Criteria for Testing
- Entry Criteria: Entry Criteria are a set of conditions that testers must satisfy to begin the test.
- Exit Criteria: Exit Criteria are a set of conditions that testers must satisfy to end the test.
Credits: thinksys.com Various criteria of all the phases for both Entry and Exit Testing
| Criteria | Entry Criteria
| Exit Criteria
|
Requirement Analysis
| It is necessary to document client requirements and acceptance criteria, as well as the intended architecture of the product.
| Automation decisions should be based on a requirement traceability matrix (RTM).
|
Test Planning
| Describe the test strategies that were implemented.
| The test plan's risks and costs should be approved by the testers.
|
Test Case Development
| Timelines to execute the test plan have been approved.
| Test cases and automation scripts must be approved.
|
Test Environment Setup
| Develop an architecture for the project and a system design.
| To run test cases, you need a working QA/Testing environment.
|
Test Execution
| Ensure that all previous steps have been completed, especially the exit criteria.
| To report back on test results, document the execution and results
|
Test Closure
| Previous phase results and logging.
| Planned deliverables (methods are too similar, try using a different term) and test closure test summary report delivered.
|
STLC vs SDLC: How Do They Differ?
The Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) and the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) might seem similar, but they have different aims and guidelines.
There is something quite interesting about STLC phases during SDLC, SDLC describes software development, while STLC describes software testing. STLC is a segment/subset/part of SDLC. Testers execute the activities in both lifecycles one after the other.
The primary goal of SDLC is to collect the client's requirements and design the features accordingly. Accordingly, STLC's goals generate tests that adapt to the requirements and verify that the features meet them.
SDLC is aimed at completing successful software development with quality software. In contrast, STLC aims to complete successful software testing activities and make the software defect-free. STLC and SDLC phases must both be completed to ensure that entry and exit criteria are met before entering or leaving a phase mentioned above.
Both approaches require the involvement of stakeholders, including participants from Developers, testing team, Product owners, and Business analysts. Full cooperation from the team in both approaches means you may verify the requirements, tests, and form accurate results. Make your testing life cycle in software testing is more efficient.
Conclusion
It is important to understand how testing and quality fit into the phases of the SDLC or STLC, regardless of which approach your team chooses. No matter which approaches you choose, the goal is to deliver a quality product with appropriate testing coverage and confidence. While I have used both approaches in the past, it would be interesting to follow STLC rigorously and see if it can reveal any new bugs.
It's not a promising idea to identify errors during the last stage of the SDLC since there are other activities that need attention. Testing bug fixes too much also results in lower efficiency and adds little value. Tests are easier to perform when resources and time are used efficiently. By following the STLC process, you will notice speedy bug fixes and product quality enhancements which in turn leaves you with happy customers, a positive company reputation, and increased ROI. Refer to KnowledgeHut’s Software Testing Course to know more about the software testing life cycle and the basics.
