unit 3

 

introduction

This lesson will provide the student with an introduction to the software Test Planning activities performed by Test Engineering and Software Engineering. The lesson discusses the test planning objectives, major issues, activities and the master test plan contents. Unit 3 and Unit 4 identify the contents of test planning, how testing fits into the overall life cycle, major test milestones, test documentation, metrics, resources (including tools), and schedules.

Pre-requisites: Units 1 and 2.

objectives

At the conclusion of this lesson, the student will be able to:

  • Identify the major objectives of test planning
  • Describe the typical contents of a test plan
  • Understand how test activities parallel development activities
  • List the benefits of test reviews
  • Determine when a test tool is needed & and how to select the best tool
  • Plan for test staffing & schedules
  • Know the typical types of test documentation
  • Plan for metrics collection & reporting

instructional events
  • Read the syllabus, available on the main page.
  • Read Unit 3 online.
  • Take the quiz by clicking on the quiz icon.
  • Test Discipline Click Test and Read the next 5 topics in the linked topics on the Concepts Pages.

resources
The following publications contain more detailed information about the testing techniques and methodologies:
  • Read (Chapter 5 Top-down verification planning and Chapter 6 Item qualification test planning analysis) of System Validation and Verification by Jeffrey O. Grady Publisher CRC Press ISBN 0-8493-7838-9
  • Beizer, Boris; Software System Testing and Quality Assurance. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1984.
  • Humphrey, Watts S.; Managing the Software Process. New York: Addison- Wesley Publishing Company, 1989.
  • Schulmeyer, G. Gordon; Zero Defect Software. New York: McGraw-Hill, Incorporated, 1990.