I’m almost a hundred percent sure that, once you hear the phrase “the circle of life”, you immediately recall the good old movie “The Lion King”. You might have wondered why I decided to use these words in the article title. I’ll tell you everything later. First, let me start with the following:
• What is software testing?
• What is a software testing life cycle, and what stages does it consist of?
What is Software Testing?
Software testing (also referred to as Quality Assurance) is the process of checking software quality: its performance, reliability, and adherence to project requirements.
According to TEST INSTITUTE, “Software Testing is the Science and Art of delivering Software Products and Solutions to the end-customers with utmost possible Service Quality and with minimal interruption in Business Processes and Services.”
Overall, QA specialists make sure that the software solution meets predefined functional and non-functional requirements and eliminates any software defect.
What is Software Testing Life Cycle?
Software testing life cycle is a continuous and consistent process of Quality Assurance; it is the flow of a testing process. There aren’t many different types of software testing life cycle – just two, actually. Usually, the life cycle model in software testing involves a set of 6 steps that need to be completed for a certain feature or the product, in general, to be considered as tested. Sometimes, the sixth stage is omitted.
Entry and Exit Criteria in the STLC
STLC phases involve entry and exit criteria. The entry criteria refers to the conditions that should be addressed before performing the test. In other words, this criteria is closely related to the purpose of the test. Exit criteria, in turn, relates to the conditions that should be taken into account before the test is completed. Each of the stages of the QA life cycle listed below has entry and exit criteria.
Check our article “How to Write QA Documentation That Will Work?”. The explanations we offer are simple, and the examples are super clear.
6 Key Software Testing Life Cycle Phases
There are 6 stages of the QA life cycle:
- Requirement analysis
- Test planning
- Test case design
- Test environment setup
- Test execution
- Test closure
Requirement analysis
Entry criteria: A certain part of the project scope needs to be implemented, the Requirement Specification and Acceptance Criteria need to be available.
Requirement analysis is the first stage of the software testing life cycle. The goal of this STLC is to identify all the requirements that must be tested during this particular cycle.
At first, a Quality Assurance specialist prepares a list of questions about requirements to be tested. Then, they consult with the development team and a Project Manager, Product Owner, Business Analyst – whoever understands the requirements best. The goal of this consultation is to perfectly understand a particular functional or non-functional requirement. For instance, they clarify how fast the app should load or how the login process should be organized. After all, they define testing strategies.
Exit criteria: The Quality Assurance team understands the requirements, the list of testable requirements is prepared.
Test planning
Entry criteria: A summary of the requirements to be tested must be prepared.
A well-known saying has it “Measure Twice, Cut Once”. Indeed, planning is integral to project success. Test planning is the second stage of the software testing life cycle. The goal of the given STLC is to formulate a strategy according to which a certain requirement will be tested. The QA specialists of the QA team lead has to:
• analyze requirements gathered at the previous stage,
• list testing types that will be applied,
• select testing tools,
• list the deliverables,
• define risks,
• compile a testing timeline
• assign testing tasks to the team
Exit criteria: The testing plan is created; the following questions are answered: what will be tested, by whom, when and how long, and what resources are needed?
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