Editing Software testing (section)

=== Artifacts ===

A software testing process can produce several [[Artifact (software development)|artifacts]]. The actual artifacts produced are a factor of the software development model used, stakeholder and organisational needs.

====Test plan====
{{Main|Test plan}}
A [[test plan]] is a document detailing the approach that will be taken for intended test activities. The plan may include aspects such as objectives, scope, processes and procedures, personnel requirements, and contingency plans.<ref name="LewisSoftware16-2">{{Cite book |last=Lewis, W.E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgaBDd0TfT8C&pg=PA92 |title=Software Testing and Continuous Quality Improvement |publisher=CRC Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4398-3436-7 |edition=3rd |pages=92–6}}</ref> The test plan could come in the form of a single plan that includes all test types (like an acceptance or system test plan) and planning considerations, or it may be issued as a master test plan that provides an overview of more than one detailed test plan (a plan of a plan).<ref name="LewisSoftware16-2" /> A test plan can be, in some cases, part of a wide "[[test strategy]]" which documents overall testing approaches, which may itself be a master test plan or even a separate artifact.

====Traceability matrix====
{{Excerpt|Traceability matrix|only=paragraphs|paragraph=1}}

====Test case====
{{Main|Test case}}

A [[test case]] normally consists of a unique identifier, requirement references from a design specification, preconditions, events, a series of steps (also known as actions) to follow, input, output, expected result, and the actual result. Clinically defined, a test case is an input and an expected result.<ref>{{Cite book |last=IEEE |title=IEEE standard for software test documentation |title-link=IEEE 829 |publisher=IEEE |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7381-1443-9 |location=New York}}</ref> This can be as terse as "for condition x your derived result is y", although normally test cases describe in more detail the input scenario and what results might be expected. It can occasionally be a series of steps (but often steps are contained in a separate test procedure that can be exercised against multiple test cases, as a matter of economy) but with one expected result or expected outcome. The optional fields are a test case ID, test step, or order of execution number, related requirement(s), depth, test category, author, and check boxes for whether the test is automatable and has been automated. Larger test cases may also contain prerequisite states or steps, and descriptions. A test case should also contain a place for the actual result. These steps can be stored in a word processor document, spreadsheet, database, or other common repositories. In a database system, you may also be able to see past test results, who generated the results, and what system configuration was used to generate those results. These past results would usually be stored in a separate table.

====Test script====

A [[test script]] is a procedure or programming code that replicates user actions. Initially, the term was derived from the product of work created by automated regression test tools. A test case will be a baseline to create test scripts using a tool or a program.

====Test suite====
{{Excerpt|Test suite|paragraph=1}}

====Test fixture or test data====
{{Main|Test fixture}}

In most cases, multiple sets of values or data are used to test the same functionality of a particular feature. All the test values and changeable environmental components are collected in separate files and stored as test data. It is also useful to provide this data to the client and with the product or a project. There are techniques to generate Test data.

====Test harness====
{{Main|Test harness}}

The software, tools, samples of data input and output, and configurations are all referred to collectively as a [[test harness]].

====Test run====
A test run is a collection of test cases or test suites that the user is executing and comparing the expected with the actual results. Once complete, a report or all executed tests may be generated.