The Art Of Software Development (part 4): Delivering Quality - A Man With A Plan
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Since test cases map directly into the requirements specification, the comprehensive test plan functions as a blueprint of the full capabilities of the system, and allows an assessment of how closely the final release meets the defined needs of the customer. This test plan is a detailed document outlining the test schedule, level of testing, test cases, quality control processes and resources required. Typically, this document contains the following sections:

1. Introduction: This section introduces the test plan, indicating the goals of the test, the schedule, the level of testing and the resolution procedure in the event of test case failures.
2. Test strategy: This section contains information on test procedures, the various levels and types of tests that are to be conducted, the tools to be used, report formats, evaluation criteria and retest procedures.
3. Prerequisites: This section outlines the pre-requisites for the tests to be conducted, including the hardware, software and network configuration. In case special tools or particular environmental conditions are needed for the test, these requirements are noted in this section.
4. Traceability matrix: This matrix maps each test case to a requirement from the requirements document, in order to ensure that every requested feature is correctly implemented. While this matrix may be difficult and time-consuming to construct for small- and medium-size projects, it plays a critical role in the QA process for larger projects, and its omission can result in important test cases being missed.
5. Test cases: This section consists of test cases to verify if the software meets the various requirements specified in the previously-agreed requirements document. Each test case must be accompanied with a description outlining the test procedure, required input(s), expected output(s) and rules for determining whether or not the test was successful.
6. Test schedule and resources: This section lists the schedule for test completion, together with a list of the types and number of persons required and their responsibilities. The schedule listed in this section must map into the broad schedule listed in the software development plan; deviations if any should be reported to the project manager.

Appropriate managers need to sign off on this test plan prior to execution. Unit and system testing plans need internal approval; the acceptance test plan also requires customer approval. Once appropriate approvals are received and the development team confirms that unit testing is concluded and system testing may begin, the software is checked out of the project repository and transferred to a test team for the testing process to begin.

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