Topic: Creating a Test Plan.............

Task 1: Creating a Test Plan

The role of a test plan is to guide all testing activities. It defines what is to be tested and what is to be overlooked, how the testing is to be performed (described on a general level) and by whom. It is therefore a managerial document, not technical one - in essence, it is a project plan for testing. Therefore, the target audience of the plan should be a manager with a decent grasp of the technical issues involved. You can find information about test plans in the lecture notes, as well as international standards and textbooks. A good source is the IEEE Standard 829 on Software Testing Documentation.

Experience has shown that good planning can save a lot of time, even in an exercise, so do not underestimate the effort required for this phase. 

The goal of all these exercises is to carry out system testing on WordPad, a simple word processor. Your task is to write a thorough test plan in English using the above-mentioned sources as guidelines.  The plan should be based on the documentation of WordPad. The documentation is by no means complete or precise, so use your best judgment. You will get the program itself after the final deadline for this phase. Read the instructions for the following phases to form a complete overall picture of the testing project in this exercise. 

Use the test plan table of contents presented in the lecture notes. Define your exit criteria and make sure you follow them in your testing activities. Make a schedule and assign responsibilities. Identify what you will test and what you will leave out – and the reasoning behind your choices. Try to assign priorities to your activities and try to achieve as much as you can with a reasonable effort. In the final report you will then compare your actual effort against your plan and comment on any differences.

You must also submit your plan to all members of your pair group, which will in turn submit theirs to you.  The pair groups will then review each other's plans. It is important to return the plans in time so you do not cause trouble to the other group. Pairs are formed so that group 1 and 2 form a pair, 3 and 4 form a pair, and so on.

If you do not receive the test plan from your pair group in time, contact them or the assistants immediately!

Task 2: Inspecting a Test Plan

The role of a review is to make sure that a document (or code in a code review) is readable and clear and that it contains all the necessary information and nothing more. In this task the review follows the form of an inspection as described in the lecture notes on pages 7-21. Some implementation details should be kept in mind:

• The groups will divide their roles themselves before arriving at the inspection. A failure to follow the roles correctly will be reflected in the grading. However, one of the assistants will act as the moderator and will not assume any other roles.
• There will be only one meeting with the other group and the moderator. All planning, overview and preparation is up to the groups themselves. You should use the suggested check lists in the lecture notes while preparing. Task 3 deals with the after-meeting activities.
• The meeting is rather short, only 60 minutes for a pair (that is, 30 minutes each). Hence, all comments on the language used in the other group's test plan are to be given in writing. The meeting itself concentrates on the form and content of the plan.
  

Task 3: Improved Test Plan and Inspection Report

After the meeting, each group will prepare a short inspection report on their test plan listing their most typical and important errors in the first version of the plan together with ideas for correcting them. You should also answer the following questions in a separate document:

• What is the role of the test plan in designing test cases?
• What were the most difficult parts in your test plan and why?

Furthermore, the test plan is to be revised according to the input from the inspection.  

Grading

The total number of points available for this phase is 25. You can get a maximum of 10 points for the original test plan, a maximum of 7 point for the inspection and a maximum of 8 points for the improved test plan. 

The grading of the plan is based on the thoroughness of the plan as well as the clarity of  the document. The quality of the language used in the report, however, will not affect grading as long as the report is readable. You need to give an explanation for leaving out items defined in the table of contents in the lecture notes. 

The grading of the inspection is based on your participation and constructive attitude in the meeting as well as the thoroughness of your preparation and proper usage of roles in the meeting.

The grading of the improved test plan follows the principles for grading the original test plan, with an emphasis on the implementation of the corrections. 

Note that the instructions for this phase and later phases are not very detailed. You should look for more information in the lecture notes and use your own judgement.

What to Hand In

• Task 1: Test plan for both course personnel and the reviewing group.
• Task 2: Nothing to hand in; active participation of the whole group in the review session.  You should bring the written comments on the other group's test plan with you to the review session.