Chapter 17. Planning Your Test Effort

IN THIS CHAPTER

• The Goal of Test Planning

• Test Planning Topics

This chapter marks the beginning of Part V, "Working with Test Documentation." The topics covered so far have given you the big picture of software testing and taught you the basics of finding bugswhere to look, how to test, and how to test efficiently. The chapters in Part V will round out your knowledge by showing you how all the tasks associated with software testing are planned, organized, and communicated to your project team.

REMINDER

Remember what the goal of a software tester is:

The goal of a software tester is to find bugs, find them as early as possible, and make sure they get fixed.

Properly communicating and documenting the test effort with well-constructed test plans, test cases, and test reports will make it more likely that you and your fellow testers will achieve this goal.

This chapter focuses on the test plan, the most fundamental test document that you'll encounter in your work. As a new tester you likely won't be assigned to create the comprehensive test plan for your projectyour test lead or manager will do that. You will, however, likely assist in its creation, and therefore need to understand what's involved in planning a test effort and what information goes into a test plan. That way, you can contribute to the planning process and use the information you learn to organize your own testing tasks. Besides, it won't be long until you're writing your own software test plans.

Highlights of this chapter include

• The purpose of test planning

• Why it's the planning, not the plan, that matters

• The areas to consider in the planning process

• What a new tester's role is with the test plan