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The Test Analyst's Perspective
In previous tutorials we set up the Test Plan and the Test Design structure. With the Plan and Designs in place it falls to the Test Analyst to create the Test Scripts and the Test Cases. So in this tutorial we'll concentrate on those tasks that the Test Analyst needs to focus on and we will start to see how QaTraq takes control of your test case management.
As a Test Analyst using QaTraq you will probably want to concentrate on the following:
- Decide on the test scripts you need
- Write test cases
- Create the test scripts
- Include the relevant test cases in the test scripts
- Set the testers off and wait for the next build.....
With the help of the Test Lead you have already decided on a structure for the test areas that need to be covered in release/build car_0_1. In fact the Test Lead has listed a number of areas to cover in the test design document for car_0_1. You are now acutely aware that the responsibility is on your shoulders to produce the test scripts and test cases. The test design document for this release highlights the following test areas:
- stress testing
- performance testing
- reliability testing
We're going to create a number of test cases that fit into these categories, then create separate tests script for each category. Finally we will include the test cases in each of the test scripts. First though, let create some test cases....
Before you can create test scripts and start logging results you need to create test cases:
"A Test Case is a specific test intended to verify one particular aspect of a Product/ Component under test. A test case will contain information entered by the user which covers input values, predicted outcomes and objectives for the test. Each test case will be related to a single product but will also be related to one or more components."
It is usual to to write a group of test cases with a particular test script in mind. So you might write 7 or 8 test cases to test a particular component and then include them all in a test script. So going back to our Car product where we have the Engine as a component, we'll create Engine test cases. In fact we'll create a number of test cases with the goal of including them in an 'Engine Stress' Test Script. To create our first test case:
Create a new Test Case
- Click
 and select 'new'
- Enter 'Car' as the product name and search
- For the listed Car product Click 'New'
(this ensures our test cases is assigned to the car product)
- Enter the title "Engine Max revs"
- Select the component "Engine"
- Add the following test case content and click 'save & view':-
<b>Purpose of Test:</b>
To check the engine runs a max revs
<b>Test Environment:</b>
Bench test harness setup
Full fuel tank
Simulated load
<b>Test Steps:</b>
Start engine
Apply throttle (to 7000 rpm)
Leave running for 24 hrs
<b>Expected Results:</b>
Engine still running at end of 24hrs
We should end up with a single test case looking something like this. Now we create 3 or 4 more test cases for the engine which we'll aim to include in the 'Engine Stress' test script. You might title these new test cases as follows:
- Engine variable revs
- Engine under high load
- Engine minimum revs
- Engine medium revs
In creating these test cases its easier to copy an existing engine test case rather than creating a new one from scratch (i.e. copy the "Engine Max revs" test case created above). Once we've created these 5 test cases needed for stress testing the engine we ought to check that these test cases have been created successfully.
List Test Cases
- Click and select 'view'
- Type 'engine' into the title search criteria box
- Select 'Car' from the drop down products box
- Select 'Engine' from the drop down components box
- click search
We should have listed the 5 Engine test cases that we created. So your search results might look something like this. All that remains now is to add these test cases to a test script.
We'll we've created a number of test cases for stress testing what we need to do now is create a 'Stress Testing' test script to contain these test cases. This test script pulls everything together now:
Test Design
(build car_0_1) |
Test Script
(stress testing) |
Test Cases
- Engine max revs
- Engine under high load
- Engine minimum revs
- Engine medium revs |
| |
Test Script
(performance testing) |
Test Cases |
So you see that the creation of the test script brings both ends (test plan/design and test cases) together. Not only this but when you include test cases in a test script QaTraq automatically creates your test result records for you to complete as you carry out your testing (but we'll come on to that side of things later). For now we need to create this Test Script
Create a new Test Script
- Click
 and select 'view'
- Enter 'car_0_1' as the Test Design title and search
- For the listed design doc Click 'New'
(this ensures our test script is assigned to the right design doc)
- Enter the title "Stress Test for car_0_1 Engine Component"
- Select the product "car"
- Select product version "car_0_1"
- Pick the name of the tester you want to carry out the testing *
(you can change this later when you enter results if you need to)
- Add the following test script content and click 'save & view':-
<b>Purpose of Test Script:</b>
To test all stress aspect of the engine
<b>Test Pre-requisites:</b>
Bench test rig set up
<b>Test Tools required:</b>
None
* In release 5 of QaTraq you can also enter intended platform and Os
Now that we have the test script, an example of which you can find here, we need to include the test cases.
Include Test Cases in a Test Script
- Click 'Include Cases'
- Enter 'Engine' in the title search criteria box
- Select Latest version (to ensure you get only the latest versions of all test cases)
- Select the car product and then click search
Now we'll have a list of test cases associated with the Engine component which we can include in the test script (as you'll see here). As already we know we've only got 5 test cases entered, we won't worry about going through them in detail and we'll just select them all.
- Click the 'Include' check box on all test cases
If you want to order the test cases included in the script then enter numerical priority values in each test case (the lower the number the higher the test case will be in the test script when its viewed i.e. 1 = highest priority)
- click the 'include' button (at the bottom of the page)
You should now have a fully populated test script that looks like the one here. Its now up to the tester to enter the results and for you to create all the test scripts required for this release of the software.
Coming soon!
So what next? We'll you probably ought to consider the following:
- Let the testers know that they have some testing to complete
- When the next build arrives talk with the Test Lead about creating the next test design document
- Start pulling together test scripts and test cases for the new builds
When it comes to completing the actual testing take a look at our final tutorial 'The Tester's Perspective'
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