STLC Phases

STLC has the following different phases but it is not mandatory to follow all phases. Phases
are dependent on the nature of the software or the product, time and resources allocated for
the testing and the model of SDLC that is to be followed.

There are 6 major phases of STLC −

 Requirement Analysis − When the SRD is ready and shared with the stakeholders, the
testing team starts high level analysis concerning the AUT (Application under Test).
 Test Planning − Test Team plans the strategy and approach.
 Test Case Designing − Develop the test cases based on scope and criteria’s.
 Test Environment Setup − When integrated environment is ready to validate the
product.
 Test Execution − Real-time validation of product and finding bugs.
 Test Closure − Once testing is completed, matrix, reports, results are documented.

Requirement Analysis is the first phase of STLC and it starts as soon as the SRD/SRS is
shared with the testing team. Let us consider the following points to understand the
Requirement Analysis in STLC.
 The entry criteria of this phase is the provision of SRS (Software Requirement
Specification); it is also recommended that the application architecture is handy.
 In this phase, the QA team analyzes at a higher level what to test and how to test.
 The QA team follows up with various stakeholders like Business Analyst, System
Architecture, Client, Test Manager/Lead in case any query or clarification is required to
understand the requirement.
 Requirements may be functional or non-functional like performance, security, usability,
etc. or both functional and non-functional.
 The exit criteria of this phase is to complete the RTM document, automation feasibility
report and a list of questions if applicable to be more specific on the requirements.

Activities Performed for Requirement Analysis

There are three major activities that are performed by the QA team in this phase. The activities
have been described below.

Defining the Scope

The QA team identifies the scope of testing at high levels and divides into various functional
modules. The team also identifies the types of testing required to perform – smoke testing,
sanity testing, functional testing, regression testing, etc. The QA team analyzes the
prerequisites and the environment details where testing is supposed to be performed. The
team gathers details about the testing priorities and lays focus on the sequence of modules to
be validated. It also identifies the requirement defects if modules are contradicted and
functionality is not getting carried over along with other modules.

Prepare RTM

Requirements tracing is a process of documenting the links between the requirements and the
work products developed to implement and verify those requirements. The RTM captures all
the requirements at the Requirement Analysis along with their traceability in a single document.
All of this is delivered at the conclusion of the life cycle.
The Matrix is created at the very beginning of a project as it forms the basis of the project's
scope and deliverables that will be produced.
The Matrix is bidirectional, as it tracks the requirement forward by examining the output of the
deliverables and backward by looking at the business requirement that was specified for a
particular feature of the product.

Automation Analysis

In the requirement phase, the QA team analyzes the scope of automation for regression
testing. If automation is added in scope, the team decides which tool can be used, what
functionalities will be covered as automation, the time-frame and the resource allocation
involved for automation development. Once this analysis is completed, the QA team provides
the Automation Feasibility Report to different stakeholders to provide signoff.

Test Planning

A test plan outlines the strategy that will be used to test an application, the resources that will
be used, the test environment in which testing will be performed, and the limitations of the
testing and the schedule of the testing activities. Typically, the Quality Assurance Team Lead
will be responsible for writing a Test Plan.

What does a Test Plan Include?

A Test Plan includes the following.

 Introduction to the Test Plan document.

 Assumptions while testing the application.
 List of test cases included in testing the application.
 List of features to be tested.
 The sort of approach to be used while testing the software.
 List of deliverables that need to be tested.
  The resources allocated for testing the application.
 Any risks involved during the testing process.
 A schedule of tasks and milestones to be achieved.

Important Points for Test Planning

The following points need to be considered for Test Planning in STLC.

 Ideally, the Test Analyst (Lead)/the Manager prepares the Test Strategy/Test Plan
Document.
 Analysis is more focused on application related data/information.
 It is the first phase of actual testing tasks.
 This phase answers “WHAT is to be tested” and “WHAT RESOURCES are required to
test”.
 The basic entry criteria of this phase is provision of Requirement Documents (updated
version of unclear/missing/clarified requirements) along with Requirement Traceability
Matrix.
 If automation is in scope, Automation Feasibility Report should be prepared before
entering in this phase.
 The exit criteria of this phase is completion of Test Strategy/Test Plan Document and
Test effort Estimation document.

Aspects of the Test Planning Phase

The main objective of this phase is to prepare a Test Plan/Test Strategy document. It includes
three major aspects – Scope of Deliverables, Effort estimation and Resource Plan.

Scope of Deliverables

Following activities need to be performed to conclude over the scope of deliverables −

 Identify suitable engagement and delivery model.

 Define test objectives, scope of testing, testing phases and activities.
 Review business requirement and system requirement to identify test feasibility.
 Define testing process, type of testing and procedures.
 Define defect management and change management procedures.
 Identify testing tools, techniques and best practices.
 Define Risk Analysis.
 Define automation solution and identify suitable candidates for automation if applicable.

Effort Estimation

Estimation is the process of finding an estimate, or approximation, which is a value that can be
used for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable.
Estimation determines how much money, effort, resources, and time it will take to build a
specific system or product. Estimation is based on −

 Past Data/Past Experience

 Available Documents/Knowledge
 Assumptions
 Identified Risks
The four basic steps in Testing Estimation are −

 Estimation of the size of the AUT (Application Under Test).

 Estimation of the effort in person-months or person-hours.
 Estimation of the schedule in calendar months.
 Estimation of the project cost in agreed currency.

Resource Plan

Resource plans are the key element in testing phases. These plans are inversely proportional
to the time taken by the testing team to complete a particular task. Increasing the number of
resources will decrease the number of days of completion for a certain limit after that it will be
saturated and increasing the resource will not have much impact and might not lead to a
decrease in the completion days.
A Resource Requester, usually a project manager, creates resource plans to ask for
resources, track efforts and costs. A Resource manager can modify and approve resource
plans before the plans are used.
The normal workflow for a resource plan is −

 Planning by Project Manager

 Request raised by Project Manager
 Approve/Modify/Reject by Resource Manager
 Complete − Closing the request after sign off by Resource Manager