EXN QA Internship

Test case fundamentals

Belgium Session name: Test case fundamentals

Matenstraat 214 (a)
2845 Niel
+32 32 130 383 (t) Main objective: interns learn about test case fundamentals
+32 32 131 454 (f) Secondary objectives:
Romania - open the discussion about test cases management tools: TestRail
Barbu Lautaru 11 (a)
700399 Iasi
+40 332 808 044 (t) Pre-requisites:
+40 332 811 504 (f)
Logistics requirements:
office@expertnetwork.eu
Information sources:
www.expertnetwork.eu

Training time:
Working time:
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Test case fundamentals

The test case is a specification of the inputs, execution conditions, testing procedure, and expected results that define a
single test to be executed to achieve a particular software testing objective, such as to exercise a particular program path or
to verify compliance with a specific requirement. Test cases underlie testing that is methodical rather than chaotic.

Formal test cases: are those test cases which are authored/written as per the test case format. They are characterized by a
know input (should test a pre-condition) and by an expected output (should test a post-condition).

Informal test cases: apply to those applications or systems without formal requirements where the exact input and output
are not known. In order to test them the formal test cases are not authored/written but the activities and results are reported
after the tests have been run.

Writing good test cases

- as far as possible, write test cases in such a way that you test only one thing at a time. Do not overlap or complicate test
cases. Attempt to make your test cases ‘atomic’
- ensure that all positive scenarios and negative scenarios are covered
- language:
 write in simple and easy to understand language
 use active voice: do this, do that
 use exact and consistent names (of forms, fields, etc.)
- characteristics of a good test case:
 accurate: all details aligned with the purpose
 economical: no unnecessary steps or words
 traceable: capable of being traced to requirements
 repeatable: can be used to perform the test over and over
 reusable: can be reused if necessary

Format/attributes of standard test cases

- test suite id: the id of the test suite to which this test case belongs
- test case id: the id of the test case
- test case title: the objective or summary of the test case
- preconditions: any preconditions which need to be executed before starting the test
- test steps: procedure to execute the test
- test data: data required while executing the test
- expected result: the expected output of the test
- actual result: the actual output of the test; to be filled after executing the test.
- status: “Passed”, “Failed”, “Not executed’ when test case is not executed and “Blocked” when high severity bug is
found
- date of creation: the date on which the test case was authored/written
- created by: the name of the person who wrote the test case
- executed by: the name of the person who executed the test case
- date of execution: the date on which the test case was executed

Advantages of writing test cases

- test cases are written documents which can be referred anytime by anyone in the team to understand the end to end
functionality of any feature
- it saves time of the team members as no one has to sit and make another person understand about the functionality of
the feature
- writing test cases ensures the maximum coverage of the product or application as per the customer requirement
- writing test cases helps in improving the software quality

Disadvantages of writing test cases

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- when existing features are changed, the related test cases need modification which is time consuming as one has to go
through the entire list of test cases and find those test cases which requires modification
- when a feature becomes obsolete then the associated test cases should be cleaned
 
Test case management tools
- TestRail
- TestLink
- qTest
- Test Collab
- PractiTest
- Quality Center
- QAComplete