The Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is a series of systematic and planned activities performed during the testing process to ensure the quality and reliability of a software application. The STLC encompasses various phases, each with its specific objectives and activities. While the specific details of the STLC may vary between organizations and projects, the fundamental stages typically include:
Requirement Analysis:
Objective: Understand the project requirements and identify the scope of testing.
Activities:
Review and analyze the software requirements.
Identify testable requirements and potential risks.
Test Planning:
Objective: Develop a detailed test plan that outlines the testing strategy, scope, resources, schedule, and deliverables.
Activities:
Define the test objectives and scope.
Identify test deliverables.
Develop a test schedule.
Allocate resources and roles.
Define test environment and configuration management.
Test Design:
Objective: Create detailed test cases based on the test requirements and specifications.
Activities:
Design test scenarios and test cases.
Define test data requirements.
Review and finalize the test cases.
Test Environment Setup:
Objective: Establish the required test environment to execute the test cases.
Activities:
Set up the necessary hardware and software.
Configure the test environment to mirror the production environment.
Test Execution:
Objective: Execute the test cases and verify the actual results against the expected results.
Activities:
Execute test cases and record results.
Log defects for any discrepancies between actual and expected results.
Retest fixed defects.
Defect Tracking and Reporting:
Objective: Track and manage defects discovered during testing and communicate their status.
Activities:
Log and prioritize defects.
Assign defects to development for resolution.
Generate defect reports.
Monitor defect resolution progress.
Test Closure:
Objective: Summarize testing activities, assess testing goals, and prepare for project closure.
Activities:
Evaluate test completion criteria.
Generate test summary reports.
Capture lessons learned for future projects.
Hand over testing artifacts to relevant stakeholders.
Retesting and Regression Testing:
Objective: Ensure that defects have been successfully fixed without introducing new issues.
Activities:
Retest fixed defects to confirm resolution.
Perform regression testing to ensure that new changes have not adversely affected existing functionality.
Throughout the STLC, communication and collaboration among team members are essential to ensure a comprehensive testing process. Additionally, flexibility is crucial to adapt the testing approach based on project requirements and changes. STLC is an iterative process, and feedback from each phase may lead to adjustments in subsequent phases to improve the overall testing effectiveness and efficiency.