Software Testing Life Cycle - Frequently asked Interview Question

                 Software Testing Life Cycle

What is Software Testing Life Cycle?

Software Testing Life Cycle is the sequence of activities to be executed to ensure the quality of the product. STLC has different phases where each of them has a specific goal and deliverable. While the software is being developed, testing team analyses requirement, start writing test scenario and test cases, define entry and exit criteria, etc. Each phase of STLC has its own goal which enhances product quality.

Software Testing Life Cycle





There are 6 phases of Software Testing Life Cycle:
1. Requirement Analysis
2. Test Planning
3. Test Case Development
4. Test Environment Setup
5. Test Execution
6. Test Closure

Requirement Analysis:

  • In this phases, testing team analyses and study the requirement of the software.
  • They understands what exactly needs to be tested and what not to be tested.
  • The testing team communicates with the stakeholder or BA to understand the requirement of   software for more clarity.
  • Testing team prepares RTM(Requirement Traceability Matrix) and Automation feasibility       Analysis(if required).These are the deliverables of this phase.

Test Planning:

This can be considered as 1st phase of testing process. In this phase Test Manager/Test Lead plans for the estimated cost and effort of the project, Resource management, Testing tool to be used, Test Environment Set up, entry and exit criteria, Training requirement, test strategy, etc.
Deliverables for this phase are Test Plan, Effort Estimation document.

Test Case Development:

This phase is started once the Test planning is completed. Testing team prepares test cases and test scenarios as per RTM. Test data is prepared for the test cases if environment is available. Once the test case are written it is reviewed by Test Lead. Automation scripts are also written (if applicable).

Test Environment Setup:

Testing team may not be required in this phase. As this is usually done by Development team or Client. This phase include set up of Software and Hardware tools on which testing has to be done. This phase can also be started along with Test Case Development phase. Testing team needs to do Smoke testing once the set up is done to check stability of the environment.

Test Case Execution:

In this phase, testing team will execute the test cases that they had created to test the functionality of the software product. They will find out bugs in it using different Software testing technique.
Bugs would be reported by testers. Developers would fix it and then retesting, regression would be done. This phase would include complete manual and automation testing.

Test Case Closure:

This is the last phase after Test Case Execution. In this phase, test closure report is prepared. Meeting would be called out to discus Test Coverage, Test Artifacts, what can be done better in future, etc. They would prepare test matrices based on above parameters and it will help remove process bottlenecks for future test cycle.

FAQs:

1. Difference between SDLC and STLC?
    SDLC is Software Development life cycle which has different phases like Requirement Analysis,        Design, Implementation, Testing, Deployment and Maintenance.
    However, STLC has phases like Requirement Analysis, Test Planning, Test Environment Setup, Test     Case Development, Test Case Execution and Test Case Closure.

2. What is Defect Life Cycle?
    It is also called as bug life cycle. When a tester logs a bug in Defect tracking tool then it goes                through different states like New, Assigned, Active, Verified, Closed, Reopened, Deferred and                 Rejected. This cycle is called as Defect Life Cycle.

3. What are Roles and Responsibilities of Test Engineer in STLC?
    Tester is responsible to find out bugs and improve the quality of the product. He needs to test the            product thoroughly before the product goes to Production.
    

Conclusion:

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is a sequential way of performing testing. It gives efficient test results and help us improving quality of the product.

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