There are two ways to define software testing life cycle.

  1. From Functional/Technical perspective
  2. From Management perspective

Software Testing Life Cycle from Functional/Technical Perspective: If we leave out the management processes and activities following are the concrete functional or technical phases  in a typical testing life cycle.

  • Requirement Analysis: This phase is the successor to requirement gathering phase in the software development life cycle. BSDD/Business Specification Design Document and FRS/Functional Requirement documents are the typical outcomes of requirement gathering phase. These are the input to the Requirement analysis phase in STLC. Test team goes through the BSDD and FRS documents and raises clarifications for  any gaps in the documentations and understanding. Following are the key deliverables from this phase.
                 a) Query resolution document
  • Test Preparation: Test team starts preparing test cases once the requirements have been duly understood and clarifications received. Test cases then go through the rigorous review process in order to ensure coverage and quality. This phase also includes preparation of test data to be used during the test execution phase. Deliverables from this phase are.
                    a) Test Strategy Document
                    b) Test Plan Document
                    c) Test Cases
                    b) Test Data
  • Test Execution: Once the software code is ready and deployed to the test environment. The test execution starts. A typical test execution phase has following activities.
                    a) Running Test Cases
                    b) Logging Defects
                    c) Retesting once the defects have been fixed
  • Test Reporting: The progress of test case execution and status of defects needs continuous reporting to management. Following are the kind of reports which are prepared and circulated amongst all the stakeholders.
                a) Daily Execution Status Report
                b) Planned Vs Actual Vs Revised Target
                c) Outstanding Defects report with FIX ETA to every defect
  • Test Closure: Once the test execution has been finished or test exit criteria has been met or a common consensus on stopping the testing has been reached, test closure activities begin. Following are the typical test closure activities and deliverables.
                a) Root Cause Analysis
                b) Test Closure Report
                c) Testing is Complete Report

Software Testing Life Cycle from Management perspective: From management perspective a testing life cycle has phases akin to the phases in a project management.

  • Initiation:- This is the initial phase in which a project is initiated. A mission and vision statement is created for the project. Objectives are defined and key resources identified who would take the project further
  • Plan and Design: Now we have key resources, mission statement and objectives. A test strategy, test plan is defined during this phase. Additional resources if required are hired. Requirements are analyzed. Test cases and test data are identified and keyed into test management tool.
  • Execute & Manage: Now test cases, test environment, test data and code are ready. The testing begins. The results are recorded and shared with the key stakeholders. The progress is closely monitored and a re-planning is done if required.
  • Closure: Once testing has been finished. Stakeholders agree on the closure of testing. The testing closure activities begin. Test Closure reports for management are created. Test executions and evidences are archived in the test management tool. Test environment is duly retired.