How to Create a Good Test Plan

Software testing is the process of evaluating and verifying a software program or application. It intends to prevent software defects, reduce development costs, improve performance, and deliver a premium-quality product. However, achieving these objectives requires a well-written, detailed, structured test plan. 

While we have already explained how to write a QA test plan in another article, this one focuses on the guidelines, core components, and best practices for creating an effective and practical test plan.

Table of Contents

What Is a Test Plan in Software Testing?

A software test plan serves as a blueprint for the quality assurance process tailored to the project’s needs. It is a document that outlines the testing process’s intent, strategy, scope, and goals. It contains an overview of the testing activities, estimates timelines and resources, and identifies risks and potential solutions. A good software test plan ensures thorough product coverage and alignment with project objectives. 

Benefits of Having a Test Plan

A software test plan goes beyond keeping records of software activities and making them available for audit only.

In addition to documentation, it stretches out a clear testing path for the QA team while giving them an explicit objective and equipping them with KPIs to gauge testing performance.

Listed below are the main benefits of a test plan, explaining how software development can be improved with its implementation. 

  • Resource Allocation: A test plan helps avoid both the over- and under-utilization of resources, including human resources, testing tools, and environments. 
  • Risk Management: Risks, and thus mitigation solutions are identified early in the development cycle, meaning critical issues aren’t overlooked. In addition, testing efforts are prioritized, giving priority to issues which are most important to timely project delivery.
  • Communication and Coordination: All stakeholders, including developers, testers, project managers, and clients, are on the same page regarding the testing process, timelines, and deliverables.
  • Enhanced quality: Software quality can improve thanks to a structured testing approach. For example, testers can identify major bugs on time by referring to the test plan and thus utilizing the most appropriate testing method.
  • Measuring Progress: The test plan provides benchmarks and metrics for testing progress and coverage. As software testing activities are being tracked , development teams can make informed decisions about the software’s readiness for release.
  • Faster Delivery: A strategized software test plan enhances the performance of QA team members. 

Let’s suppose the plan already states when to perform sanity or smoke testing. The QA team can immediately get to work after the software build is available for testing rather than wasting time figuring out what needs to be done. 

Core Components of a Test Plan

A well-defined test plan serves as the blueprint for all testing activities, providing a detailed roadmap for each step from start to finish. When making a test plan, strategic planning is essential to ensure that every phase is clearly defined and aligned with testing goals and project objectives. Here are the key components to include in a comprehensive test plan: 

  1. Scope of Testing
  2. Test Criteria
  3. Resource Allocation
  4. Testing Platforms
  5. Testing Devices
  6. Writing Test Cases
  7. Creating Test Data
  8. Logging Bugs
  9. Validating bugs
  10. Delivering feedback

Each step is essential to ensuring your testing process is effective and efficient. Ultimately, thorough test planning leads to a higher-quality product and a more successful software release.

Scope of Testing

Writing a test plan begins with defining the scope of testing, which is critical for guiding every decision in the testing process. A clear and well-defined scope establishes what will be included and excluded from the testing process, outlines the methods and types of tests to be employed, and sets the goals and expectations for everyone involved in the test plan.

Before starting any test activities, defining the scope of each build delivery, feature release, or increment under test is essential. This scope should include the following:

  • The specific features and functions are being delivered and tested.
  • The platforms and devices for testing (e.g., phones but not tablets) and the minimum OS versions required.
  • The areas of the product affected by recent development.
  • Any constraints or dependencies that may impact or influence the release.

Prioritizing the scope based on specific needs, timeframe, and budget ensures that critical elements receive the necessary attention within the available resources.

As a best practice, development and testing teams should collaborate when making a test plan to review the scope. This collaboration helps identify overlooked details and eliminates unnecessary tests, ensuring that the test plan in software testing remains focused and efficient.

Test Criteria

Test criteria establish the conditions necessary for starting and concluding testing activities. They ensure that testing occurs under appropriate conditions and only ends when the software meets defined standards.

When writing a software test plan,  test criteria determine the rules for passing or failing tests. This involves specifying the testing environment, acceptance criteria, test completion criteria, and other metrics needed to gauge the success of testing. Test criteria should align with the software’s business objectives, technical requirements, and user expectations. There are two types of criteria:

In a software test plan,

  1. Entry criteria: These conditions must be met before testing can begin. They ensure that the software is ready for testing and that all necessary preparations are complete.

    For example, before testing a new feature in a mobile app, the development team must ensure that the feature is fully integrated, the software build is complete, the test environment is set up on various devices, and all test cases are written and reviewed.

  2. Exit Criteria: Exit criteria are the conditions that must be met for testing to be considered complete. They ensure testing is finished only when the software meets the required quality standards.

    For example, testing might conclude when all critical bugs are resolved, all planned test cases are executed with a passing rate that meets the threshold, and performance benchmarks (e.g., app loads within 3 seconds) are achieved.

Resource Allocation 

Effective resource allocation is a critical component of a test plan that directly impacts the overall quality of the software. A key aspect is ensuring testers possess deep domain expertise and comprehensive product knowledge. Testers who thoroughly understand the product can quickly navigate its nuances and identify potential issues, particularly when introducing new features.

Assigning dedicated expert testers for new features is essential, as these professionals know how a single feature might impact the entire product. This makes them ideal for both exploratory and functional testing. Their experience allows them to swiftly address issues, enabling the product development team to release updates more confidently and efficiently.

An experienced test team can also resolve obstacles rapidly and deliver on pressing product releases, which is particularly important when working under tight deadlines. Effectively allocating resources enhances testing quality and accelerates the release process, making it a key aspect of a comprehensive test plan.

Testing Platforms

The next step is to determine the testing platform after defining and allocating the resources in the software test plan. The platform choice often aligns with the product—for instance, mobile apps are tested on mobile devices with relevant operating systems, while web apps require specific browser and OS combinations. For each OS, the app’s usage will guide which versions must be included in your tests. 

It’s essential to identify which browsers and desktop operating system combinations must be included for web apps. Given the current landscape,  Chrome is the most popular browser on Windows OS, while macOS users prefer Safari. Therefore, at minimum, test cases should include Windows 10/Chrome and Mac/Safari. To enhance the user experience and ensure security, cross-browser testing between Chrome and Safari should be incorporated. A smoke test should be performed on a newly developed UI in Chrome on macOS.

A well-defined test plan in software ensures comprehensive platform coverage, leading to effective and reliable testing outcomes.

Testing Devices

Good device coverage is crucial to maintaining high software quality. After defining the test platforms, it’s essential to include diverse devices supporting them in the test run. This step is key to writing a test plan and covering all possible user scenarios.

As a general rule, devices included in testing activities should contain the following:

  • A variety of user configurations
  • Most popular devices (e.g., flagship phones)
  • Devices that run on different types of networks
  • Devices with varying capabilities of hardware

Ideally, a test plan should cover a list of popular devices running the latest version of their respective operating system across different types of networks. This list should represent a cross-section of the market, covering different network types and hardware capabilities to ensure your software is robust across all possible environments.

Related: How Many Mobile Device and OS Combinations Should You Test?

Writing Test Cases

Writing test cases is arguably the most time-consuming part of creating a test plan in software testing, yet they are crucial for executing a successful test run. Test cases provide a clear path for testers, outlining the acceptance criteria necessary for passing a test. Each feature within the scope of testing must be meticulously broken down into individual test cases to ensure that every component is thoroughly evaluated.

For example, if you’re testing a login feature, a test case might include entering a username and password to ensure the user can log in successfully. Another test case might involve entering invalid credentials (incorrect login details) to confirm that the system denies access.

Although multiple test cases can be executed simultaneously, the test plan should include a separate test case for each component, complete with its specific acceptance criteria. Additionally, test cases from previous test runs can be recycled and reused. However, it is essential to review and update these cases to reflect any changes in the product. Reusing test cases is a good practice, but updating existing test cases ensures value in their recycling. Developing detailed and up-to-date test cases ensures that all aspects of your software are tested effectively, contributing to a more reliable and successful product release.

Creating Test Data

Creating test data is another critical component of making a test plan. While testers can generate test data during testing, this can be time-consuming. Test data should be prepared before testing begins to ensure a smooth execution. In some cases, test data may require special access from a client, making it impractical for testers to generate it independently.

To avoid issues related to test data, consider the following steps: 

  • Prepare Test Data Early: Validate that test data is prepared and accessible before the test run to ensure smooth execution.
  • Align with Test Case Requirements: Verify that the test data aligns with test case requirements and mark data sets for specific test cases, including information on reuse and recycling.
  • Set Up Testing Environment: As your plan outlines, ensure the testing environment is properly configured and accessible before the test run begins.
  • Provide Tools and Guides: The test plan should include tools and guides for setting up the test environment to maintain consistency and efficiency throughout the testing process.

Addressing these aspects in the test plan can enhance the effectiveness of your testing processes and prevent issues related to test data and environment setup.

Logging bugs

The software test plan must include detailed guidelines for logging issues or bugs to facilitate effective bug reporting. Testers report bugs and issues while developers address and resolve them. Each report must provide relevant information for successful bug reporting to help engineering teams reproduce and diagnose the issues.

The bug logging platform should be set up before testing begins. Ensure that all testers have access to this platform and a thorough understanding of how to use it. Testers should be able to attach logs, add screencasts, include images, specify version numbers, and document reproduction steps.

Integrating these practices into your software testing test plan allows you to streamline the bug-logging process and ensure more efficient issue resolution.

Validation of Bugs

Bug validation, as a testing activity, should be a crucial part of the test plan in software testing. Although it doesn’t take as long as an entire test run because it focuses on specific cases, such as logged bugs, it still requires careful planning for effective bug management.

For example, if a bug is reported on a particular device, validating whether it also occurs on similar devices is crucial. If a bug is identified on a specific smartphone model, checking if the same issue appears on other models of the same brand can help determine if the problem is widespread or isolated. This helps prioritize which bugs need urgent attention.

In essence, bug validation involves confirming that reported issues are genuine and assessing their impact across similar devices or conditions. This approach ensures that critical issues are addressed promptly and appropriately, enhancing the effectiveness of your software test plan.

Delivering Meaningful Feedback

Providing quantitative and qualitative feedback at the end of a successful test run is essential. Testers, especially those with extensive product knowledge, can offer valuable insights and suggestions for improvement. For instance, they might identify an unstable feature that disrupts other product components, an unintuitive aspect of functionality or design, or redundancy in the feature flow.

Incorporating this feedback into the test plan would ensure that the product meets technical requirements and enhances the user experience. This comprehensive approach helps refine the product and address any issues that could impact its performance and usability.

Other than these mandatory elements, you can provide additional details in your QA test plan. For example, if the project is complex, it must involve some potential risks, for which a test plan for such a system will also entail a risk management section. 

Refer to this article for additional components of a QA test plan. 

How to Write a Good QA Test Plan? 

Creating an effective QA test plan involves several best practices to ensure an efficient and comprehensive testing process. Implementing these strategies will help ensure thorough coverage, accurate results, and a higher-quality product. Here are 12 tips to guide you in writing a strong QA test plan:

  1. Define objectives, set specific goals for what the testing should achieve, and ensure it is perceivable as intended by the stakeholders, such as QA teams, clients, developers, and system operation teams. 
  2. Outline the scope precisely, specifying what will and won’t be tested. This will help set clear expectations with the stakeholders and save ample time on the QA team’s end, minimizing the chances of confusion and ambiguity. 
  3. Assign tasks to resources based on expertise and project needs.
  4. While drafting the plan, evaluate the project requirements so you can choose the right platforms, devices, and network configurations that match real-world user conditions.
  5. The plan should explicitly contain guidelines for writing test cases. For example, the test cases should mention the acceptance criteria for each feature.
  6. Your plan should contain insights into preparing test data ahead of time, ensuring it aligns with test cases. 
  7. Figure out how you will manage bug reporting and issue resolution as a part of software testing. Explain the whole process in the test plan document. 
  8. The document should clearly state the test entrance, exit, suspension, and resumption criteria. This helps the QA teams identify the different stages of the testing process. For example, when the conditions for pausing the QA activities are met, the team must conduct the testing and follow the instructions in the QA test plan. 
  9. Outline steps for gathering, assessing, and processing actionable feedback with constructive insights for product improvement.
  10. Define entry and exit criteria to define conditions for starting and finishing testing phases.
  11. Device a process to monitor progress regularly to track testing activities and make necessary adjustments.
  12. Above all, a good test plan is comprehensive and clear and answers significant questions regarding the testing process and activities. Hence, once the draft is ready, it is advisable to review it with the stakeholders to get their input, feedback, and other suggestions to ensure the overall project’s success. 

Closing Thoughts

A thoughtfully designed QA test plan is essential for ensuring thorough and effective testing, enhancing the quality and success of your software release. By clearly defining the scope, setting precise criteria, selecting the right platforms and devices, and writing detailed test cases, you can markedly improve your final product’s robustness, reliability, and market readiness.

To further refine your testing process and deliver exceptional software, consider partnering with Testlio, a leader in QA software testing. Visit Testlio to learn more about how our tailored solutions can elevate your software quality.