A test case is a piece of software created to demonstrate the results of some other software. It usually consists of the same conditions as the actual system it’s being tested against. This article has compiled a list of all the mandatory test cases for a successful product release.
Test cases are the best way to ensure a project is done properly. Test cases act as checkpoints for development to run at each stage. They are written by testers, who can test the application and ensure it works as expected. This article will discuss test cases and how they work in Software Testing.
What is a Test Case?
A Test Case is a document that describes the steps to run a test or verify specific functionality in software. Software project managers and QA engineers often use these documents as checklists during tests. By following this checklist, they can ensure they don’t miss any testing steps when verifying new features of their product or website.
When developing automated scripts, developers will follow this checklist so that all tests can be automated correctly. In other words, creating test cases saves you time later in the development process!
The basic goal of writing test cases is to validate the test coverage of an application. A good standardization process follows most of the organization, and writing test cases for the application brings standardization to the application and minimizes the ad-hoc approach in testing.
What is a Good Test Case?
Think of your test case more like an instruction manual instead of just another document lying around on your hard drive for 2 years before anybody reads it again (yes – I had that experience, didn’t it). A good test case covers the following points:
Objective: This is an important first step! Clearly state what you want to do/verify. What exactly are you testing here?
Benefit: Who will benefit from the functionality you are verifying? Maybe your customer has asked for a new feature, and this is how they will use it. How does this benefit affect your organization or product quality?
Scope: List all important steps so the reader can follow along easily without missing any important parts. Of course, there may be variations in using your software, but these should be covered elsewhere (not now). For example, if we look at a website, we might have a scope like “when I attempt to register on the registration page, my account should be able to receive a verification email.” This scope also helps us ensure we are testing the most important parts of our feature/website.
Assumptions: List all assumptions you have before starting this test case, for example, “I assume there is an internet connection” or “I assume I can access this website”.
List expected results and verify if they match your expectations.
How to Write Software Test Cases:
Test case writing is a skill that needs to be developed. If you are new to software testing or need help, there are a number of resources you can learn from.
Now that you know what to include in a test case, let’s get into the action and write one. When writing your own test cases, it is important to keep them simple and clear while ensuring they don’t miss any important parts.
This is where most people fail when documenting automated tests. They want to write down every detail, every possible variation in the software or website. This is a huge waste of time and will only cause your test cases to be outdated quickly. Think hard about what you need and use it to your advantage, saving you time!
Test Case Templates:
There are a number of pre-made test cases you can look at and base your own on. These can be very useful, especially when creating new templates or starting out with writing your own test cases. Some might not fit perfectly for what you need right now, but they will help you get started quite quickly.
Important Fields Of Test Cases:
- Test Case ID
- Test Case Title
- Test Case description
- Precondition
- Test Steps
- Test Step Expected Result
- Assignee to
- Status
- Comments
Test Cases Objective Summary Definition
Test Case ID: This is a unique number for each test case, and there is an organizational standard for the naming convention of the test case ID you have to follow as per your organization’s standard. Even these test cases are from finished projects.
Test Case Title: The title of the test case should be a strong title which means the test title is easy to understand and iconic. The test case title also represents the module name or functionality area you will verify.
Test case description: In the test case description field, you must mention all those details, such as what you will test.
Precondition: In this column, we have to mention those things that should be completed or required before executing the current test case, for example
- special setup needed to be done
- Dependencies test cases need to be completed before the test cases.
- From which page the user should start the journey
Test Steps: a test case may have a few steps, so here, we break down the test cases into the number of test steps.
Test Step Expected Result: When we perform any step, there should be some specific expected result for that particular step, so in the column, we will describe the expected result of that respective step.
Assignee to: In this column, you must mention the tester’s name, who is responsible for testing that particular test case.
Status: Once you have finished the execution of the test case as per the result of the test case, you need to update the column with a value like pass or fail.
Comments: if you want to add extra comments on that particular test case, you can mention that in this column.
Once you write the test cases, never think that the job is done. A best practice is to review all the test cases, evaluate the steps, and see what you have mentioned easily and understandably and the expected result of those steps as expected.
Test Case Software
In your organization, if you are wiring test cases, then you may be using the Excel file, or you may be using some paid tools. You are writing the test case for your software application using that tool. Small organizations are using Microsft Excel for writing test cases, which is very easy to write, and in the beginning days of software testing, most companies are using Excel only.
But when the days pass slowly, organizations are moving towards paid tools like qTest, JIRA, and so many other tools. Using the organization of the tools are the benefits of sorting the test cases, and test cases are well managed and retrieved easily.
Sample Test Case
We are trying to make this platform more helpful to the testing community. So, we are trying to share as much of a test case as possible with our fellow testers so that they can get an idea about any application. For this, we are sharing around 100+ test cases for both manual and automation testers, and that is also based on their experience.
If you have prepared some test cases and want to share them with us, you can share the test case using the link.
Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or if you want to share more information about this topic discussed above, you can use our Contact Us page.
Thanks, Team for explaining the process in details