The test plan is a project plan for the testing work to be done in development or maintenance projects.
Planning is influenced by many factors,
- Test policy or strategy of the organization
- Test development life cycle
- The scope of testing
- Objectives
- Risks
- Constraints
- Criticality
- Availability of resources
Having a test plan guides our thinking and is used as a vehicle for communication with the stakeholders and help us manage change.
A test plan ensures that there is initially a list of tasks and milestones in a baseline plan to track progress against, as well as define the shape and size of the test effort.
Test Plan in the V model
- Component test plan
- Integration test plan
- System test plan
- Acceptance test plan
As the project and test planning progress, more information becomes available and more details can be included in the test plan.
Test planning is a continuous activity and is performed throughout the product’s lifecycle.
Feedback from test activities should be used to recognize changing risks so that planning can be adjusted.