Your test plan

- [Instructor] So you've learned that your company is transitioning from a comfortable, old waterfall process to the hot, new agile methodology. Your mind is a mix of anxiety and concerns. You'll be asking what's different, what will change in my process, and what can I keep? The single element that will help you map your course from waterfall to agile is your test plan. Containing all the key goals, test suites, objectives, processes, and other critical elements of your projects, your test plan gives you a firm place to start this transition. It has all the data you'll know you'll need to accomplish, to effectively test the product and provide you a tool to chart your approach to agile testing. There are those in the agile world who feel like a test plan is an antiquated process for building out a quality project. They believe the fluid approach of agile negates the value of the plan because it's hard to predict what or why you'll be testing from week to week, sprint to sprint. Well, I'm not going to delve into this argument. I will say a test plan is a foundational document critical to the success of any project. Whether you are running manual tests, automation, or even experience-based testing, you'll need a framework to place your goals and objectives. You see, just because the process is fluid and changing, there are core requirements every quality team needs to achieve to deliver good software. The test plan is the repository of these requirements. Your test plan acts as a roadmap for success during any quality project. You will return to it again and again during the test to ensure the features and functionality you are testing are being properly covered. All effective projects, regardless of methodology, have a strategy for success. Use the test plan as the record of the strategy. I have long advocated for abandoning calendars and test documents. They are inherently flawed and unimportant when creating a plan. However, you can easily find timelines and documents from any competent project manager. Your test plan is not meant to be a record of what you will accomplish, but a menu of those things you wish to achieve. Your test plan will still document all the test cases, tools, processes, procedures and other elements that you use to establish a baseline for product quality. It will still note the key objectives of your testing. It remains a record, all the essential elements of your quality program. However, these pieces don't have to be executed in a serial fashion. Think of the document as a virtual checklist to ensure every element of the product gets examined. You'll return to it again and again to keep your developers in sync with what they plan to deliver. Use your plan as a tracking tool for the cases and suites you've developed, and align them with the product's design, goals, and most important, schedule. Over time, you'll discover your test plan is a reference document for the quality aspects of the test. It will be something that helps the team see your work and value. As the project gets closer to release, this record of your activity will be another method for the team to ensure that each successful sprint is leveraged on prior effective work. Sure, you may find that some of your planned tests are no longer necessary for the project, are improperly timed, or just don't work. However, you may also discover new tools and approaches to be added. Take time to develop a comprehensive test plan, but don't be rigid. Good plans are fluid, yet remain a reliable tool to keep a solid foundation for successfully executing a complete test.