Software Testing - Software Testing Basics

The IEEE Std. 829-1998 defines a test log as a chronological record of relevant details about the execution of test cases. It's a detailed view of activity and events given in chronological manner.

The following figure shows a test log and is followed by a sample test log.

In most organizations testing only starts after the execution/coding phase of the project. But if the organization wants to really benefit from testing, then testers should get involved right from the requirement phase.

If the tester gets involved right from the requirement phase then requirement traceability is one of the important reports that can detail what kind of test coverage the test cases have.

Entry and exit criteria are a must for the success of any project. If you do not know where to start and where to finish then your goals are not clear. By defining exit and entry criteria you define your boundaries.

For instance, you can define entry criteria that the customer should provide the requirement document or acceptance plan. If this entry criteria is not met then you will not start the project. On the other end, you can also define exit criteria for your project. For instance, one of the common exit criteria in projects is that the customer has successfully executed the acceptance test plan.

Verification is a review without actually executing the process while validation is checking the product with actual execution. For instance, code review and syntax check is verification while actually running the product and checking the results is validation.