Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Software Test Document

Many software vendors underestimate the significance of complete documentation. Among the various instruments for tracking project progress, one tool that is often missing is a software testing document. This becomes more apparent in projects with no dedicated QA person or software testing team. Nevertheless, the benefits of having a test document cannot be underestimated for successful testing.
This guide is aimed at both clients and suppliers in software development. However, it targets QA experts who must dig deeper into the specifics and technicalities of creating comprehensive test documentation.

Testing documentation encompasses all documents about testing procedures, means, and results. It is vital to ensure that software testing is quality-oriented and efficient. This includes all software testing documentation examples which become reference points for the test team, helping it to remain focused and achieve uniform results.

Thorough software testing documentation is important because every single aspect of a program must be assessed without any aspects being left out or untested. With it, software testers are guided through the whole testing process as well as it serves as communication media linking developers to QA teams as well as stakeholders.

1. Checklists for Writing a Software Test Document

When dealing with any complex task, it is always important to start off with a checklist. Whether you’re going shopping, planning a BBQ, or testing software; checklists help to order your thoughts and actions. In software testing, this serves as an inventory of ideas that can be used for developing, planning, and managing projects.

A good checklist should adhere to three principles:

• Logic
• Coherence and structure
• Fullness and non-redundancy

A checklist is the least sophisticated part of any software test document but also the most critical one. It sets up everything else for success in your testing project. 

2. The Reasons for Creating Test Cases

Once the checklist is ready, you can assign a test case documentation for every item on it. If anything is missing, don’t worry — add or remove test cases as necessary but keep your checklist structured and consistent.

A test case document is a particular scenario to check some part of the software solution. The steps needed to perform the test and the expected outcomes are included in test cases.

Here are seven reasons why should create software testing documentation:

1. Structure your approach to testing, which is important for medium and large projects.
2. Raise coverage metrics by measuring and taking action.
3. Track progress by comparing the current situation with the plan.
4. Promote communication between developers, customers, and QA specialists – if anything goes wrong there will be documented evidence that all was done according to plan.
5. Store legacy data for future use and knowledge transfer among teams thus making new team members’ onboard faster.
6. Do regression and repetitive testing through comparison of current against past (legacy) tests on the same feature.
7. Improve the quality of your requirements especially where off-target results were indicated by test cases.

3. How to Create a Test Case

Making an example of a test document is simple and doesn’t require much time. Here is the template for software testing documents:

• Identifier: A unique value that distinguishes this test case from others
• Priority: The importance of this test case, using A-Z, 1-9 or “high”, “medium”, and “low”
• Requirements: The main requirement being tested
• Module and sub-module: Which part(s) of the software product should be tested?
• Contents: A brief description including initial data requirements and required actions for each test case and software testing process.
• Expected results: What should happen as a result of each action described above?

Remember that your software test document should help your testing efforts rather than hinder them. Feel free to modify any or all parts as necessary — this makes software testing documents dynamic and flexible.

4. The Life-Cycle of a Test Case

The test case life cycle is a vital part of software testing documentation. It consists of different stages:

• Created: Assigned to all new test cases.
• Planned: Represents that the test case is added in the upcoming testing iteration.
• Not tested: Similar to “Planned” but not included in the iteration.
• Work in progress: Used for complex test cases which require longer time duration.
• Skipped: When a test case is skipped because of a time limit or change in the logic of testing.
• Failed: Shows that a bug was found and it needs the developer’s attention.
• Passed: This means there were no bugs found.
• Blocked: Indicates that this test case can’t be executed due to some other issue.
• Closed: When the test case is closed and the result does not matter at all.
• Not ready: For test cases with errors or insufficient requirements.

5. Typical Errors

When writing software test documentation examples, there are common mistakes that should be avoided because they can affect the whole testing process:

Formatting and Descriptive Errors

• Having a test case without a title or with a poor title can lead to misinterpretation and overall poor documentation
• Not enumerating steps and expected outcomes may result in wrong execution
• Repetition of information can be confusing
• Imperative verbs can annoy and puzzle testers
• Using incorrect tenses may divert attention from the current activity
• Employing words such as “check” or “test” without specifying the actions required
• Describing interface elements using non-standard terms
• Grammar errors make documents look unprofessional 

Logical Errors

• Linking to other test cases instead of including necessary information about them in the current one 
• Describing irrelevant features in the test case 
• Poorly defining expected results and actions 
• Creating unnecessary app features 
• Misunderstanding app functionality, which leads to wrong test results 
• Regarding incorrect application behavior as correct 
• Incorrect distribution of data suites across equivalence classes

Making a test document is an important part of making sure that the testing process is clear, organized, and efficient. A good software testing document acts as a map for the entire testing cycle. It helps testers move through each stage and maintains uniformity in the project.

• Define the Scope

  Begin by defining what needs to be tested. What are the specific features, functions, or systems that should be examined?

• Set Objectives

  What do you hope to achieve with this round of tests? For instance, you may want to verify if everything works correctly, establish compatibility among different devices, or discover bugs.

• Identify Test Cases

  Once you have identified your scope and objectives, proceed to record all required test cases. Every case must come with a unique identifier number along with its description and an expected outcome set.

• Select Test Data

  Decide on which information will be necessary for executing these test cases: input data? output data? or environmental setups?

• Outline Testing Steps

  Write down instructions on how each individual case should be carried out step by step so that they can be done consistently by any tester.

• Record Expected Results

  For every stage in a test case, clearly state what result should be obtained at that point. In other words, what is it that we expect to happen here? This helps testers determine whether their current actions yielded correct outcomes or not.

• Review and Revise

  Check the test document carefully for errors and omissions before finalizing it. Revise wherever necessary to ensure that it is clear and comprehensive.

During testing, many mistakes can be made that result in confusion or even failures related to wrong steps execution. Here are some common formatting errors you should avoid:

• Incomplete or Missing Titles
  Not having a title for a test case makes it difficult for anyone reading through it to understand its purpose quickly. A title must be brief but descriptive enough to capture what the test is all about.
• Lack of Enumeration and Expected Results
  If you don’t number the steps of your Test Case and give an expected result for each one, testers may perform steps incorrectly, believing that they have passed their tests.
• Redundant Information
  Having the same thing written twice or more times under different headings can confuse people who are trying to read your document. Keep things simple!
• Use of Imperative Verbs
  Try using words like “should”, “must”, or “ought to” instead of commanding verbs so that testers take instructions seriously without getting irritated.
• Incorrect Tense Usage
  It is not a good idea to use future or past tense since it can distract the testers from their current task. Always keep everything in the present tense so that people know what they should be doing right now.
• Vague Terms
  Words like “check” and “test” do not provide enough information, they need to know exactly what needs to be done for it to be accurate and consistent.
• Non-Standard Terminology
  Do not describe standard interface elements in testing documentation using your own words because this makes them hard to understand. Use conventional terms so that everything is clear and looks professional.
• Grammar Errors
  If there are mistakes with grammar then others might misunderstand what is being said or written here which could hurt credibility. Make sure all sentences are grammatically correct and sound professional throughout the testing document.

• Test Plan
  This document describes the general strategy, scope, and aims of a testing effort.
  For example, if you were testing a new mobile app, your test plan might include sections on performance testing, security testing, and user acceptance testing. It would detail needed resources, timeline, environment for testing as well as roles and responsibilities within the team undertaking this task.
• Test Case
  It is a detailed description of a particular scenario to be tested that includes steps to perform and expected results.
  A test case for the login feature might involve entering a valid username/password combination, clicking the login button, and then verifying the user gets redirected to the dashboard. Successful login with access to the dashboard is the anticipated outcome.
• Bug Report
  A bug report is used when reporting any defects or issues found during the QA process, it covers reproducible steps, severity level, screenshot/logs, etc.
  Let’s say crashing upon form submission through a mobile application was observed, thus the bug report should contain what happened before the crash occurred, the exact error message, and the frequency of the issue.
• Test Report
  The test report provides a summary of the test results, such as passed, failed, or blocked test cases. If a new function is tested within a web application, then all performed tests will be listed in the report indicating critical failures and recommendations for further testing or fixing before releasing this feature.

Below are some tips on how to make good software testing documentation:

• Clarity

  Make sure that each instruction, step, and description is easy to understand. Try to avoid any possible misinterpretation by being clear.

• Consistency

  To prevent confusion and maintain professionalism use the same terminology and format across the whole document.

• Comprehensiveness

  Provide all necessary information about testing processes without making it wordy.

• Flexibility

  Be ready to change your test documents throughout the project life cycle because this will keep them relevant and helpful.