Software Testing Life Cycle

The software testing life cycle is a sequence of activities performed during testing that ensures software quality and conformance to requirements. STLC (software test life cycle) includes verification and validation activities. Testing consists of a series of activities that are performed to ensure product quality.
Verification testing is carried out for the purpose of checking software documents, architecture, code, and design. Verification testing is static testing in which the code is not executed. Verification testing is performed at each stage of program development. Verification answers the question, “Are we developing the software correctly?”
Validation testing is the evaluation of the final product, during which it is checked whether the software meets the expectations and requirements of the client. It is a dynamic mechanism to test and test the actual product. Validation testing takes place at the end of a particular module or after the software is completely ready. Validation answers the question, “Are we making the right product?”
Each of the stages of the software testing life cycle has certain entry criteria and exit criteria.
Entry criteria contain mandatory elements that must be met before testing can begin. Exit criteria define the items that must be completed before the test is complete.
Software Testing Lifecycle:
1. Deposit analysis stage:
Entry criteria: Documented requirements, acceptance criteria, and intended QA architecture. Activity: Determine the types of tests to be performed, scope of testing, collection of necessary missing information, identify and assess potential risks or problems that may affect the testing process, determine the test environment where it is assumed is to carry out testing, determining the need for automation. Output criteria: requirement traceability matrix development, justification of the automation report.
2. Test planning stage:
Entry criteria: requirement document: Activity: development of testing plan and strategy, selection of testing tool, planning of resources, determination of roles and responsibilities. Output criteria: test plan/strategy document.
3. Test-case development stage:
Entry criteria: requirement document. Activities: development of test cases, development of automation scripts, review of test cases and scripts, development of test data. Output criteria: test cases/scripts, test data.
4. Testing environment setup/configuration stage:
Entry criteria: testing strategy and test-plan document, developed test-case document, test-data. Activities: understand the required architecture, configure the environment, prepare a list of hardware and software requirements for the test environment, configure the test environment and test data, perform smoke testing. Output criteria: Ready test environment with configured test-data. Smoke test results.
5. Test execution stage:
Entry criteria: requirement document: Activity: execution of tests, documentation of test results, detection of bugs, completion of the requirement traceability matrix based on the obtained results, retesting of fixed bugs, control of bugs until closure. Output criteria: completion of requirement traceability matrix, updated test cases, bug reports.
6. Closing stageof the testing cycle:
Input criteria: All documents and reports related to the software. Activities: evaluation of end-of-cycle criteria based on time, test coverage, cost, business objectives, quality, preparation of a test closure report, preparation of a qualitative and quantitative QAQ report for presentation to the client, analysis of test results to determine the distribution of defects by type of severity. Output criteria: completed requirement traceability matrix, updated test case, bug report.