Test Plans

Test plans Estimates and strategies are 3 testing topics that go together and are prepared concurrently during the planning phase of testing.  I will start by talking about test plans.  There are many different definitions for test plan but the ISTQB book states a test plan is mainly the project plan for the testing work to be done.  Test plans differ from Test Design Specification, Test Cases or a set of Test procedures in the fact that less description is used in Test Plans.


ISTQB states that there are 3 main reasons as to why testers write test plans:
1. Writing a test plan guides our thinking. ISTQB explained this reason's logic as 'if we can explain something in words, we understand it. If not, there's a good chance we don't.'
Writing a test plan forces us to confront the challenges that await us and focus our thinking on important topics.


2. The test planning process and the plan itself can be a good excuse for a tester to communicate with other members of the project team, testers, peers, managers and other stakeholders.  This is an important aspect since collaboration can help improve a tester's understanding of a system and their testing overall.


3. The test plan also helps us manage change. During early phases of the project, as we gather more information, we revise our plans. As the project evolves and situations change, we adapt our plans. Written test plans give us a baseline against which to measure such revisions and changes. Furthermore, updating the plan at major milestones helps keep testing aligned with project needs. As we run the tests, we make final adjustments to our plans based on the results. You might not have the time or the energy to update your test plans


ISTQB suggests to use a template when writing test plans to help remember important challenges.  ISTQB has it's own standard template called IEEE829 which I will write about in my next post.