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Test Plan
Define scope, strategy, responsibilities, and schedules with this Test Plan template.
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Test Plan Template
Project/Release Name: [Name]
Version: [vX.Y]
Prepared By: [Owner/Role]
Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Approvers: [Names/Roles]
1. Introduction and Objectives
Summarize the product or feature under test, business goals, and testing objectives. State success criteria at a high level (e.g., acceptable defect rates, performance targets, compliance requirements).
2. Scope
In Scope: [Features, modules, platforms, locales, integrations]
Out of Scope: [Deferred features, unsupported platforms, nonfunctional areas not covered]
3. Test Items and References
List artifacts that inform testing: requirements (PRD/FDD), user stories, designs, APIs, data models, and prior defects. Provide links or IDs.
4. Risks, Assumptions, and Dependencies
Identify top risks (e.g., third-party instability, complex migrations), assumptions (test data availability), and dependencies (upstream services, feature flags). Include mitigation plans.
5. Test Strategy
Describe the overall approach and levels of testing to be performed:
Unit and Component Testing
Integration and Contract Testing
System/End-to-End Testing
Regression Testing (scope and cadence)
Nonfunctional Testing (performance, load, scalability, reliability)
Security/Privacy Testing (static analysis, dynamic scans, threat modeling, data masking)
Accessibility and Localization Testing (WCAG targets, locales)
Explain toolsets, automation strategy (what to automate vs. manual), and prioritization (risk-based, critical user journeys).
6. Test Environment(s)
Specify environments (DEV/QA/STAGE/PROD-like), configuration, OS/browsers/devices, test accounts, feature flags, and service endpoints. Note environment readiness, refresh cadence, and rollback procedures.
7. Test Data Management
Define data sources (synthetic vs. masked production), creation scripts, seeding/reset processes, privacy controls, and retention. Include edge-case datasets and negative scenarios.
8. Entry and Exit Criteria
Entry: environments stable, stories accepted, builds green, test data seeded, blocking defects resolved.
Exit: critical paths pass, severity-1/-2 defects resolved or waived, test coverage and performance targets met, audit artifacts complete.
9. Roles and Responsibilities
List roles and owners (QA lead, SDET, manual testers, product owner, dev lead, security, data). Include review/approval responsibilities and escalation paths.
10. Schedule and Milestones
Provide a timeline/Gantt with dates for planning, environment setup, test case design, execution cycles, regression windows, performance runs, bug bash, and sign-off.
11. Test Design and Coverage
Summarize how cases are derived (requirements-based, risk-based, model-based). Link to:
Test Case Repository: [Link/ID]
Automation Suites: [Repo/CI job]
Coverage Matrix (Requirements ↔ Tests): [Link/ID]
12. Defect Management
State tools and workflow (e.g., Jira states: New → Triaged → In Progress → Resolved → Verified → Closed). Define severity/priority, SLAs for triage/fix/verify, duplicate handling, and root-cause analysis expectations.
13. Reporting and Metrics
Outline dashboards and reports: daily execution status, pass/fail rates, defect density/severity aging, mean time to resolve, test automation stability, requirement coverage. Define distribution list and cadence.
14. Nonfunctional Requirements
Performance targets (throughput, latency percentiles), scalability goals, reliability/SLOs, capacity headroom, soak test duration, and acceptance thresholds. Include tooling and baselines.
15. Security and Compliance
List required checks (OWASP Top 10, SAST/DAST, dependency scanning), data protection controls, audit logs, and any regulatory mappings (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2). Capture findings and remediation owners.
16. Accessibility and Usability
State accessibility goals (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA), assistive tech to be used in testing, and usability heuristics or studies planned.
17. Test Exit Report (Deliverables)
Enumerate deliverables for sign-off: executed case list, defect log with status, waiver list and justifications, performance and security summaries, traceability report, and lessons learned.
18. Approval and Sign-Off
List approvers and criteria for final acceptance. Capture electronic signatures or approvals via your ALM tool.
Approver Name/Role: __________________ Date: __________
Approver Name/Role: __________________ Date: __________
19. Appendices
A. Glossary
B. References/Links
C. Example test data sets
D. Risk register snapshot
E. Change log for this Test Plan
20. Change Control
Document how this Test Plan will be updated (versioning, review cycle, approvers). Maintain a change log with date, description, author, and impact.
Details
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Test Plan
TEST PLAN FAQ
What is a Test Plan?
A Test Plan is a formal document that outlines how a software product or feature will be tested. It defines the scope, objectives, test items, environments, responsibilities, schedules, and criteria for starting and completing testing.
Why is a Test Plan important?
It creates alignment among product, engineering, and QA, reduces gaps by clarifying what will and won’t be tested, and helps manage risk, timelines, and resources. A clear plan improves coverage, repeatability, and stakeholder confidence.
When should you use a Test Plan?
Create a Test Plan after requirements and designs stabilize and before test execution begins. Update it for each major release, milestone, or high-risk change.
What should a Test Plan include?
It should include scope and objectives, risks and assumptions, test strategy and levels, environments and data, roles and responsibilities, schedules, entry/exit criteria, metrics and reporting, and a traceability approach.
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