STLC - Test Cycle Closure

Introduction

Test cycle closure is an important activity in STLC as it allows the testing team to evaluate the effectiveness of the testing process and ensure the software is ready to use.

The test cycle closure phase includes activities such as creating test closure reports, evaluating release criteria, defect retesting, reviewing test documentation, etc.

These activities help the testing team to identify the areas of improvement, ensuring that testing objectives have been met along with software under test being ready for use and of high-quality standards.

Stages of Test Closure

The stages of test cycle closure typically includes the following:

1) Test Closure Plan: In this stage, steps are taken to complete the test cycle including timelines and responsibilities.

2) Test Execution: This stage includes the execution of test cases and ensures the results are recorded.

3) Retesting of defect: After the defects have been closed and fixed, it is essential to retest the defect.

4) Test Artifacts Review: Reviewing the test artifacts such as the test plan, and test cases is an important stage of test closure.

By completing these stages, the testing team can ensure that the software under test is of high-quality standards and ready for release.

Why Is Test Closure Required?

Test cycle closure is an important activity in the STLC process. It is necessary for the following reasons:

1) Ensure Software Quality:

By completing all the test closure activities including defect retesting, and metrics collection the testing team ensures software under test is of high-quality standards and ready for release.

2) Verify Testing Objectives:

Test objectives are made at the beginning of the test cycle. By reviewing the test closure report and metrics collection, the testing team can verify whether the test objectives have been met or not.

3) Identify Defects:

During the test closure process, the testing team finds as many defects as they can and try to resolve these before the cycle ends.

Test Completion Report

A test completion report is a document that summarizes the testing activities performed during the test closure cycle. It includes the test completion report, the number of test cases executed, and defects found and fixed.

The test completion report includes the following sections:

• Introduction
• Testing approach
• Test execution
• Metrics
• Test Summary
• Recommendations
• Conclusion

Test Completion Matrix

A test completion matrix is a tool to track the progress of testing activities. Generally, there are different types of tests includes such as unit tests, Integration tests, acceptance tests, and so on. The matrix also includes columns for each test such as "Not started", "In Progress", "Completed" and "Failed".

This matrix also ensures that all tests are completed before the project is finalized. By using a Test Completion Matrix, testing teams can track their progress, identify gaps in testing coverage, and ensure that all test cases are completed before the product is released into the market.

Test Results

Here are some key points to explain the test results:

• Test results are the outcome of the testing process that includes the functionality, performance, and quality of the software product.
• Test results include documentation of the testing process including the testing environment, test data, and setup required to execute the test cases.
• Test results provide valuable feedback to developers and testing teams about the current state of the product.
• Test results help to find bugs or other issues enabling developers to fix them and the testing team to re-run the tests to ensure that the issue has been resolved.
• Test results enable testing teams to continuously improve their testing process which can ultimately lead to better-quality software products.