Elements of a Test Case
Elements of a Test Case
The following table list the suggested items a test case should include:
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
Title
A unique and descriptive title for the test case
Priority
The relative importance of the test case (critical, nice-to-have, etc.)
Status
For live systems, an indicator of the state of the test case.
Typical states could include :
Design test case is still being designed
Ready test case is complete, ready to run
Running test case is being executed
Pass test case passed successfully
Failed test case failed
Error test case is in error and needs to be rewritten
Initial configuration
The state of the program before the actions in the "steps" are to be followed.
All too often this is omitted and the reader must guess or intuit the correct
pre-requisites for conducting the test case.
Software Configuration The software configuration for which this test is valid. It could include the
version and release of software-under-test as well as any relevant hardware
or software platform details (e.g. WinXP vs Win95)
Steps
An ordered series of steps to conduct during the test case, these must be
detailed and specific. How detailed depends on the level of scripting required
and the experience of the tester involved.
Expected behaviour
What was expected of the software, upon completion of the steps? What is
expected of the software. Allows the test case to be validated with out
recourse to the tester who wrote it.
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