by Brian Yahne and Lonnie Franks
The Predictive Approach to Test Planning is based on predicting various aspects of the test phase which allows organizations to better plan and manage their test activities. Most organizations perform test planning using historical data from other engagements of roughly the same magnitude. This is somewhat effective until any system characteristic, such as project size, team composition, or business objectives, differs from the historical data. Effectively predicting the outcome of the test phase is far more useful in planning and managing test activities than simply analyzing historic, inconsistent metrics. The predictive approach estimates the actual number of defects that should be discovered in a particular test phase. Based upon this information, an organization can plan the number of test cases and testers that are needed to successfully accomplish the test objectives, as well as manage the test schedule. In addition to using the predictive approach to assist in test planning, it can also be used to manage the entire test process. As metrics are gathered during testing, they can be compared to the predictive model, providing a quantifiable way of assessing the progress of the test phase.
The Predictive Approach to Test Planning solves problems by offering windows of visibility into commonly unclear areas such as:
- How many test cases will need created?
- What are my staffing requirements?
- How long will it take?
- What will it cost?
- How do I know when I'm done?
Not understanding the answers to these questions can lead to increases in development, deployment and maintenance cost. In addition organizations find that they have missed schedules, or have poor acceptance by users, and subsequently lose business opportunities in the future.
Without good knowledge of the testing domain, organizations typically underestimate testing costs causing:
- A low number of discovered defects
- Significant defect leakage to later phases of development
- The number of defects released to production is higher than industry standards
The Predictive Approach to Test Planning provides the benefits of clearly understanding the test schedule, test staffing requirements, and setting goals for the testing groups. As a result, organizations have improved budget, schedule and quality.
Our whitepapers are publicly available to read, however, we request that you call us to obtain a copy.
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