Test Reporting
Best Practices
By
Gabriel Rodriguez
Agenda
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Developing Test Status Reports
Test Metrics
Preparing Test Reports
Q&A
Reference
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Reports
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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The test status reports explained in these slides are generated by
the Test Manager or Test Lead. Not all the projects require these
status reports.
These reports enables senior IT management to easily determine
the status of the project, and can be issued as needed.
There are two levels of project status reports:
– Summary Status Report
 Provides a general view of all project components. It is
used to determine which projects need immediate attention
and which are on schedule with no apparent problems.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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The content of a summary status report is:
– Report Date Information
– Project information
– Time Line Information
– Legend Information
The following slide depicts a summary status report.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
Summary Status Report Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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The second level of project status report:
– Project Status Report
 Shows detailed information about a specific project
component, allowing the reader to see up-to-date
information about
– Schedules
– Budgets
– Project resources
 Each report is limited to one page so that only vital
statistics are included.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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The content of a project status report is:
– Vital Project Information
– General Project Information
– Project Activities Information
– Essential Elements Information
– Legend Information
– Project Highlights Information
The following slide depicts a project status report.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
Project Status Report Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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There is one more important status report in testing,
this status report is generated weekly depending on
the project needs.
This weekly status report shows the progress of the
testing process in a systematic way.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
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The content of the weekly status report is:
– Product Name
– Report No.
– Week Ending
– Tester(s)
– Project Schedule
– Progress and changes since last week
– Urgent Items
– Issue bin
– To-do Tasks by Next Report
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Developing Test Status Reports
Weekly Status Report Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Test Metrics
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Test Metric
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Metrics specific to testing includes data regarding
testing, defect tracking, and software performance.
Testers are responsible for reporting their test status at
regular intervals.
The following measurements generated during testing
are applicable:
– Total number of tests
– Number of tests executed to date
– Number of tests executed successfully to date
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Test Metric
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Examples of metrics and their uses are as follows:
Metric
Use of Metric
User Participation
Involvement
Number of Tests
Extent of testing
Acceptance Criteria Tested
Extent of testing
Test Cost
Resources consumed in testing
Program Phase Testing
Effectiveness
Effectiveness of testing
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
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Test Reporting is the means of communicating the results of testing
A final test report should be prepared at the conclusion of each test
activity. Not all the projects follow this practice.
The test reports are designed to document the results of testing as
defined in the test plan.
Without a well-developed test plan, it is difficult to develop a meaningful
test report.
A test report is designed to accomplished three objectives:
– Define the scope of testing:
 Normally a brief recap of the test plan
– Present the results of testing.
– Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on those
results.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
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The test report is divided in:
– Scope of testing
 This section documents:
– Feature to be tested
 All the areas tested need to be outlined
– Features not to be tested
– Results of Testing
 This section documents all the defects found during the
test execution.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
What Works/What Does Not Work
 This section documents all the areas that are working
properly as well as the areas that are not working
– Recommendations
 This section documents any recommendation to mitigate
any issues
The following slide depicts a test report
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Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
Test Report Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Preparing Test Reports
Test Report Part II Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Q&A
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Any questions…
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Reference
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CSTE Study Guide 2002 by QAI
CSTE Study Guide 2006 by QAI
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Thank you…
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.