Documentation in Software Testing

Important of Documentation in Software Testing

Software testing is an integral part of software development life cycle. With the type of innovative solution expected from software developers, the frequency of bugs appearing in the products developed has also increased. Bugs, as commonly known are the errors in software code that prevent the software to run aptly. It's the work of software tester to apply manual software testing or automated software testing to make software error free. The tester is expected to maintain a cooperative relationship with the software developer and the non-technical (management, clients) as both the parties are involved and necessary for project completion. The software tester has to adopt a tactful and diplomatic approach for issues raised and should have the ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical people in most professional manner.

 

Software tester is responsible for designing of test plan, test cases, preparing the bug report, and status report included during the testing process. It is commonly seen that testers do not prepare formal testing documentation leaving it as a mundane job that can be done by anyone who is free. However, testing documentation is as essential as stating the project requirement specifications at the initial stage of project. In fact, it is not surfeit to say that documentation is an essential factor at all stages of any software development process. Documentation in manual software testing or automated software testing is keeping record of steps taken and results obtained so that it can act as reference material of future citations.


A project that is well documented has higher level of maturity and is more successful as compared to the un-documented project. As a tester, one main question arises is what should be documented and what can be omitted. As a rule each and every step, no matter how insignificant it might be, should be document. During manual software testing documentation will include specifications, test designs, test plan, prevalent business rules, reports, configurations details, changes in code, test cases, bug reports, user manuals, etc. Proper documentation helps an organization save its time, effort and money. Once the details are documented, they should be placed at a reservoir where easy search and timely availability of the records is feasible. These documents come handy in times of any dispute or comparing the requirement specification with the delivered product.

The documentation created for manual software testing or automated software testing plays an important role in projects testing phase. It is not professional to rely on verbal communications. To be on safe side, it is advised to keep each step documented and the documents prepared handy. Documentation aids in a systematic approach to any testing process and on fixing issues that arise at a later stage.

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Author: Priyanka Shah