SOFTWARE TESTING LIFE CYCLE (STLC) defines the various stages/phases in the testing of software. However, there is no fixed standard STLC in the world and it basically varies as per the following:
- Software Development Life Cycle
- Whims of the Management or Team
Nevertheless, Software Testing Life Cycle, in general, comprises of the following phases:
STLC Phases and Activities
| Phase | Activity | Deliverables | Necessity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements/Design Review | You review the software requirements/design (Well, if they exist.) |
|
Curiosity |
| Test Planning | Once you have gathered a general idea of what needs to be tested, you ‘plan’ for the tests. |
|
Farsightedness |
| Test Designing | You design/ detail your tests on the basis of detailed requirements/design of the software (sometimes, on the basis of your imagination). |
|
Creativity |
| Test Environment Setup | You setup the test environment (server/ client/ network, etc) with the goal of replicating the end-users’ environment. |
|
Rich company |
| Test Execution | You execute your Test Cases/ Scripts in the Test Environment to see whether they pass. |
|
Patience |
| Test Reporting | You prepare various reports for various stakeholders. |
|
Diplomacy |
Note that the STLC phases mentioned above do not necessarily have to be in the order listed; some phases can sometimes run in parallel. For instance, Test Designing and Test Execution. Interestingly, no matter how well-defined a Software Testing Life Cycle you have in your project or organization, there are chances that you will invariably witness the following widely-popular cycle:
- Testing
- Cursing
In this type of STLC, you skip phases like design review, test planning, etc – in the hope that the skipping will save you some time and/or cost. [But, it never does and you’ll instead end up swearing! Yes, a lot.]