Best practices for writing software test cases

In the case of the email login, the user would either be successfully logged in or not. The post-condition is what happens as a result of the step execution such as being redirected to the email inbox. Each part of a well-written unit test will define several core aspects including:.

As mentioned, there is a standard test case format. However, the test case template would likely vary from company to company and even from team to team. Instead, a test case template is the document with a list of test scenarios and subsequent test cases.

Though test cases will vary based on the type of testing and overall field of testing, building a quality test case comes down to those few reliable items above. Remember: the name of the test method must include the method or unit under test and what is the expected outcome.

It should also be noted that each unit should be tested in isolation. A meaningful method name allows anyone reviewing the results to understand what the unit test was testing for. Moreover, it signals the data to be tested, the expected result, and what was tested. If the test fails, knowing the expected result is critical in allowing for easier troubleshooting and ensuring no regressions are introduced.

The data used needs to be enough to execute the test. For unit testing, we want to make it as simple as possible to test the most basic unit of our application. The data could be as simple as making a string or object variable for which you can control the data. Or a mock framework can be used for the test if a dependency is not available or you need that dependency to be in a specific state.

Having just enough to test that one part if sufficient. All of this affects how the unit test will behave since this is the data being used for unit test execution. As such, this part of unit testing is the most time consuming as it requires some understanding of the code you are testing to know what data to use for testing. Keep it simple by using just the parts needed for the code being tested. Mocks are very useful in this phase as they allow you to control how methods from those objects will behave when interacting with your test.

We do not want to introduce nor configure another object for this test as it adds another layer of maintainability for that object, and it is not affecting the result of the method under test. The next line shows the Account object being created along with the mock and the Initial Balance to prepare the method we are testing for with the data we just used.

It even allows you to add test descriptions. Happy testing! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Theme: Illdy. All Rights Reserved. Consistency This should be fairly obvious, but ensure your tests always run consistently. Brevity This is something I most often see people struggle with when converting their manual tests to automated ones.

Traceability When I talk about testing frameworks one thing I harp on is selecting a framework that makes your life easier. Understandability This is important for both manual and automated tests.

Conclusion As I mentioned above, these are just some of the best practices you should look at following. Coveros Staff. Related Articles.

Robotic Process Automation: Pros and Cons. Leave a comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Recent Blogs. Learning for You and Your Team. We have a comprehensive learning approach that helps teams and enterprises scale skill development and process improvement. Read More. Step 2 In order to execute the test case, you would need Test Data. Adding it below. Identifying test data can be time-consuming and may sometimes require creating test data afresh.

The reason it needs to be documented. Step 3 In order to execute a test case, a tester needs to perform a specific set of actions on the AUT.

This is documented as below:. Also, the author of the test case may leave the organization or go on a vacation or is sick and off duty or is very busy with other critical tasks. A recently hire may be asked to execute the test case. Documented steps will help him and also facilitate reviews by other stakeholders.

Step 4 The goal of test cases in software testing is to check behavior of the AUT for an expected result. This needs to be documented as below. During test execution time, the tester will check expected results against actual results and assign a pass or fail status. Step 5 That apart your test case -may have a field like, Pre — Condition which specifies things that must be in place before the test can run.

For our test case, a pre-condition would be to have a browser installed to have access to the site under test. Young developers may not understand what the code is designed to do, especially if they receive undocumented or unstable legacy code.

Testing requires a lot of abstract thinking and it takes time to create and fix tests. They also know that for a large amount of code, a long series of tests are needed. It can take days or weeks to create and execute a full suite of tests. The entire process can be overwhelming. New and experienced developers alike can learn best practices for writing tests, standard test case formats, test case writing tools, and more.

We want developers to embrace the wonders of software testing so it becomes a less tedious task instead of a serious time and energy drain. All of this impacts new tests and these types of errors can take days or weeks to resolve. Some of the most inconceivable things can happen even when you follow best practices. The smallest details require your full attention. Software testing is so much easier to manage if something goes wrong when you give it your full attention.

The devil is always in the details. If the app has dependencies mocked out, the error messages will be revealed in a log or in the terminal. Building and maintaining readable test code establishes good test coverage and avoids a breakdown of code during post-development feature implementation.

Although there are no shortcuts, there are things that can make your Java testing easier, better, and more efficient overall. Unit and integration testing are the two most important tests.

These allow for independent tests of all the functionality. Security testing will be covered in another section.

The entire rationale behind running tests is to find errors. That could take days or weeks, maybe months. The reason we do unit testing is to segregate the code to find and fix errors. In the end, you will develop code that is more reliable and bug-free.

Unit testing is agile.