Test Artifacts Explained With Types

As software development becomes more complex, it is increasingly important to have effective testing strategies. One key part of that is using Test Artifacts. Developers and testers should be aware of various types of test artifacts to test software effectively. 

This blog post will explore these different test artifacts and explain their significance in testing. You can be a software developer, tester, or project manager, and understanding the role of test artifacts in testing will undoubtedly improve the quality of your software. 

So, let’s dive in and explore the world of test artifacts!

What are Test Artifacts?

Test artifacts(test deliverables) are documents and scripts created during software testing to ensure that the tested application meets the desired quality standards. These artifacts provide evidence of the testing process and valuable insights into the overall testing efforts.

There are various types of test artifacts, each serving a specific purpose. Test plans, test cases, and test scripts are some of the most common test artifacts used in software testing. Understanding the different types of test artifacts and their purpose is essential for effective software testing.

Reasons for Having and Not Having Test Artifacts

 Several factors may influence the need for test artifacts: 

1. Company rules: Some industries, like aerospace, nuclear power, or healthcare, are strict about testing and paperwork. They might need us to produce detailed reports. 

2. Project needs: If we’re working on something that needs to be super good and reliable, we might need to make more test stuff than usual to ensure everything is covered.

3. What stakeholders want: Testers, Developers, Project managers, and Customers may all have different ideas about what they need from testing results. Developers might need detailed reports to understand and deal with issues, while the customers may want a summary of how good and reliable the product is.

4. What we’re trying to do: The testing goals also play a part in deciding how much we need from the testing results. We need more detailed and extensive testing results to find and fix as many problems as possible before the release. But if our goal is just to meet a basic level of quality, more detailed testing results might not be needed.

There are a few reasons why an organization might only need some test stuff for a project. Here are some factors that could affect this decision: 

1. How complicated the project is: If it’s a pretty simple project with only a few features and not a lot of stuff going on, making all the test things you’d need for a bigger project might not be necessary. 

2. What resources are available: If the organization has few resources, making all the test stuff you’d need for a super comprehensive testing effort might not make sense.

3. How risky the project is: If it is a high-risk project, it may be necessary to produce more test artifacts to thoroughly test the system and ensure it meets all required specifications. 

When figuring out what test efforts are needed, it is also important to think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Don’t waste time on stuff that is not helping you reach your goals. Stick to the most important things.

Test Artifacts in Test Automation

Here we refer to using automated tools and technologies to streamline and enhance the creation, execution, and management of various test artifacts. As we discussed earlier about Test artifacts, now you know these are the essential elements in the software testing lifecycle that document different aspects of the testing process. 

Let’s delve into each type of test artifact and explore how automation can benefit them:

1. Test Strategy: The test strategy outlines the overall approach and objectives for testing a software product or system. This test strategy can detail the process of test automation which can then be put to action.

2. Test Plan: A test plan provides a detailed roadmap for executing tests, including scope, resources, timelines, and entry/exit criteria. Automation tools can aid in generating test plans by automatically populating relevant information based on project parameters.

3. Test Scenario: A test scenario defines a specific situation or event that needs to be tested within an application or system. In certain conditions, it is recommended that these test scenarios be authored and executed using test automation tools. That is when automating these tests could help generate ROI in the long run.

4. Test Cases: Test cases are detailed instructions specifying inputs, expected outputs, preconditions, and post-conditions for executing tests on specific functionalities or components of an application. Similar to test scenarios, there are certain conditions, when it is recommended that these test cases be automated using test automation tools. 

5. Test Data: Test data encompasses all inputs required to execute tests effectively. This test data is useful when test cases and test scenarios are automated too. 

6. Documentation: Automated documentation generation tools simplify creating comprehensive reports on testing activities such as requirements traceability matrices (RTMs), progress reports, and defect metrics.

7. Defect/Bug Report: There are test automation tools that integrate with various bug/defect tracking tools. These tools create a bug report automatically when a bug is caught via automated test cases and test scenarios.

8. Summary Report: Summary reports overview the overall testing progress and key metrics such as test coverage, pass/fail rates, and defect trends. There are test automation tools that generate these summary reports automatically for the tests executed and their reports.

Here, we discussed some test artifacts that can also be created via automation tools and technologies.

Testsigma is a no-code test automation tool that makes creation of test cases very easy by letting you create them in simple English. 

Summary

In conclusion, to ensure product quality, it is sometimes essential to create all test artifacts.

These test artifacts are required to have a thorough testing process, but it is also important to prioritize and concentrate on the most significant and relevant artifacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a test artifact?

An example of a test artifact could be a test plan document. A test plan outlines the overall approach, objectives, and scope of testing for a specific project or software application. It includes details about the testing strategy, resources required, test environment setup, and the specific tests to be executed.

What are the different types of artifacts in DevOps?

DevOps has different types of artifacts, including source code, binaries, configuration files, and deployment scripts.