Checklist for Beginner Testers

A checklist is a fundamental part of software testing. It helps to find which parts need to be improved so the product is ready to be deployed. Without a checklist, it will not work or will give poor results.

Why is checklist important and how is it leads to the quality product?

• Checklist saves you time by providing a set of fixed tests that will help you cover functionality of the future software entirely;

• Thanks to checklist you can follow the workability process of the app, have a certain idea of which percentage works as planned;

• It’s easier to track the testing results in a convenient form, rather try to keep all in mind. Checklists definitely help with that.

Any checklist is created based on a Software Requirement Specification (SRS). When creating a list of tests, you should follow three basic rules:

1. Tests included must cover all of the product functionality. There shouldn’t be a single requirement left unattended.

2. The number of tests must be minimised. The more requirements you can check with one test the better.

3. A set of tests mustn’t repeat the requirements, but check them.

How to create software testing checklists?

Firstly, note that a checklist should be created when you have analyzed the requirements and created a test plan. Analyzing requirements early on ensures you that the process is seamless, clear, and achievable. Creating a test plan defines the scope of the required resource of testing, objectives, testing environments, deliverables, schedule, and exit criteria. For the checklist itself, you should basically list each test you want and need to conduct in your preferred order.

After you have identified requirements and a test plan, next step is the checklist. Here are some software testing checklist templates to follow.

How to lead the checklist structure?

The test plan should address who will be doing the testing at what places, and how that work will be tracked. If it is tracked on an electronic tracking tool and people sign up for work in a self-organized fashion, that is fine - just document it. If the team always uses the same approach and project documents are repetitive, consider creating standards for the team, so plans only need to address what is different. Structure can also include how the work is divided — by feature, risk, charter, story, on a spreadsheet, in a test case management tool, or by some other mechanism.

What are checklists that a software tester should follow?

When running web application tests, start with figuring out what the main end-user needs might be. For example, the site should be optimized for:

• Interactive User Interface (UI): To ensure a better user experience, enjoyability, and engagement, UI testing is a must.

• Functionality: The website should be functionally streamlined and every element should work as expected.

• User-friendliness: A user-friendly website improves and increases customer retention through better usability.

• Bug-Free: The website should function bug-free for more accurate functioning of different features, making it more reliable for the customers to use.

• Security: Amidst the increasing cyber-crimes and data breaches on the internet, keeping the user data secured is essential to build trust and credibility.

Performance and load: Since the human attention span is less than of a Goldfish, a web application should render fast enough to engage the user. Thus, it is essential to improve the performance of a website, and make sure the website loads fast enough.

Cross browser compatibility: People use different devices and browsers at their disposal, and to access the web content on the go, switching between multiple devices and browsers is common. Hence, a web application that works seamlessly across different browsers, devices, and OS serves the purpose of accessing web applications anywhere anytime.

Internationalization and localization. If the software needs to support more than one language, that is something to test for. Even if the software is in English only, if names are stored, you can run into French and Spanish characters easily. Testing for them can be done in five minutes — if someone lists the test on the plan.