Artifact: Test Plan

	The definition of the goals and objectives of testing within the scope of the iteration (or project), the items being targeted, the approach to be taken, the resources required and the deliverables to be produced.
Other Relationships:	Extended By: Test Strategy
Role:	Test Manager
Optionality/Occurrence:	One or more artifacts. Considered informal in some domains and test cultures, and formal in others. Typically a "Master" Test Plan may be created and maintained per project, with one more specific Test Plan created for each iteration.
Templates and Reports:	Template: Iteration Test Plan Template: Master Test Plan
Examples:	CREG Test Plan - Elaboration Phase CREG Test Plan - Construction Phase CSPS Test Plan - Elaboration Phase
UML Representation:	Not applicable.
More Information:	Guideline: Quality in the Test Plan Guideline: Testing Techniques by Quality Risk/ Test Type Checklist: Test Plan Guideline: Test Plan

Purpose Brief Outline Properties Timing Responsibility Tailoring

Input to Activities:  Agree on the Mission Assess and Improve Test Effort Assess Iteration Define Assessment and Traceability Needs Define Test Approach Define Test Environment Configurations Develop Quality Assurance Plan Execute Test Suite Identify Test Ideas Identify Test Motivators Iteration Evaluation Criteria Review Structure the Test Implementation

Output from Activities:  Agree on the Mission Assess and Improve Test Effort Define Assessment and Traceability Needs Define Test Approach Identify Test Motivators Obtain Testability Commitment

Purpose

The purpose of the Test Plan is to outline and communicate the intent of the testing effort for a given schedule. Primarily, as with other planning artifacts, the main objective is to gain the acceptance and approval of the stakeholders in the test effort. As such, the Test Plan should avoid detail that would not be understood, or would be considered irrelevant by the stakeholders in the test effort.

Secondly, the Test Plan forms the framework within which the team performing the testing will work for the given schedule. It directs, guides and constrains the test effort, focusing the work on the useful and necessary deliverables.

In cultures or domains in which this artifact is not recognized as a formal artifact, it is still important to address the different aspects represented by the Test Plan as part of the planning effort, and make appropriate decisions about what testing will be undertaken and how the test effort will be conducted.

Brief Outline

The Test Plan captures the following informational elements:

• The definition of the goals and objectives of the test effort within the scope of the iteration (or project).
• The definition of the the targeted test items.
• An explanation of the approach or strategy that will be used.
• The resources and schedule required.
• The deliverables to be produced.

Properties

There are no UML representations for these properties.

Timing

An initial Test Plan, typically referred to as the "Master" Test Plan, may be created during the Inception phase. This instance of the artifact provides an overview of the test effort over the life of the project, providing foresight into when resources will be required and when important quality dimensions and risks will be addressed.

As each iteration is planned, one or more specific "Iteration" Test Plan are created providing specific information focused on the iteration.

Responsibility

The Test Manager role is primarily responsible for this artifact. The responsibilities are split into two main areas of concern:

The primary set of responsibilities covers the following management issues, ensuring the Test Plan:

• reflects the appropriate Evaluation Mission for the test effort for the given schedule
• is motivated by aspects considered useful and fruitful to evaluate for the given schedule
• represents an achievable approach to evaluation
• is accepted by the stakeholders
• changes are controlled and communicated to affected roles
• is followed by the test team members

The secondary set of responsibilities covers the following definition issues, ensuring the Test Plan:

• identifies the appropriate Target Test Items for the given schedule
• reflects an appropriate and achievable approach to be taken to conduct the evaluation
• considers both a breadth and depth of quality risks
• accurately identifies the necessary resources, human, hardware, and software

Tailoring

In certain testing cultures, Test Plan are considered informal, casual artifacts, whereas in others they are highly formal and often require external signoff. As such, the format and content of the artifact should be varied to meet the specific needs of an organization or project. Start by considering the templates included with the RUP and remove, add, or modify elements from the template as needed.

As an alternative to formal documentation, you might choose to record the elements of the iteration Test Plan as a set of informal planning notes, possibly maintained on an Intranet Web site or whiteboard readily visible to, and accessible by, the test team. You could do the same with the Master Test Plan.

Optionally, some aspects of this artifact can be presented appropriately as enclosures within the Software Development Plan and the Iteration Plan, rather than as a separate artifacts. 

We recommend that you create smaller Test Plan focused on the scope of a single iteration. These artifacts should contain the information related to the specific Test Motivators (for example, a subset of requirements, risks), the specific test ideas you will investigate, strategies you will use, resources available and so forth, relevant to the specific Iteration.

Optionally, a "Master" Test Plan, may be created at the outset of the project to provide an outline of the planned test effort over the life of the project, and provide some forethought into resource requirements and other long-term logistics concerns. This master artifact also provides a way to limit the repetition of elements common to all Test Plansuch as human, hardware and software resources, management procedures, and so forth. We recommend you avoid documenting specific detailed test information in the Test Plan, documenting that as necessary and appropriate in other more appropriate test artifacts.

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