How to Properly Evaluate Test Cases and Testing Tools

If management asks you to completely focus on test cases and testing tools, you should keep in mind that bugs can’t be found by using test cases only.

Defects are found by testers and test cases just help them go through this process.

Further, we’ll analyze the tips on how to properly estimate the efficiency of using test cases while doing everyday QA tasks.

Test case evaluation

So when you record a defect, make a note of where exactly it has been found. Put a score next to the artifact found and mention why you estimate this bug in this way.

You can put the following scores:

• 3 — if an artifact was required to search for the bug; you won’t find the defect without it;
• 2 — if this artifact was helpful to search for the bug; the error could have been found but an artifact was useful;
• 1 — if the artifact is useful in some way;
• 0 — the artifact doesn’t affect anything;
• – 1 — you should put this score if the artifact distracted you from searching for bugs;
• – 2 — if you spent a lot of time searching for the artifact or if it distracted a user from searching for important tasks;
• – 3 — the user saw the artifact and focused his/her attention completely on it and the entire process of searching for bugs was stalled.

By the way, you don’t need to find defects in order to give scores.

We recommend taking short pauses to estimate the status of bug searching.

If a bug has not been found, you should note the time spent on it.

You should record your interaction with artifacts.

If you have some free time, you can analyze these scores together with project managers or even developers.

Mutual evaluation of actions can sometimes bring great results: if it’s above average, then you can be completely sure that the methodologies and technologies used by you are good and suitable for you. And you should not pay too much attention to generally estimate the project you are testing.

It’s much better to look through all criteria of tests case selection. You can do it in a chronological order or look at the lowest and the highest scores.

Conclusion

A consistent process of making and analyzing the marks helps you systematize gained experience while communicating with different teams of development: from a development department to project managers that can predict software testing strategies for all next projects by using your report.

You should take advantage of any bug since defects help a QA lab predict the appearance of future defects.

Studying a defect and an artifact related to it is very useful for interacting with software and this experience can be very helpful for a common QA specialist.