This question is not idle, and very important. There are many companies where there are no test cases, that is, testing is, the department is testing, and test cases nobody writes and does not use. Moreover, there are more companies, where test cases are formally – they can not be used. To wave under the nose of the authorities is possible, but no more. In 1992, my very first American company where I started out as a tester, once came to our head. It was not our direct supervisor, and vice-president of the company. He said. With two weeks will be a meeting of investors and to this assembly is necessary to prepare test cases – investors are concerned about the quality of testing. I read a lot of books already having and knowing about what was going on, naively asked how much to test cases. Head quite seriously put his palm parallel to the table behind which sat and lifted her over the table at the thirty centimeters – that’s all for now. He was interested in only the amount of paper used. And he is not alone.
So, in reality, many products are tested without test cases. What’s the problem? The problem is that the Software is often written without the necessary documentation. Problem is that the mess, especially in startups is the near normal state of mediocre high-tech companies. Does this mean that we should canonize a mess? No, I have to leave him in the direction of a well-organized efficient process. And the test cases are a tool for good organization and high efficiency. Just as, for example, the availability of databases for accounting errors. There are companies which simply send e-mails. What can you expect from a company that does not put his feet elementary accounting bugs and repair them? Same with test case.
We now turn to an important detail.
What we know about the desired behavior of the product? How do we know? Something we read in the documentation, something we were told colleagues, something we discussed at the meeting, something we have seen in a competing product. But it’s not all. More precisely, there are parts that really are not spelled out anywhere. They always have. But very often we do not really documentation, and no one to ask next, and there is no similar product in their hands. Work with incomplete information – this is an integral part of professional testers. Thus, the knowledge gleaned off the shelf anywhere. So we have to get them on their own, in particular, working with the test product. In Kaji konretny time we know something for sure, something we know with some degree of doubt that something does not quite know. Our knowledge about the behavior of the product is constantly deepened since the first day of work on the project, and ending with the day of his surrender "in circulation". If I spent a year living and went to another job, another person with equal itellektom, education and work experience also will spend a year to re-understand the same thing. At whose expense? What will happen to the quality of the product this year? The answer is clear without any comments. Thus, the first vital feature test cases – documenting our knowledge about the desired behavior of the product. Test case – it’s not just that we want to do with his hands. This is what we expect and we will make sure to get exactly the correct result.
Second – test cases are incredibly shorten product development time for new employees. I know dozens of people who were just happy that the company, where they arrived were test cases. Instead of three months, they figured out a new project for a couple of weeks.
Test cases are completely irreplaceable, where automated tests are written. No matter how well you know or Silk or VinRanner, one must know what to do Tuloma in a particular situation. Test automation without a good-quality test cases into a profanity, and only discredits the idea of ??automated testing as such. Time spent, money spent and no result of automation. And where did they come from, if nobody knew what to automate and why? Remember the anecdote about Rzhevsky lieutenant, who played the piano? They tell him – it’s so beautiful you are playing Bach? And he says – yes you, I’m so figachu the keys that vzbredet mind. By automating the testing without test cases, a person is likened to our heroic lieutenant. And who is likened to a manager, allowing him to do it?
But most importantly I have in store for last. Does the tester to find as many bugs in the product? Strange question – he dreams of it. What is the most efficient way to find a lot of bugs? It turns out, you just simply something to write and perform a formal test cases. FORMAL The word here is the key. No common sense, and in science. Here, for example, take the Notepad. Is there light at the software product that would be enjoyed more people? Very doubtful. In any case, millions, tens of millions of people face every day with him. And, here’s something he just has not been tested by science. Why? The issue is not with me. But the evidence for this mass. Let’s open a new window and there nabem 33 kilobytes of text. Type the characters polsta, select, copy, and then press and hold CTRL + V while the line is not complete. When will the full-line make it the same for all window zabesya tektsom the way for a couple of seconds. Pops up a window with the text "Not enough memory available to complete this operation – ..". Do you think the memory is not enough? No, simply fed us an inadequate message. Why this happens? Because everyone should Edit Box test on the boundary conditions (boundary conditions). But this is not tested. And not only that. This kind of bugs in noutpede scores. And then after all the functionality of a nose with Gulkina – text input and search.