Using Software Testing Checklists to Ensure Software Quality – Sample Checklists Included.

 Below is an example of a sample Test Readiness Review checklist:

Test Readiness Review (TRR) Criteria	Status
All the requirements finalized and analyzed	Done
Test plam created and reviewed	Done
Test cases preparation done
Test case review and sign off
Test data availability
Smoke testing
Sanity testing done?
Team aware of the roles and responsibilities
Team aware of the deliverables expected of them
Team aware of the communication protocol
Team’s access to the application, version controlling  tools, test management
Team’s trained
Technical aspects- server1 refreshed or not?
Defect reporting standards are defined

Now, all you have to do with this list is mark done or not done.

Exit Criteria Checklist:

As the name indicates, this is a check list that aids in the decision making of whether a testing phase/cycle should be stopped or continued.

Since, a defect free product is not possible and we will have to make sure that we test to the best extent possible in the given amount of time – a check list of the below effect is created to track the most important criteria that needs to be met to deem a testing phase satisfactory.

Exit Criteria	Status
100% Test Scripts executed	Done
95% pass rate of Test Scripts
No open Critical and High severity defects
95% of Medium severity defects have been closed
All remaining defects are either cancelled or documented as Change Requests for a future release
All expected and actual results are captured and documented with the test script	Done
All test metrics collected based on reports from the tool
All defects logged in the tool	Done
Test Closure Memo completed and signed off

Points to note:

1. The above two are examples to show case the use of checklists to QA process, but the usage is not limited to these two areas.
2. The items in each list are also indicators to give an idea to the readers about what sort of items can be included and tracked – however, the list can be expanded and/or compacted as needed.

We really hope that the above examples have been successful in bringing forward the potential of checklists to QA and IT processes.