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A general question regarding the testing.

Should the test cases be written without the steps? My lead test cases are written assuming you know all requirements and system. So no need to write the steps because as a QA person, you know the steps to test the requirement. And for executing a test case, you can go through the BRD/SRS again.

Won't this be a double effort?

  1. Looking the requirement again in BRD which is there in 2-3 pages non-consecutively.
  2. Not sufficient for any new tester.
  3. Tester can forget the steps needed to test a requirement

Advantages of writing steps:

  1. Don't have to look the BRD again.
  2. Proper test cases with steps can be used by any tester.
  3. Proper coverage.

So steps are required for preparing proper test cases? Are there any standards/rules of thumb for writing test cases at the original level?

revelt
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neha sharma
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3 Answers3

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Well, if you are designing the test cases, you should have the steps. As one of the tester in the team, you may not be the only person to cover all the test cases in a product. And any tester may test any module of the product. So, for a tester who is not familiar with the module for which you have written the cases, it might be very difficult if there is no STEPS.

Writing Test Cases saves a lot of time during the Regression Testing and Retesting. And it is difficult for the tester to remember all the test cases, if the project is of long term.

Niranjan R
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Test cases are all about steps! Each test plan should have detail description of the environment in which the test cases have to be run/executed and each test case should have detailed steps!

This way nothing is ambiguous and when people working on project change, there are no question marks left.

No matter what your seniors say, please include all detailed steps and environment details in the test plan (and test cases) so that nothing is assumed ever!

Gaurav Aradhye
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  • Whether it is a small Application or Big Application .. Test Cases Should be in proper way , it should include "Test case ID , Title, Steps(Description), Actual Result , Expected Result , Defect id, Status etc. Am i right ? – neha sharma Nov 11 '14 at 03:58
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No, you should not write the test cases without the steps because:

  1. It's an essential part of the test case. Without it, you can't understand the test cases.
  2. When you hand over the tests, it will be easier for the other person to execute those test cases.
  3. If an issue occurs in the future and your PM asks what steps did you perform, the steps will be proof that you tested the features.
revelt
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fahad shaikh
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