Advanced Testing of Systems-of-Systems, Volume 1

7Test Documentation

Let us define what we mean by “test documentation” to understand the scope of the topic. The test documentation consists of all the documents and deliverables used or generated by the test activities: the contracts and requirements, the specifications and the code are deliverables at the start of the test, while the test plans, test files, test conditions and cases, test data, expected results and results obtained during test execution are deliverables resulting from test activities. The test documentation integrates with the quality documentation (e.g. Quality Assurance Plan) of the system-of-systems and develops the required evidence to demonstrate each of the requirements (e.g. Conformity Construction Plan). We differentiate documentation from reporting, which is detailed elsewhere.

The input information for the tests and used to design the tests is a test repository, better known as the “test base”. In a system-of-systems, or a software-intensive system, changes to the repository can often only take place through a process of amendments. We will speak in this case of “frozen test base”.

Certain test documents, more specifically the test policy, the test strategy and the test plans will aim to define – for the company and the customers – the reasons for which we test and to describe the approach implemented, as well as work to test the system, that is, how compliance with the requirements will be implemented and demonstrated (e.g. via a Compliance Construction ...