Critical Testing Processes: Plan, Prepare, Perform, Perfect

Part III. Perform

With the end of Part II and the opening of Part III, we've reached a logical breaking point, a major transition in the testing process. Jamal and his team have reached the end of a distinct portion of the overall testing process. Until this point, Critical Testing Processes has been about getting ready. Now, let's turn our attention to performing the testing.

Performing the testing is more visible than planning or preparing for testing, but it is often misunderstood as well. Again, faulty mission statements, often along the lines of “making sure the system works,” can rear their heads. When this happens inside the team, disappointment and schedule overruns can occur when bugs are found. When this happens outside the test team, ...