White Paper –
Test Design using Test Models
Over the last 20 years, the test design process – how we generate test cases – has been defined and re-defined by several different bodies, including ISO and ISTQB. However, there has been no agreement on a common test design process, and there is confusion on the use of test conditions in these processes, as many practitioners are not sure where they fit into their way of generating tests.
This paper introduces a simplified test design process that discards the use of test conditions for the simpler concept of a ‘test model’, from which test coverage items, and subsequently test cases, can be easily derived. This test design process is supported by a full set of definitions and is aligned with the existing test planning process in the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 set of standards. To show how the process works, examples of it working with the most popular test design techniques are provided, along with descriptions of how it supports risk-based testing by the tester deriving the test cases.
