Importance Of Documentation in Testing

 Software Product's Effectiveness could easily be determined by the type of documentation of that product. Quality of Software depends upon the type of documentation whether it is poor or detailed. QA should practice documenting the things which are repeatable and anyone from the Team could repeat it.

Testing process should include linking all the documents related to the product or module under test. The module under test is the Test item. Types of test document may include Test Log, Problem Report, Test Plan, Test Procedure, Test Design Specification, Test Case Specification, Test incidence etc. The documentation has to be updated continuously with the same seriousness and quality as another document. Even IEEE standard has been made to follow the specification (IEEE829-98).

A successful and more matured project is one with properly documented things along with it. What should be documented and what should not be known to a tester. No matter how insignificant it may seem but it should be a rule to write every single step. As far as manual testing is concerned documentation should include code change, test plan, business rules, specification, test cases, bug reports, manuals for users. But, unless or until there will be a system to maintain all these could not be used as they intend to be for finding information. The software's success is also dependent upon the type of documentation made. In small organizations often the projects get rejected at the proposal phase because of lack of proper documentation.

There should be standard templates for every kind of documents made and used in the project. Synchronisation is required amongst quality process and the documentation practice in the organization. The simplest way to maintain this is to involve a person right from the kick-off phase who understands the project domain, its objectives, the technology being used, its dynamics etc.

Documentation effects can be seen in terms of money when thousands of dollars are not getting wasted for meetings or for fixing the issues.