Test Process Documentation: Standardizing QA Across Organizations

# Software Testing Policy

**Effective Date**: January 1, 2025
**Review Cycle**: Annual

## Purpose
This policy establishes mandatory testing standards for all software developed or procured by [Organization Name].

## Scope
Applies to:
- Internal software development projects
- Vendor-developed software
- Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software customizations
- Mobile applications, web applications, APIs

## Policy Statements

### 1. Testing is Mandatory
No software shall be deployed to production without documented testing approval from QA.

### 2. Test Coverage Requirements
- Critical systems: Minimum 80% code coverage, 100% critical path coverage
- Standard systems: Minimum 70% code coverage
- Non-critical utilities: Risk-based testing acceptable

### 3. Environment Segregation
Testing shall be conducted in non-production environments isolated from live data.

### 4. Defect Management
All defects must be logged, categorized by severity, and tracked to resolution.

### 5. Test Automation
Projects shall maintain minimum 60% automated regression test coverage.

### 6. Compliance Testing
Regulated systems require documented compliance testing (SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.).

## Roles and Responsibilities
- **Development Teams**: Write unit tests, support integration testing
- **QA Teams**: Conduct system/acceptance testing, maintain automation
- **Product Owners**: Define acceptance criteria, approve releases
- **Security Teams**: Conduct security assessments

## Exceptions
Policy exceptions require written approval from VP of Engineering.

# Organizational Test Strategy

## Testing Pyramid

### Unit Tests (70%)
- **Responsibility**: Developers
- **Tools**: JUnit, pytest, Jest
- **Coverage Target**: 80%
- **Execution**: Every commit via CI/CD

### Integration Tests (20%)
- **Responsibility**: Developers + QA
- **Tools**: TestContainers, Postman, REST Assured
- **Scope**: Component interactions, API contracts
- **Execution**: Every pull request

### UI/E2E Tests (10%)
- **Responsibility**: QA
- **Tools**: Cypress, Selenium, Playwright
- **Scope**: Critical user journeys
- **Execution**: Nightly regression

## Testing Types by Project Phase

| Phase | Testing Type | Responsibility | Entry Criteria |
|-------|-------------|----------------|----------------|
| Development | Unit, TDD | Developers | Code complete |
| Integration | API, Contract | Dev + QA | Components integrated |
| System | Functional, Performance | QA | Feature complete |
| Acceptance | UAT, Exploratory | QA + Business | System tested |
| Production | Smoke, Monitoring | DevOps + QA | Deployed |

## Non-Functional Testing Standards

### Performance
- Load tests for 3x expected peak traffic
- Response time: 95th percentile < 2 seconds
- Tools: JMeter, Gatling, k6

### Security
- OWASP Top 10 validation
- Quarterly penetration tests
- Tools: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite

### Accessibility
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance
- Tools: axe, WAVE, screen readers

## RACI Matrix - Software Testing

| Activity | Developer | QA Engineer | QA Lead | Product Owner | Engineering Manager |
|----------|----------|------------|---------|---------------|-------------------|
| Write Unit Tests | R/A | C | I | I | I |
| Code Review (Testing Perspective) | C | R | A | I | I |
| Create Test Plan | C | R | A | C | I |
| Execute Manual Tests | I | R | A | I | I |
| Automate Tests | C | R | A | I | I |
| Conduct Exploratory Testing | I | R | A | C | I |
| Performance Testing | C | R | A | I | C |
| Security Testing | C | R | A | I | C |
| Define Acceptance Criteria | C | C | I | R/A | I |
| Approve Release | I | C | C | C | A |
| Defect Triage | R | R | A | C | C |
| Production Incident Investigation | R | R | C | I | A |

**Legend**:
- R = Responsible (does the work)
- A = Accountable (ultimate decision-maker)
- C = Consulted (provides input)
- I = Informed (kept updated)

## Standard Testing Workflow

### Phase 1: Test Planning
1. Product Owner defines acceptance criteria
2. QA Lead reviews requirements
3. QA creates test plan (2-3 days before dev complete)
4. Stakeholders review and approve plan

### Phase 2: Test Preparation
1. QA designs test cases
2. Test data prepared
3. Test environment provisioned
4. Automation scripts written/updated

### Phase 3: Test Execution
1. Smoke testing (blocking bugs)
2. Functional testing (feature validation)
3. Integration testing (component interactions)
4. Non-functional testing (performance, security)
5. Regression testing (existing functionality)

### Phase 4: Defect Management
1. Tester logs defect with severity/priority
2. Daily triage meeting (Dev Lead, QA Lead, PO)
3. Developer fixes and marks "Ready for Test"
4. QA verifies fix
5. Defect closed or reopened

### Phase 5: Test Completion
1. Exit criteria validated (95% tests passed, zero critical bugs)
2. Test summary report generated
3. Sign-off from QA Lead and Product Owner
4. Release approved or delayed

### Phase 6: Post-Release
1. Production smoke tests
2. Monitor error rates for 48 hours
3. Hot fix process if critical issues emerge

## Entry Criteria

### System Testing
- ✅ Code complete and merged to test branch
- ✅ Unit tests passing (>80% coverage)
- ✅ Test environment available and stable
- ✅ Test data loaded
- ✅ Test cases reviewed and approved

### User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
- ✅ System testing completed with >95% pass rate
- ✅ Zero critical, <3 high-severity open bugs
- ✅ UAT environment configured
- ✅ Business users trained and available

## Exit Criteria

### System Testing
- ✅ 95% of test cases executed and passed
- ✅ All critical and high-severity defects resolved
- ✅ Test coverage meets targets
- ✅ Performance benchmarks met
- ✅ Security scan passed

### Production Release
- ✅ UAT sign-off received
- ✅ Zero critical defects
- ✅ Regression tests passing
- ✅ Rollback plan documented
- ✅ Production smoke tests defined

## Approved Testing Tools

### Test Management
- **Primary**: TestRail
- **Alternative**: Jira + Xray plugin
- **Usage**: Test case management, execution tracking, reporting

### Automation Frameworks
- **Web**: Cypress (preferred), Selenium WebDriver
- **Mobile**: Appium, Detox
- **API**: Postman, REST Assured, Pact (contract testing)

### Performance Testing
- **Primary**: JMeter
- **Alternative**: Gatling, k6
- **Cloud**: BlazeMeter for large-scale tests

### Security Testing
- **SAST**: SonarQube
- **DAST**: OWASP ZAP
- **Commercial**: Burp Suite Professional (penetration testing)

### Continuous Integration
- **CI/CD**: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI
- **Test Reporting**: Allure, TestNG reports

### Defect Tracking
- **Primary**: Jira
- **Integration**: Slack notifications for critical bugs

## Quality Metrics Dashboard

### Lead Metrics (Predictive)
- **Test Coverage**: Code coverage % (target: 80%)
- **Automation Rate**: Automated tests / Total tests (target: 65%)
- **Test Execution Rate**: Tests executed per day

### Lag Metrics (Outcome)
- **Defect Density**: Defects per 1000 lines of code
- **Defect Leakage**: % of bugs found in production vs. testing
- **Test Effectiveness**: Defects found by QA / Total defects

### Efficiency Metrics
- **Test Case Productivity**: Test cases created per QA engineer per week
- **Automation ROI**: Time saved by automation vs. manual execution
- **Defect Resolution Time**: Average days from bug report to closure

### Quality Indicators
- **Escaped Defects**: Production bugs within 30 days of release
- **Customer-Reported Issues**: Production defects reported by users
- **Regression Pass Rate**: % of regression tests passing

**Reporting Frequency**: Weekly to teams, monthly to leadership

## Continuous Improvement Cycle

### Quarterly Review
1. Analyze metrics trends
2. Gather team feedback (retrospectives)
3. Benchmark against industry standards
4. Identify top 3 improvement areas

### Experimentation
1. Propose process changes (e.g., shift-left testing, BDD adoption)
2. Pilot with one team for one sprint
3. Measure impact with metrics
4. Roll out if successful, abandon if not

### Training and Skill Development
- Monthly knowledge sharing sessions
- Annual training budget per QA engineer
- Certification support (ISTQB, test automation courses)

### Tool Evaluation
- Annual review of tool effectiveness
- Proof of concept for new tools
- Consider ROI, learning curve, integration