Test Planning, Control, and Monitoring

The testing strategy that results from strategic test management considerations is just a piece of paper. This means that the test manager’s main task and responsibility is to manage and guarantee the implementation of the testing strategy. To do so, he or she needs to follow four major steps¹⁹ (see fig. 6-2):

• Define/adjust the testing strategy
• Plan test execution
• Initiate and monitor test execution
• Evaluate and report test results

Fig. 6-2Test management cycle

This process controls all testing activities (figures 2-3, 2-4, and 2-5) and will be repeated many times during a software development project:

• For each new, altered, or corrected version of the test software
• On every planned test level (often in parallel)
• For every iteration in an agile project

We have already discussed Step 1 (defining a testing strategy). The other three steps constitute operative test management, and the following section goes in to more detail on these.