Build the Tactical Test Plan and Unit Test Plans

Using information from the prior steps, develop a tactical system test plan to describe the testing that will occur. This plan will provide background information on the system being tested, test objectives and risks, the business functions to be tested, and the specific tests to be performed.

The test plan is the road map that will be followed when conducting testing. The plan is then decomposed into specific tests and lower-level plans. After execution, the results from the specific tests are rolled up to produce a test report.

During internal design, the system is divided into the components or units that perform the detailed processing. Each of these units should have an individual test plan. The plans can be as simple or as complex as the organization requires based on its quality expectations.

The importance of a unit test plan is to determine when unit testing is complete. It is not cost effective to submit units that contain defects to higher levels of testing. The extra effort spent in developing unit test plans, testing units, and assuring that units are defect free prior to integration testing can have a significant payback in reducing overall test costs.