Defining test scenarios

Use Cases are a great foundation for your functional testing. Not only do they describe system behavior from the user's point of view, they also document error conditions, exceptions and alternative paths through the use case.

CaseComplete takes this one step further by allowing you to enter testing procedures, suggested inputs and expected results for each use case step and extension, as well as for requirements. You can enter this information directly in the flow of events section of the use case, keeping it all in one place.

In order to fully test the implementation of a use case, you need to exercise different paths through its steps. Each of these “test scenarios” describes how to test a particular aspect of the use case behavior. Most use cases of more than trivial complexity will have a test scenario for the “happy day” case, and one for each potential path where extensions come into play.

Define test scenarios for each of your use cases and requirements

To create a new test scenario, right-mouse-click the corresponding use case or requirement in the project browser and choose Add Test Scenario.

A new test scenario element will be added underneath the selected use case. Give it a name and double-click the icon to open the test scenario editor.

A Test Scenario form for the “Main” test scenario displays. Enter a description of the test that identifies the purpose and scope of the test. You can also choose a priority to indicate the importance of exercising this test in initial and regression testing.

For each relevant step in the use case, describe how to test that step. Include any results that should be expected. It’s ok to leave a procedure or expected result blank if it is not needed.

In addition to this information, on the Details and Supplemental tabs of the test scenario, you can also specify other test scenario information including the test type, the complexity of testing, the status of the test scenario, any procedures required before running through the test scenario, documents related to this scenario, record notes (for example, test results) and any issues related to the test scenario.

Once you have entered testing information to an appropriate level of detail, you can generate test plans for recording test results. CaseComplete comes with standard test plan templates.