Test Closure in Software Testing

Software testing is the process of evaluating and analyzing whether the software product is working as expected and doing what it is supposed to do. There are many benefits of performing the testing activity like improved software quality, reduced bugs, reduced development costs, etc. The end result of the testing process is Test Closure. The article focuses on discussing the test closure.

The following topics will be discussed here:

1. What is Test Closure?
2. Need for Test Closure
3. Stages of Test Closure
4. Test Closure activities
5. When are Test Closure Activities Performed?
6. Test Closure Report
7. Benefits of Performing Test Closure Activities

Let’s start discussing each of these topics in detail.

What is Test Closure?

Test Closure is a document that provides a summary of all the tests covered during the software development lifecycle. It includes various activities like test completion reporting, a summary of test results as well as the test completion matrix. It gives us an outline of the tests conducted during the software testing, and details of the errors and bugs found and resolved during the testing phase. In other words, it can be said that a Test Closure is a memo that the testing team prepares prior to officially finishing the testing process.

• The Test Cycle Closure phase is the end goal of execution of the testing phase that includes the summary of all the tests conducted during the software development life cycle.
• It is a formal document that includes the objectives met, total time taken, total costs, test coverage and bugs/error found and resolved.
• Members of the testing team meet to discuss and analyze testing artifacts to identify plans that have been implemented in future cases, learning from the current life cycle.
• The main purpose of the test closure phase is to extract process bottlenecks of software development life cycles in future

Need for Test Closure

• Helps to create consolidated test results report: In the test closure process, all the results of the tests that were performed are prepared. In this way, the QA team is able to detect the errors and bugs in the software system. All these errors/bugs are documented and can be referred to for future releases.
• The official announcement of the end of the testing phase: The test closure process proves to be a good medium for other members to know about the end of the testing phase.
• Provide detailed analysis of the error: Test closure provides a complete report of all the errors discovered and resolved so the source of origin can be located in case of error and resolution can be provided.
• Showcase the metrics to the customer: Presenting test metrics to the customer representatives, will help them understand more about the software system, the details of the features, the number of errors discovered, and how they were fixed.
• Assessment of Risk Factor: The most important part of the test closure process is the assessment of the risk factor with respect to the software system as a whole. This also helps the client to know the strength as well as weaknesses of the software program.

Stages of Test Closure

The test closure process is executed in the following six stages, which helps the team to ensure that the software system being deployed is error free and well effective for the end users. The stages involved in the test closure process are as follows:

1. Analyze and Check Planned Deliverables: The testing team checks and analyzes the required documents including the test data, test plan, test strategy, traceability matrix, and test completion report that have to be delivered to the stakeholder of the project. 
2. Closure of Incident Reports: During the testing process, the testing team observes certain variations and deviations that are mentioned in the incident report. This incident report is prepared in the earlier stages of testing. In this stage, the team checks and ensures that all the incidents mentioned in the incident report are closed.
3. Handover to Maintenance Team: After the incident reports are closed, the testing team hands over the testwares to the maintenance team.
4. Finalizing Testwares: In this stage, the testwares like test cases, test scripts, etc are finalized for future release and use by clients.
5. Document System Acceptance: In this stage, the client accepts the developed software with the entire details and agrees to use it. This also includes the validation and verification of the software system as defined in the validation section, before the actual implementation of the system software. 
6. Analyze Best Practices: This is the last stage of test closure. In this stage, the required data and information is collected to enhance the maturity of testwares and lessons to be remembered for future releases. This aids the team to determine modifications that are required for similar future releases. 

Test Closure Activities 

When the testing process of a particular software system gets completed, certain activities are performed, which include the collection of the results of the test cases that were executed and, either handing over the results to the concerned person or archiving the results. These activities are performed collectively and are termed Test Closure Activities. These activities are performed after the testing phase is complete and after the software release. The main purpose behind these activities is to ensure the quality of the software. With the help of these activities, the actual figures and facts can also be recognized during the project life cycle.

There are four types of Test Closure Activities:

• Validating completion of test cases: During this activity, the manager or the lead of the testing team validates that all test work has been completed. The team manager is responsible to cross-check all the documents like test cases, test plans, and test strategies to make sure that nothing is left out and all the known bugs or errors are either resolved, postponed, or admitted as a permanent limitations.
• Handing over test artifacts: After the test work is validated by the manager of the testing team, they are handed over to the concerned people, who require them in the future. 
• Defining Learning Experience: The most important aspect of the test closure activity is the learning experience that the team gains from their participation in the team meetings. In these meetings, proper planning is done to ensure that the best practices that were used are followed for future releases, while the poor practices leading to unfavorable outcomes are eliminated and not repeated in future 
• Archiving Test Work: The final task of the testing team is to archive all the significant test work, documents, reports, logs of the tests, test artifacts, test plans, and work of configuration management. The planning archive must store both the test plan as well as the project plan, with a significant linkage to the version and software system of the product.

When are Test Closure Activities Performed?

These test closure activities are performed when the testing phase is completed. There are certain conditions that mark the completion of the testing process and thus the team needs to perform these activities. 

The conditions are as follows:

1. After Identification of errors/bugs: When the testing team acknowledges the errors and bugs in the software system, along with their source of origin. Then test closure activities are performed. 
2. Achievement of target: When the testing team is able to achieve the particular goal or target, as desired by the client, this marks the completion of testing, and thus, test closure activities need to be performed.
3. When modifications are required: Test Closure activities are used when some modifications are required to be done.
4. Lessons learned are completed: The completion and documentation of learning experiences mark the completion of the testing process and thus the team needs to perform test closure activities
5. Maintenance: Test Closure activities are done when some maintenance work is required to be done 
6. Project Cancellation: When some project gets canceled due to specific reasons, test closure activities are performed.

The Entry Criteria for test closure: The entry criteria in testing give us all the necessary conditions that need to be satisfied before the actual testing can begin. It involves:

• Test cases are completed 
• We have obtained the results of the test cases.
• We have obtained the logs of the defects 
• Reports of errors/bugs found are ready

The Exit Criteria for test closure: The entry criteria in testing give us all the necessary documents or items that need to be completed before the actual testing can end. It involves:

• The test Closure report has been delivered. 
• The report has been approved as well as signed off officially by the client.

Test Closure Report

A test closure report is a formal document that contains a summary of all test cases of a testing project and their final test results. The test report is an assessment of how well the testing is performed. Based on the test report the stakeholders can examine the quality of the tested product and make a decision on its release. After completion of testing, various matrices are collected to prepare the test reports. The criteria for preparing the test closure report include that the test results should be saved and can be produced along with the test cycle closure documents to support the completion of test execution. Documents must contain screenshots, query results, recordings as well as log files. The test closure report includes the following:

1. Test Summary Report.
2. Identifier.
3. Test Summary.
4. Variances.
5. Comprehensive Assessment.
6. Summary of Results.
7. Evaluation.
8. Summary of Activities.
9. Approval.

Benefits of Test Closure Activities

• Validates the delivery of deliverables: The test closure activities help to check whether the planned deliverables are properly delivered to the client or end users or not.
• Usability: The test closure activities ensures that the software product meets the requirement of the end-users 
• Functional Correctness: The test closure activities ensure that all kinds of bugs and errors are documented in a report and resolved. It also helps to take care that these do not get repeated in the future.
• Positive Impact for future: The test closure activities examine the total figures achieved in the whole process of development and testing, which creates a positive impact for future references.
• Delivery of important artifacts: The test closure activities permit the manager of the testing team to pass important test cases and artifacts to the relevant person 
• Evaluation of testing: The test closure activities help to evaluate the testing process. It also helps in the analysis of lessons learned for testing as well as development