Why Maintain Software Dev and Testing Documentation?

by Nataliia Vasylyna | May 25, 2015 10:00 am

Software development and software testing processes assume creation and maintaining lots of documents.

Some programmers and testers are convinced that the majority or all of the documents are useless, so, they write them carelessly and hastily. Written in such a way documents really are useless, they are hard for understanding and don’t give the exhaustive and latest information.

Experience has proven that conscientiously written documentation helps both testers and programmers to avoid lots errors and misunderstandings and, as a result, considerably increases the project profitability.

Experts in mobile testing, desktop testing and web site testing claim that it is better to discuss project issues via e-mails, Skype or another way that allows keeping records, which one may look through or rely on if it is necessary.

Keeping records and thorough maintaining of the documents streamline any development process, manual and automated testing. Documents prevent project members from missing important issues and provide updated and reliable data.

Test engineers use most of all the requirements specification during functional testing, compatibility testing, performance testing, etc.

Among Important Software Testing Documents Are:

test plan and strategy;
test cases;
risk assessment;
test analysis;
test data.

Testers must write informative and clear error reports, test summary reports, weekly reports and other reports. They demonstrate results of testers’ work, progress in software development and quality assurance, help the programmers to fix the defects.