Accurate Test Estimation: Measure Thrice and Cut Once

by Nataliia Vasylyna | April 19, 2016 10:32 am

Before starting testing a new product, a specialist from QA company is often asked to estimate an effort required for sufficient verification of a product’s functionality.

Unfortunately, even experienced testers often face difficulties when working on an estimation of software testing[1] time. They may ignore some time-consuming tasks in their estimation or even prepare the entire estimation document based on pure guesses. Imprecise estimation can be a reason for a delayed release or poor quality of a product. At the same time, maximally accurate estimation can help to deliver a high-quality product in a cost-effective manner.

How to Properly Estimate the Testing Effort?

• An accurate test estimation should include the time allocated for all the planned testing types. For example, if it is planned to perform load testing[2] at the end of the development process, it should necessarily be reflected in the estimation.
• Note that the time needed for regression testing[3] will increase towards the end of the development process.
• Remember that coaching and instructing users during beta testing can also be quite time-consuming.
• It is required to take into account the time needed to plan the testing activity, prepare test data and tools, and deeply investigate all the particularly complex bugs.
• Do not neglect learning from the past mistakes and try to use even the negative experience obtained in previous projects.
• Always add extra time slots for unforeseen tasks.

When preparing the estimation, feel free to consult with different project stakeholders to gain as many project details as possible.

Related Posts:

• How to Estimate Test Effort More Accurately[4]
• How to Create Efficient QA Team in Startup[5]
• How to Successfully Estimate Test Time?[6]

Source URL: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2016/04/19/test-estimation-measure/

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