Workflow Detail: Plan and Design Integration Test

Purpose

The purpose of this workflow detail is to identify and describe the integration testing that will be implemented and executed.  This is accomplished by generating a test plan which contains the requirements for test and test strategies, developing the test model, which contains the test procedures and test cases, and specifying the function of the test specific classes and packages (drivers, stubs, etc.) that may be needed to support the test efforts.

Planning and designing the testing is done so the test efforts can be measured and managed.

How to Staff

The test designer is the principle worker involved in this workflow detail, with input from the end-user representative(s), System Integrator, and Implementer.

Work Guidelines

The following are sample techniques that can be applied to ensure that the appropriate information is derived:

• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Function monitoring

Integration tests focus on the integration of components (packages, sub-systems, etc.) and not a complete system.  Therefore, there is the possibility of the need for stubs (or drivers) to represent the other components that are not the focus of test or are not yet ready / available for test.

The Software Development Plan should give input as to what functionality (in terms of use cases or scenarios) to expect in the builds that are produced by the system integrator. Focus in integration testing is mostly on verifying collaboration between components and packages (as defined in use-case realizations), not so much on the interaction between the user and the system.