Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is an crucial component of the overall software life cycle technique. This consists of a sequence of properly-described steps after the quality assurance (QA) group, to make certain that the software program meets the essential quality, reliability and functionality requirements. Unlike ad hoc tests, STLC provides a structured and methodological approach that begins correctly from the requirement analysis and continues through test closure. The test life cycle consists of unique goals and delivery in every step, making the process systematic and efficient. Understanding the life cycle of the software is important for both beginner and experienced testers, as it helps to improve the test plan, execution and detect errors.
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In this article, we are going to discuss what are STLC characteristics, it’s phases, and entry and exit criteria.
Characteristics of STLC
Software Test Life Cycle (STLC) is designed to deliver consistency, clarity, and performance for the test process. This follows a structured technique that permits QA team to manage test tasks in a predictable and repeatable way. Here are the important characteristics that define the software testing life cycle:
1. Process-Driven & Structured
STLC is highly process-oriented. Each phase in the testing life cycle in software testing—from requirement analysis to test cycle closure—has predefined activities, deliverables, and checkpoints. This ensures that testing is not only thorough but also repeatable and measurable. Such structure brings clarity to the QA team’s role and responsibilities and helps maintain consistency across different testing projects.
Did you know?
The Software Testing Life Cycle is a part of the broader Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). While SDLC covers the complete process of software creation, STLC specifically focuses on validating and verifying the product through structured testing phases.
2. Phased Execution
The software testing life cycle is split into logical software testing stages including making plans, design, environment setup, execution, and closure. These phases comply with a sequential flow, and every one need to meet particular entry and exit criteria in testing before progressing. This phased execution helps the Phase tester work more effectively, as tasks and goals are clearly defined at each stage. It also helps in early detection and resolution of defects, improving overall efficiency.
3. Risk-Based Testing Approach
A major strength of STLC is its focus on risk-based testing. Not all software modules are equally critical, so the STLC framework helps prioritize testing based on business impact and risk. High-risk areas are tested with greater depth, reducing the likelihood of severe bugs in production. This approach is especially beneficial in the performance testing life cycle, where certain system components require more intensive validation under stress and load conditions.
4. Test Automation & CI/CD Support
Automation is an important thing when it comes to a rapidly developing growth environment that we are witnessing today. Integration between Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines and test automation frameworks is supported by STLC. Time can be saved and coverage can be increased by reusing automated test cases across cycles. This is particularly useful for regression and performance testing. The ability to continuously test and deliver software helps teams maintain quality while meeting tight deadlines, an essential aspect of the modern QA life cycle.
How Many Phases of STLC?
Software testing life cycle (STLC) is composed of 6 software test phases, each performs an vital role in ensuring best quality of the software. These steps are designed to follow a logical collection, which starts with the requirement analysis and ends with the test cycle closure.
1. Requirement Analysis
The Requirement Analysis phase software is the first and most important step of the software testing life cycle (STLC). In this phase, QA teams review and analyze the functional and non-functional needs provided by the stakeholders. The goal is to understand what needs to be tested and decide the type of tests required to perform, such as unit tests, integration tests or tasks from performance testing life cycle. Apparently, communication between business analysts, developers and testers is important to avoid misunderstandings. This phase also helps the team emphasize software testing basics and ensures that the foundation for the test life cycle is properly established before going to the next step.
2. Test Planning
The test planning is an important phase in software testing life cycle, where the overall test strategy is defined. Test leads and managers determine the scope of testing, estimate the necessary effort, identify testing tools, allocate resources, and define a realistic schedule. One of the most vital components of this phase is to decide the exit criteria in the test, which facilitates determining that the test is considered complete. This phase is necessary to make certain that the QA team has a clear roadmap for execution and that every team member understand their responsibilities in the QA life cycle and the comprehensive software life cycle procedure.
Key Takeaways
- STLC is an important part of SDLC, the software focuses fully on testing activities to validate and verify the product.
- STLC provides a well-defined, structured and method-driven approach to software testing, which ensures clarity, stability and high quality at all stages.
- STLC encourages a risk-based test strategy, and emphasizes high-risk modules and significant functionality, it is mainly used in the life cycle for performance tests.
- Whether you are new to software testing or an experienced QA specialist, taking knowledge about STLC helps increase the test planning, execution and software quality.
3. Test Design
During the Test Design phase, testers create detailed test scenarios, test cases, and test scripts based on the requirements already analyzed. These tests are designed to cover both positive and negative streams of the application. The Phase tester plays an important role in verifying that each test case is in accordance with basic requirements and accurately covers the expected results. This ensures that test coverage is widespread and effective in identifying the errors. This stage is also where test data is prepared. Well-designed test cases form the backbone of successful test execution in later stages of the software testing cycle.
4. Test Environment Setup
The Test Environment Setup phase is where the infrastructure for executing the tests is prepared. This includes setting up hardware, software, network configurations, and required tools to simulate the production environment as closely as possible. A stable and realistic environment ensures that test results are accurate and reliable. This step is crucial for both manual and automated testing, including in the performance testing life cycle, where precise environment replication is necessary to produce meaningful performance metrics. Proper setup at this stage helps reduce environmental issues during test execution, enhancing the overall reliability of the testing life cycle in software testing. In this process, the testing team isn’t involved but the testing environment is created by customer or developer.
5. Test Execution
Test Execution is where the actual testing begins. QA engineers run the prepared test cases and record the outcomes. Any deviations from expected results are logged as defects and entered into a tracking system such as JIRA, initiating the defect management life cycle. The team also validates fixes and re-tests as needed. The results of the test are carefully mapped for test cases and requirements, which ensures traceability and coverage. This phase of software testing makes the original software testing life cycle, as it provides real-time feedback on the quality of the product and identifies areas that require further attention.
6. Test Cycle Closure
The final phase of the Software Testing Life Cycle is Test Cycle Closure. At this point, the testing team evaluates the entire test process, critiques key metrics, finalizes documentation, and guarantees that each one logged defect has been either resolved or documented. A detailed Test closure report is created, summarizing the testing efforts, coverage, defect trends, and lessons learned. This report serves as an important reference for future projects and audits. Completing this phase formally ends the test cycle and signals readiness for release or deployment. It also helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of future software testing phases within the qa life cycle.
Pro-Tip:
At Test Cycle Closure, analyze metrics like defect density, test coverage, and execution rates. Use the Test closure report to identify areas for improvement in future projects.
What are Entry and Exit Criteria in STLC?
In Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC), each phase is referred to as entry and exit standards. These standards help the QA team decide if they're equipped to start or complete a phase. The test ensures that the well-defined entry and output criteria ensure that software test phases follow a disciplined and consistent approach and eventually contribute higher product quality and even smoother project flow.
1. Entry Criteria
Entry criteria refer to the set of conditions that must be fulfilled before a specific testing phase can begin. These conditions ensure that the team has all necessary inputs and approvals in place. For example, before starting the test planning or test design phase, the team must have finalized and approved requirement documents, a stable application build, and a prepared test environment setup.
Additionally, resources must be allocated, and essential tools must be configured. Meeting these criteria helps avoid delays and ensures that the testing efforts are based on accurate and complete information. Proper entry criteria are foundational in the software life cycle process, enabling a smooth and error-free transition between stages of the testing life cycle in software testing.
2. Exit Criteria
On the other hand, exit criteria in testing define when a testing phase is considered complete. These criteria ensure that all required testing tasks have been performed and that the quality goals of the phase have been achieved. The general exit criteria include successful execution of all scheduled test cases, resolution and verification of all important errors, and completion of the test closure report.
During this phase, metrics such as test coverage, defect density, and pass/fail frequency are evaluated. The exit criteria play an important role in the QA life cycle, as they give a clear indication that the test cycle meets their goals and the software is ready to move on or release in the next step. This approach also supports effective defect management life cycle practices by ensuring that no unresolved problems with high effects remain.
Conclusion
The software test life cycle provides a systematic way of distributing high-quality software. By understanding each step and applying best practices, the QA group can reduce the threats, improve efficiency and increase the quality of the product. Whether you are a beginner mastering software testing or an experienced tester, the study of the test life cycle is important for the development of your career and success of the project.
