Risk-Based Test Plan Construction for Software QA
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Solution Overview
Problem
With increasing complexity in software applications, quality assurance organizations face challenges in selecting the right test cases due to limited resources, leading to subjective testing approaches and potential quality control issues.
Innovation Solution
A risk-based testing method that determines test case risk scores based on attributes such as dependency, risk of failure, popularity, and execution time, allowing for the selection of a subset of test cases and calculation of a test plan risk score to quantify the risk of not executing certain test cases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all test cases are executed to ensure application quality, then quality control is improved, but resource consumption increases and becomes unsustainable with limited resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the test case set into different risk categories (high risk, medium risk, low risk) based on multiple attributes. This segmentation allows the QA organization to selectively execute test cases based on risk priority, ensuring that limited resources are allocated to testing the most critical functionality while maintaining acceptable quality control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different risk scores and priority levels to different test cases based on their specific attributes (dependency, failure impact, popularity, execution time). This enables differentiated testing strategies where high-risk test cases receive more attention and resources, while low-risk cases receive minimal resources, optimizing the overall quality control efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If test case selection is based on subjective judgment by QA teams, then flexibility is improved, but consistency and objectivity deteriorate across different organizations and teams
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the subjective test case selection process into an objective one by defining specific parameters and attributes (dependency, failure impact, popularity, execution time) that can be measured and quantified. The risk score calculation uses these parameters to objectively determine test case priority, eliminating subjective bias while maintaining flexibility through configurable weights and thresholds that can be adapted to different organizational needs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If more features are added to software applications, then functionality is improved, but testing complexity increases making quality control harder with limited resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the growing test case set into risk-based categories, allowing the organization to manage testing complexity systematically. As new features are added and more test cases are created, the risk assessment framework automatically categorizes them, preventing the testing process from becoming overwhelming and maintaining manageable complexity levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and focuses on the most critical test cases by calculating risk scores and selecting only those that exceed certain thresholds. This extraction approach allows the organization to concentrate resources on the most important test cases among the growing number of features, rather than attempting to test everything equally.
4Measurement precision
If test case attributes such as dependency, failure impact, popularity, and execution time are considered, then test selection accuracy is improved, but calculation and processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary risk assessment by pre-calculating attributes such as dependency relationships, failure impact, popularity, and execution time for all test cases before the actual testing phase. This preliminary action allows the risk scores to be determined in advance, enabling efficient test case selection without requiring complex real-time calculations during test execution planning.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method determines a plurality of test cases to test an application and a set of attributes assigned to each test case in the plurality of test cases. The method then calculates a test case risk score for each test case in the plurality of test cases based on the set of attributes associated with each respective test case. The test case risk score quantifies a risk in not executing each respective test case. A subset of the plurality of test cases is selected based on at least a portion of the calculated risk scores. The subset of plurality of test cases is output along with a test plan risk score that quantifies the risk in not executing test cases not included in the plurality of test cases.