Test Planning Database Testing

A test plan is an essential document that outlines the approach, objectives, scope, and deliverables of a software testing project. It provides a comprehensive roadmap for testing activities and ensures that all testing activities are executed systematically and efficiently

• Helps to identify testing requirements:
• Ensures test coverage:
• Provides a clear roadmap
• Reduces risk:
• Improves communication:
• Provides a basis for evaluation

A test plan for database testing should include the following:

• Introduction: This section should describe the purpose and scope of the database testing, as well as provide an overview of the database structure and the types of data stored within it. Additionally it should cover below points to meet the introduction
  
  • Purpose: This document describes the test plan for database testing for a specific project.
  • Objective: The objective of this test plan is to verify the functionality, reliability, performance, and security of the database system. The database should meet the following requirements:
    • Data should be accurate and consistent
    • Data should be secure and protected
    • The database should be able to handle a large amount of data
    • The database should perform well under normal and peak loads
  • Scope: This test plan covers the testing of the database schema, tables, stored procedures, triggers, and data integrity. The scope of this test plan includes testing of the following:
    • Data integrity
    • Data validation
    • Data consistency
    • Performance and scalability
    • Security and access control

• • References: Project requirements, database design documents, and related test cases.

• Test Environment: This section should outline the hardware and software requirements for testing the database, including the version of the database management system (DBMS), any necessary drivers or software components, and the hardware specifications of the test system.
  • Hardware: The testing will be conducted on a server with the required specifications for the database system
  • Software: The database system and its associated tools, such as query tools and reporting tools, will be used for testing.
    
  • Test Data: Test data will be generated to simulate various scenarios.
    Test Strategy: This section should describe the overall approach to testing the database, including the types of tests that will be performed, the testing methodology (such as manual or automated testing), and any tools or frameworks that will be used.
    

• Testing Approaches: 

  • Automated Testing: Using testing tools to automate test cases. 
  • Manual Testing: Using manual testing techniques to test the database. 
  • Integration Testing: Testing the integration between the database and other components of the system.
    
• Test Cases: This section should include a detailed list of test cases that will be executed during the testing process. Each test case should include a description of the test, the expected results, and any preconditions or assumptions that need to be met before the test can be executed.
  • Schema Testing:- Verify the correctness of the database schema.- Ensure that all tables are created correctly.- Verify that the columns in each table have the correct data types and constraints.- Ensure that primary keys and foreign keys are defined correctly.- Verify that indexes are created for performance optimization.
  • Stored Procedures and Triggers Testing:- Verify the functionality and accuracy of all stored procedures and triggers.- Ensure that the stored procedures and triggers are executing correctly.- Verify that the stored procedures and triggers are generating the expected results.
    

• • Data Integrity Testing:- Verify that the database is enforcing data integrity constraints.- Ensure that the data is stored correctly.- Verify that data is being retrieved correctly.- Ensure that data manipulation operations are performed correctly.
    

• • Load Testing:- Test the database with a high volume of data.- Ensure that the database can handle the expected load.- Verify that the performance of the database is acceptable.
    
• Test Execution: This section should describe the procedures for executing the test cases, including any data preparation or setup that needs to be done before testing can begin. It should also outline the steps for verifying the results of each test case and any necessary troubleshooting steps.
  
  • Verify the schema of the database matches the design document.
  • Insert test data and test data integrity by updating and deleting data.
  • Attempt to access the database without authorization to test security.
  • Run SQL queries on large datasets to test database performance.
    
• Test Reporting: This section should describe how the test results will be documented and reported, including the format of the test report, the stakeholders who will receive the report, and any follow-up actions that may be necessary based on the results of the testing. It may be in the form of entire execution summary followed by detailed analysis of data flow during execution. or if you are maintaining test cases in the test management tool then it should be well equipped to produce reporting for you at the end of test execution.
  
• Test Deliverables: The following test deliverables should be produced:
  • Test plan document
  • Test case document
  • Test execution report
  • Test summary report
  • Defect report
    
• Test Schedule: After proper evaluation of software test estimation would needs to be covered for the below activities that will give visibility to everyone in the team about testing cycle.
  • Test planning and preparation
  • Test execution
  • Test reporting

• Risks and Contingencies: This section should outline any potential risks or issues that may arise during the testing process and the contingency plans for addressing them. It should also include any known limitations or constraints that may impact the testing process.

    e.g.

• • Risk 1: Data loss due to software bugs. This can be a potential risk to the project as it will lead to the missing or loss of transacted data, that may be required to further processing or that may be highly focused data to run the business.
  • Mitigation: Before executing any test procedure or performing any testing activity take a back of source data so that corrupted data can be rolled back to the original state at any point of test execution cycle.
    
    
  • Risk 2: Performance degradation due to heavy loads of data. Huge data can cause slowness in the processing that particular transaction. there are other factors though that can cause performance degradation on the system under test like hardware configuration, size of data store, data processing strategies
  • Mitigation: System requirement for test execution needs to be evaluated well before processing. enough space needs to be allocated to data store so that while processing data there wont be any shortage of memory to store both permanent and temporary data to avoid slowness. Data processing strategies also play a major role, so we need to identify what process needs how much data and how that data is processed i.e. we need to evaluate data is processed as a whole or in chunks to make it available.
    
    
  • Risk 3: Security vulnerabilities. Are flaws, weakness or errors that potentially cause loss of data or compromised confidential data
  • Mitigation: Systems should be evaluated for broken authentication, SQL injections, cross site scripting, security related misconfigurations. 
    
• Test Exit Criteria: The following test exit criteria should be met before the test can be considered complete:
  • All test cases have been executed and all defects have been resolved.
  • The database meets all functional and non-functional requirements.
  • The database has been approved for production use by stakeholders.
    
• Conclusion: This section should summarize the key findings and recommendations from the testing process and provide any additional information or insights that may be relevant to the project team or stakeholders.

• Sign-Off : Sign-off by stakeholders to indicate completion of testing