Basically, test monitoring is a management activity. It involves evaluating the current test phase and collecting feedback, while the executing testers provide some of this relevant information through reporting:
- Feedback to the team and all other interested parties on the progress of the test activities
- Transmission of the results of the tests performed to the developers
- Determine and record the test metrics
- Planning and assessment of the future approach based on the available metrics
What Should Be Considered in Reporting and Monitoring?
Points 1 and 2 deal mainly with reporting, which is an important part of test monitoring. Reports should be precise and avoid "long stories". It is important to remember that the content of a report is designed individually by each person editing it. Points 3 and 4 deal with the quantifiability of tests. The following metrics can be used for this:
- Test coverage
- Test execution metrics (number of test cases passed, failed, blocked, postponed)
- Error metrics
- Compliance metrics
- Various metrics such as reputation of testers, milestones, costs, schedule and lead time
The monitoring of the tests and reporting are closely related. Since a test analyst is primarily a manager, his or her contribution is to collect and provide the metrics relevant for monitoring and reporting.
Why ditCraft?
Our customers receive a constantly transparent and comprehensive insight into precisely these points relevant for monitoring and reporting, which are accessible as a regular document or via live monitoring.