Software Test Estimation & Techniques
What is Software Test Estimation?
Test estimation is a management activity which approximates how long a task
would take to complete
Estimating efforts for the test is one of the major and important task in Test
management.
Why Test Estimation?
Two questions you can expect from the clients
How long will this testing take?
How much will it cost?
What to estimate
It includes estimate of what?
o Resources: It can be people, equipment, funding, facilities etc.
o Times: Most important, deadline to deliver.
o Human skill: Knowledge and experience of team members
o Cost: It is project budget, how much money to finish the project.
How to estimate?
There are n number of ways to estimate like
1. Functional point method
2. Three-point estimation
3. Use-case point method
4. Percentage distribution
5. Ad-hoc method
Functional point method: In this method we will use following steps to estimate the
task
Step 1: Divide the whole project into the smallest tasks.
Step 2: Allocate each task to team members.
Step 3: Estimate the efforts required to complete each task.
Step 4: Validate the estimation
Divide the whole project into the smallest tasks:
In this step we will divide the whole project into task and sub-task at the smallest level.
Example like:
Task Sub-task
Analyze the software requirement Investigating the software requirement
specification
Interview with developer and other
stakeholder to know more about the
project
Create the test specification Design the test scenario
Create the test scenarios
Review and revise the test scenarios
Execute the test cases Build-up the test environment
Execute the test cases
Review the test execution result
Report the defects Create the defect reports
Report the Defects
Allocating the tasks to the team members:
Example like:
Tasks Members
Analyze software requirement All the team members
specification
Create the test specification Tester/ Test analyst
Build up the test environment Test Administrator
Execute the test cases Tester, Test Administrator
Report defects Tester
Estimate the effort required to complete each task:
It is estimated on the following parameters
1. Size: Size of the task
2. Duration: How much duration it will take
3. Cost: how much cost it will take
A. Estimate size for the task