STLC - Requirement Analysis
Requirement Analysis is the first phase of STLC and it starts as soon as the SRD/SRS is shared with the testing team. Let us consider the following points to understand the Requirement Analysis in STLC.
The entry criteria of this phase is the provision of SRS (Software Requirement Specification); it is also recommended that the application architecture is handy.
In this phase, the QA team analyzes at a higher level what to test and how to test.
The QA team follows up with various stakeholders like Business Analyst, System Architecture, Client, Test Manager/Lead in case any query or clarification is required to understand the requirement.
Requirements may be functional or non-functional like performance, security, usability, etc. or both functional and non-functional.
The exit criteria of this phase is to complete the RTM document, automation feasibility report and a list of questions if applicable to be more specific on the requirements.
Activities Performed for Requirement Analysis
There are three major activities that are performed by the QA team in this phase. The activities have been described below.
Defining the Scope
The QA team identifies the scope of testing at high levels and divides into various functional modules. The team also identifies the types of testing required to perform – smoke testing, sanity testing, functional testing, regression testing, etc. The QA team analyzes the prerequisites and the environment details where testing is supposed to be performed. The team gathers details about the testing priorities and lays focus on the sequence of modules to be validated. It also identifies the requirement defects if modules are contradicted and functionality is not getting carried over along with other modules.
Prepare RTM
Requirements tracing is a process of documenting the links between the requirements and the work products developed to implement and verify those requirements. The RTM captures all the requirements at the Requirement Analysis along with their traceability in a single document. All of this is delivered at the conclusion of the life cycle.
The Matrix is created at the very beginning of a project as it forms the basis of the project's scope and deliverables that will be produced.
The Matrix is bidirectional, as it tracks the requirement forward by examining the output of the deliverables and backward by looking at the business requirement that was specified for a particular feature of the product.
Automation Analysis
In the requirement phase, the QA team analyzes the scope of automation for regression testing. If automation is added in scope, the team decides which tool can be used, what functionalities will be covered as automation, the time-frame and the resource allocation involved for automation development. Once this analysis is completed, the QA team provides the Automation Feasibility Report to different stakeholders to provide signoff.
