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Create a Test Plan

By Brett Kovatch
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5 - Analytical, Company Blog, The Portal Method
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Create a Testing Plan:

So, youve built your portal, migrated some content
into your pilot test sites, configured the basic
functionality that was to be delivered in Phase I.
Now, its time to see how your pilot group reacts to
the portal.
This testing phase is going to be where youll identify
many little issues that need to be, as well as any
major misses that may have, inadvertently,
skipped by you tweaked (its great to get fresh pairs
of eyes on the project after youve stared at it from
every angle). To do this, you must create a solid
Test Plan.
The Test Plan can be as simple or as complex as
you want to make it. You could do a very thorough
use case analysis, if thats what you prefer. There
are great resources out there for creating use
cases.
Microsoft provides a great resource on this topic.
Personally, I would use their version as a general
guide, since this resource is not specifically
designed for Portals.
Of course, I like a more simple approach but
without sacrificing doing it right. So, Im
going to show you my way of creating a simple Test

http://www.thesharepointdude.com/create-a-test-plan/[06/05/2016 10:15:07]

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Plan that is flexible, scalable, but super easy to

create. Because we did some great work in
previous phases, most of the heavy-lifting has
already been done. For starters, go find your
Requirements Traceability Matrix. Youll need it to
build your use cases.

What should my Test Plan

include?
The following is a basic run-down of what should be
included in your test plan. The SharePoint Dude
Sample Test Plan format is very simple, which
makes it easy to fill out. However, its also very
scalable, so if you want to conduct complex and/or
thorough use case analysis, feel free to get as
detailed as you wish!
This is a very basic (but effective) form of use case
analysis. You can view my sample and run with it if
you wish. The information below is how I went
about creating the sample.

Objectives
You should include an objective statement (or
paragraph, or section), detailing exactly what youre
intentions are. In this case, well be testing our new
portal solution, so we want to state our main
objectives in testing this solution. Some of your
objectives could include (loosely worded for now):
Ensure that business requirements have been met
Ensure that functional requirements have been
met
Ensure that graphics/branding renders correctly
Evaluate system performance
Determine users level of satisfaction
In my sample, we will write out the above bullets in
paragraph form.

Schedules
Include a brief section (maybe a table or something)
that details the following:
Who will be testing?

http://www.thesharepointdude.com/create-a-test-plan/[06/05/2016 10:15:07]

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What will the Test?

When will they test it?
How long will they spend testing it?

Responsibilities
Specifically who will do what?
Who determines what to test?
Who will write the test cases?
Who will execute each test case?
Who will verify results?
Who will collect feedback?

Define User / Tester Types:

Define user/tester types: I kept this very simple.
Admins People who own the portal, manage
security, content, design, maintenance, etc. Also
users and navigators of the site.
Content Stewards People who will administrate
sites at the departmental level, also users and
navigators of the site.
Users people who will read, navigate, and/or
contribute content to the portal.

Outline use cases

Create a table in a document with the following
columns:
User Type
Test Description (Intention)
Steps to test
Result (System Response)

Helpful Tips:
To make this super easy, just bust out your
Requirements Traceability Matrix and make sure
you test for success on each requirement
documented (business, functional, and technical).

http://www.thesharepointdude.com/create-a-test-plan/[06/05/2016 10:15:07]

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Focus on use cases that will directly address the

goals your Portal Committee outlined in Phase 1 &
2. You want to be able to show people that your
objectives were met and well-received.
(Documented Success!)
Make sure that you meet all of the objectives that
you set out for this phase/project. Additionally, find
out from the testers what their first impressions
were. Did they like it? Dislike it? Find it useful or
confusing? Get that feedback early, while you can
still do something about it!

Tags: Sample Test Plan, Test

WEEK 5: ANALYTICAL
CREATE A FEEDBACK SURVEY

Comment (1)
Dude

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By April 29, 2010 / 10:59

pm

Use your toolbox!

Hey, you have your portal in
place, so go ahead and take
advantage of your
technology!!! Try publishing
your test cases, in InfoPath
browser-based forms, online.
This way, users can fill them
out and manage use cases
from a centralize location.
Plus, all of the content is
centralize for analysis later.
The best part is, you can
merge the forms at the end of
your testing phases and
aggregate all of the test
cases into one document!

http://www.thesharepointdude.com/create-a-test-plan/[06/05/2016 10:15:07]

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