Requirements are a description of the functional and non-functional characteristics that must be implemented in a software product or system. They are the basis for developing and testing an application, defining how the application should interact with the user, what functions it should perform, and how it should provide security, performance, and other important aspects.
The role of requirements in the testing process
Requirements include specific details such as user interface, functionality, system requirements, constraints, and technical parameters. They are formulated based on the customer's needs by analytics and represent an agreement between the developers and the customer about what should be implemented in the final product.
Application requirements serve as the basis for testing, as they define the standards and expectations that must be checked and validated during testing to ensure that the application works properly and meets user needs.
Example requirements for a mobile task management application:
- The application should allow users to create new tasks, and give them a title, description, and due date.
- Users should be able to mark tasks as done and remove them from the list when they are done.
- The application should support an alert feature to remind users of an approaching task due date.
- The application should provide synchronization of tasks between the user's devices for ease of use across platforms.
- Ability to create categories or labels to categorize tasks and make them easy to search and filter.
The role of requirements can be divided into several aspects:
Defining test objectives. Requirements define the features to be tested and the expected behavior of the application. They help the testers understand what exactly needs to be tested and what to focus on during testing.
Create a test plan. The requirements are used as the basis for developing a test plan. The test plan specifies the types of tests to be performed, the scenarios to be tested and the success criteria to be used.
Define test cases. Requirements help to define test cases, i.e. the specific steps and conditions to be tested during testing. Test cases are directly related to requirements, as they test whether the application meets the stated requirements.
Quality assessment. Requirements define standards and expectations for the application. During testing, testers evaluate how well the application meets these requirements and quality standards. This identifies defects and flaws in the application and ensures that it meets the stated requirements.
Requirements testing checklist
Requirements test criteria are the standards and conditions that requirements must meet to be considered successfully tested. Test criteria help to define how and to what degree requirements are tested for conformance, completeness, and correctness.
Here are some criteria for checking requirements:
Completeness – checking that all the necessary requirements are included in the documentation and that there are no omissions. To achieve this, a tester should refer to project documentation such as specifications, functional and technical requirements, user scenarios, etc. It is important to scrutinize each requirement, asking yourself whether it is clearly stated, whether it carries a certain meaning and logic and whether it is in line with the business objectives of the project.
The tester can also review the requirements with other team members to ensure that they all have a common understanding of the requirements and that there are no disagreements between them. This will minimize the risks of misinterpretation of requirements and ensure that all team members are working in the same direction.
Accuracy – checking that the requirements reflect real user and business needs. If you are developing an online survey site, the correct criteria would be to make sure that the requirements reflect real customer needs, e.g. "the system should allow users to create surveys with different types of questions".
Ambiguity – eliminating ambiguity or lack of clarity in the wording of requirements. The good requirement would sound like “The ‘Avatar’ field supports the following formats: JPEG, PNG, HEIC” instead of “The ‘Avatar’ field supports the following formats: JPEG, PNG, etc.”
Traceability – establishing a link between requirements and tests to ensure that each requirement is verified. Imagine that you are developing a warehouse management system. Each requirement should be linked to the appropriate tests to ensure that all the functions related to inventory control work correctly.
Prioritization – determining the importance of each requirement to the business and the attention it will receive in the testing process. In a photo-editing application, criteria might be to determine that features related to color editing are more important than filter features.
Measurability – establishing success criteria for each requirement to determine when it has been met. In a web-based online testing application, measurability criteria might be that 95% of users should successfully complete the test without error.
Verifiability – verifying that the requirements can be verified with the tools and resources available. In a mobile application for booking event tickets, the criteria would be to verify that all features of the application can be tested without additional resources, for example, without involving developers.
Consistency – ensuring that requirements do not contradict each other or create incompatible conditions. In an online shopping application, one requirement states that items should be sorted in ascending order of price, while another requirement states that items should be sorted in descending order of popularity. This contradiction creates uncertainty for users about how items should be sorted.
Inseparability – means that one requirement must describe one and only one situation. For example, Requirement #1: the program must display a button to save the drawing; Requirement #2: the program must save the drawing to the gallery; Requirement #3: the program should notify you when the drawing is saved.
Conclusion
Understanding and testing requirements are crucial for ensuring the quality and success of any software project. By following a requirements testing checklist, testers can identify potential issues early on and contribute to delivering a reliable and efficient product. Emphasizing the significance of requirements testing helps build confidence in the software's functionality and meet the users' needs effectively.