OTP #4: More Sections on the One-Page Test Plan Canvas

Outside The Parameters (OTP) is a micro-correspondence focused on sharing things from the world of Software Testing, every other day.

​_Reading Time = ~2 mins_

So, yesterday we looked at the One-Page Test Plan Canvas created by Prashant Hedge , and we reviewed its first three sections or blocks - Product, Roles and Responsibilities, and Impact Areas.

Let's look at a few more areas.

The Environment Tools and Deliverables block goes ahead to dig deeper into the details for the proposed tests while asking more appropriate questions in addition to previous blocks. This block elicits your answers to:

Where will you test? | What tools will you use? | What are your deliverables?

Next up is the In Scope block. This is the first of the twin blocks around 'scope'. As highlighted in the previous issue, passion or pressure can make us jump into tests. This block helps you and the team agree on what should be tested concerning devices, browsers, configurations, feature flags, etc.

The opposite twin block for 'scope' comes next. The Not In Scope block. The contents of this block speak to 'exemptions' - the things you should not test.

Then comes the most detailed part of this canvas - the Testing Tasks block. You should fill this block with the specific testing tasks that you have planned to carry out. Ideally, the list should contain high-level tasks due to space constraints.

What's a plan or project without 'milestones'? The milestones or phases of the planned testing activity go into the Schedule/Test Phases and Milestones block.

The last block is the Risks and Assumptions block. Coincidentally, this is a part of testing that is often overlooked. Every test phase has a set of risks and assumptions that should be clearly stated. This helps with making certain decisions, charting test execution, and sharing your learnings from testing the product.

You can download the One-Page Test Plan template here , and use it to quickly come up with a plan where brevity suffices or expand it at a later time.

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​​Unsung Testing Tool of the Day

​Jam

Jam is a nifty tool that helps you share a capture your browser screen accompanied by reproducible steps and browser logs - console logs, network logs, etc. This helps your developer understand what may have caused the bug you are reporting. Jam is easy to use, and is quite fast at doing what it promises.

Jam can be integrated with Notion, GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Linear, Slack, ClickUp, Asana, Sentry, Azure, Figma, Airtable, Datadog, etc.

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Testing Quote of the Day

Testing can prove the presence of bugs, but not their absence. - Edsger Wybe Djikstra

​Thanks for reading.

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