In order to ensure that the software you ship is the best possible quality, for this, you need to maximize your test coverage. It also measures the amount of testing performed by a set of tests and also gathers the details about which parts of a program are actually executed when running the test set.
Following are the ways to make sure everything is tested in the best way possible:
1. All resources involved in a project should be aware of all requirements and methods used for web application testing.
2. Prioritize your requirements in the initial stages which help you to focus your energy where it is most required.
3. Always be informed about how the particular release is different from the previous release which helps you to identify various important requirements more accurately and focus on maximum coverage.
4. If needed, do automation software testing which saves a lot of time and effort if you automate repetitive tasks.
5. For complete management of your project user Test Management tools are available in the market.
6. Manage your tasks in a smart way by giving the critical tasks to the best resources and let new testers explore more for a fresh perspective.
7. Always create a checklist for all tasks and miscellaneous activities.
8. Interact more with your project Developers, Scrum team and Business Analyst teams to get more detailed information about the application behaviour.
9. Maintain a track record of all your build cycles and fixes.
10. During the initial phases of testing identify the most impacting problems in the initial builds itself if possible so that later ones can work for better stability and reach those areas blocked by prior problems.
Few tips that can help you maximize your test coverage:
1. Understand your business aim: Before test cases designing, understand the point of the software you are going to test. Talk to the end-user and try to find what is most important to end-users.
2. Communication: You should talk directly to the developers about what are the new functionalities they are going to deliver with each release. You will get a fair idea to focus your efforts on the next test.
3. Exchange tasks between members: Exchange tasks between your team members will improve engagement and prevent knowledge concentration.
4. Compatibility coverage: Always test your application on different browsers and platforms. Test your application on the same hardware and software which is used by the majority of your target end-users. You should first cover the most popular platforms and devices.
5. Plan according to Deadlines: Knowing the release deadlines prior to the commencement of the testing phase helps with effective planning.
6. Always Maintain Requirement Traceability Matrix: Maintain RTM which ensures each requirement is mapped with their particular test cases. Acts as a good derivative to the Stakeholders or Clients, based on which the release schedule can be confirmed.
7. Use multitasking: If you see an issue that is not related to your current test case, make sure to check it out or at least make a note so that you can test it later. Try to find usability issues while testing the functionality of the application.
Advantages of Test Coverage:
1. Finding areas of a requirement that are not covered by the test suite.
2. Creating more additional test cases which help in increasing coverage.
3. Finding those number of test cases that do not help in increasing coverage.
4. It primarily helps with testing task prioritizing.
5. Assures the quality while writing test cases.
6. Reducing Time, scope and cost.
7. It helps in achieving 100% requirement coverage.
8. It also prevents leakage of requirements.
9. Impacts Analysis becomes easier.
10. Helpful in determining the EXIT criteria.
11. Helps a test manager to prepare a clear test closure report.
