Automation Project Plan Template
Automation Project Plan Template
Outline the preliminary Scope of the Testing goals and objectives for the next
Test Automation project.
Sizing
Outline a preliminary Test effort sizing based on the planned scope of automation.
Team Composition
Conduct Interviews for the planned Automation Test Team composition, and
develop team.
Early Project Support Phase
Further define the goals and objectives and review with all stakeholders.
Constraint Examination
Review the problems with the development of the application and tools used to
automate the testing, which may impact the testability for automation.
Requirements Review
Ensure that the software development requirements for automation testing are
documented and published.
Test Process Analysis
Analyze the current Test process and determine how the automation testing life
cycle will be included.
Organization Involvement
Discuss the automation plans with all Test and Development groups, and accept
input for targeted Test Cases to automate.
Test Automation Planning Phase
Test Requirements
Define the project deliverables after the Test Automation life cycle has
completed.
Test Program Parameters
Document what training will be needed and a proposed schedule for it.
Technical Environment
Document the technical environment in which the application under test will be
tested by the automation.
Automation Tool Compatibility Checks
Document the incompatibilities of the Automation tool with the AUT, as well as
the work-around solutions needed.
Risk Assessments
Document the Test Data required for automation, and plans for developing and
maintaining its repository.
Automation Test Environment
Identify and document the requirements for an automation test lab for the AUT,
and the personnel needed for setting up and maintaining it.
Roles and Responsibilities
Define and document the team members roles and responsibilities for the
automation testing effort.
Automation Test System Administration
Define all tools used for automation, and outline the requirements for setting up
and maintaining them.
Test Automation Design Phase
Prepare and establish an automation test lab to support the design and
development of the automation. Verify its functionality.
Automation Techniques and Tools
Prepare the Standards and Guidelines to be used for the automation project.
Automation Script Planning
Define what scripts can and should be included in a common library for reuse.
Automation Development Phase
Assign the planned scripts to the team. Use MS Project to track the development
progress.
Script Peer Reviews
Review the design and development of the automation scripts, and ensure they are
developed consistent with the established standards and guidelines.
Test Tool Improvements
Create a Database for Bugs and enhancements for the automated test scripts.
Test Script Configuration Management
Ensure that configuration control is performed for test scripts and test data, as
well as a repository backup plan.
Automation Integration Phase
Environment Setup
Define a process for setting up an environment for executing the automation test
scripts for each new build of the AUT.
Test Phase Execution
Debug Tool/Script issues found during the execution of the automated test scripts.
Automation Process Improvement Phase
Tool/Script Evaluation
Conduct a session after each test cycle and gather information to improve the
automation process.
Maintain a Test Process Repository
Participate in test tool user groups, test conferences, and seminars and promote
information sharing in the Automation Group.
Timeline
This work breakdown structure will be dynamically maintained as in MS Project
Gantt chart showing the allocation of time to the project phases or iterations. The
Project file can be found at \\ansalon\test\automation\test documents.
Major Milestones
The Automation Project will require dedicated hardware resources. They include
both test engineer workstations and test automation servers. These resources
should be acquired as soon as possible as some scheduled automation tasks are
well under way.
Training Plan
All test automation engineers will be trained in the Rational Unified Process, in
Rational Suite TestStudio and all of its components, in the functional
decomposition test automation framework, and the data driven test automation
approach.
The training vehicles will include in-house seminars, Rational public seminars
and conferences such as the Rational Users Group conference, the International
Software Testing Conference, and the STAR conference.
Budget
Test automation is not an inexpensive proposition. A substantial investment in
Tools, Schedule, and expert tool users is required.
Project Monitoring and Control
Automation Effort Estimation
The estimation process for predicting the time to automate AUT's environmental
setup, smoke, and regression testing is broken down on a feature-by-feature basis.
The estimates are being developed and placed in an Excel workbook with for each
type of automation in separate sheets.
Schedule Control Plan
The progress of the project will be monitored with the MS Project tool. A weekly
Status meeting will be held and the Project Plan Schedule will be updated. If the
project begins to slip behind schedule, the Team Lead will take steps to correct
the schedule, which may include additional hours, additional personnel, or
personnel changes.
Budget Control Plan
TBD
Reporting Plan
The Progress of the Automation Project will be reported to the Test Manager at
the weekly Test Status Meeting with a Printed copy of the Current Project
Schedule.
Measurement Plan
TBD
Supporting Processes
Configuration Management Plan
All test automation framework artifacts will be placed under change control using
Rational ClearCase LT, which is a component of the TestStudio Suite. In
addition, all test baseline information will be under change control.
Defect Tracking and Problem Resolution