Test case design patterns

Goal: Learn the basic patterns for designing tests.

Once a test plan is in place, it is time to detail the various tests it defines. In this section, we move from a test plan into a test design.

If you have been testing software, you might know that each test has a similar overall structure. Before you can perform the action under test, for example, the posting of a document, the data needs to be set up. Then, the action will be exercised. And finally, the result of the action has to be verified. In some cases, a fourth phase applies, a so-called teardown. This is used to revert the system under test to its previous state before a next test can take off, making each test repeatable.

Four-phase testing

The four phases of a test case design pattern are listed as follows:

1. Setup
2. Exercise
3. Verify
4. Teardown

This four-phase test design pattern was used by Microsoft in the early years of C/SIDE test coding. Like the following test...