The Release 1.0 system test plan for a call-center loan app.Six build cycles. WebLogic + Oracle + MQ scoring. A hard go-live.

The 'Some Loan App', as deployed in Release 1.0, allows Home Equity Loan Call Center Agents to fit home equity products (loans and lines of credit) to customers. The system is a group of Java programs running on WebLogic, with Oracle storage and a Netscape gateway. Call Center agents interview customers through a Web browser; the system scores credit via a mainframe connection (MQ) and displays eligible products. If a product is accepted, the loan is transmitted to the existing origination platform for document generation and finalization.

The system test scope table was written up front to eliminate later arguments about what "done" meant.

The plan laid out the six-cycle schedule from unit test through deployment, against real calendar dates.

• Unit test complete
• Smoke build delivered and installed
• System Test Entry Criteria met
• System Test (six release cycles), ~6 weeks
• System Test Launch Meeting
• Builds 1–6 delivered and installed (weekly)
• Golden Code review (all bugs fixed: ready for final build)
• System Test Exit Criteria met
• System Test Phase Exit Meeting
• User Acceptance Test (two-week window)
• Go / No-Go Decision
• Deployment

System Test can begin when the following criteria are met:

• The "Tracker" bug tracking system is in place and available for all project participants.
• All software objects are under formal, automated source code and configuration management control.
• The HEG System Support team has configured the System Test clients and servers for testing, cloned call-center agent desktops, LoadRunner Virtual User hosts, Netscape, WebLogic, Oracle (including indices and referential integrity), MQ connections, and network infrastructure. Test Team has been granted access.
• The Development Teams have code-completed all features and bug fixes scheduled for Release 1.0.
• The Development Teams have unit-tested all features and bug fixes scheduled for Release 1.0 and transitioned the appropriate bug reports into a "verify" state.
• Fewer than ten (10) must-fix bugs are open, including bugs found during unit testing. Must-fix status is determined by the Project Manager and the AVP of Home Equity.
• The Development Teams provide revision-controlled, complete software products to MTG (see Release Management).

System Test will continue provided:

• All software released to the Test Team is accompanied by Release Notes. These must specify the bug reports the Development Teams believe are resolved in each software release.
• No change is made to the 'Some Loan App' (whether in source code, configuration files, or other setup instructions or processes) without an accompanying bug report.
• Twice-weekly bug review meetings occur until System Test Phase Exit to manage the open bug backlog and bug closure times.

System Test will end when the following criteria are met:

• No panic, crash, halt, wedge, unexpected process termination, or other stoppage of processing has occurred on any server software or hardware for the previous three (3) weeks.
• The Test Team has executed all the planned tests against the GA-candidate software release.
• The Development Teams have resolved all must-fix bugs (defined by the Project Manager and the AVP, Home Equity Group).
• The Test Team has checked that all issues in the bug tracking system are either closed or deferred, and, where appropriate, verified by regression and confirmation testing.
• The open / close curve indicates that product stability and reliability have been achieved.
• The Project Management Team agrees that the product, as defined during the final cycle of System Test, will satisfy the Call Center Agent's reasonable expectations of quality.
• The Project Management Team holds a System Test Phase Exit Meeting and agrees that these System Test exit criteria are met.

Testing involved both client systems and server regions.

The plan described exactly how the team would run test execution, not just what they would test.

• Test Hours, the weekly envelope
• Test Cycles, what a single build cycle looked like
• Test Execution Process, step-by-step (see QA Library test-execution-process)
• Human Resources, roles, chair time, and responsibilities
• Escalation Process, with Test Contact List, Support Contact List, and Management Contact List named
• Test Case and Bug Tracking, the Tracker workflow
• Release Management, how a build becomes a testable build

The plan closed with named risks to the test effort itself (environment instability, late-breaking scope additions, third-party dependencies) and the contingency actions MTG would take if each materialized. Then a change history, referenced documents, and a frequently-asked-questions appendix.