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Waterfall Testing Checklist¶

Purpose: Comprehensive checklist for testing activities at each Waterfall phase gate.
When to Use: Reference at phase transitions to ensure all testing criteria are met before proceeding to next phase.

Requirements Phase¶

Requirements Review¶

Review requirements documentation for testability
Identify ambiguous or incomplete requirements
Define acceptance criteria for each requirement
Validate requirements with stakeholders
Document non-functional requirements

Test Planning Preparation¶

Identify testing scope and objectives
Define test strategy approach
Estimate testing effort and resources
Identify testing risks
Plan test environment requirements

Design Phase¶

Design Review for Testability¶

Review system architecture for testability
Identify integration test points
Validate design against requirements
Document test approach for design
Identify performance testing needs

Test Planning¶

Create comprehensive test plan
Define test levels (unit, integration, system, UAT)
Allocate testing resources
Create test schedule with milestones
Establish entry and exit criteria for each level
Plan test environment and tools
Document risk mitigation strategies

Development/Implementation Phase¶

Test Case Development¶

Develop test cases for all requirements
Create traceability matrix
Design test data sets
Prepare test scripts (manual and automated)
Review test cases with stakeholders
Obtain test case approval

Test Environment Preparation¶

Set up test environments (integration, system, UAT)
Configure test tools and infrastructure
Load test data
Validate environment readiness
Document environment configuration
Establish change control procedures

Early Testing¶

Review unit test results from development
Participate in code reviews
Conduct early integration testing if possible
Validate builds before formal testing

Testing Phase¶

Integration Testing¶

Execute integration test cases
Validate component interactions
Test data flow between modules
Verify API integrations
Document integration test results
Log integration defects

System Testing¶

Execute system test cases
Perform end-to-end testing
Validate functional requirements
Conduct non-functional testing (performance, security, usability)
Execute regression test suite
Document system test results

Defect Management¶

Log all defects with severity and priority
Track defect resolution progress
Retest fixed defects
Perform regression testing after fixes
Escalate critical defects
Maintain defect metrics

Test Progress Tracking¶

Update test execution status daily
Track test coverage metrics
Monitor defect trends
Report progress to stakeholders
Identify and mitigate testing risks
Document deviations from test plan

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Phase¶

UAT Preparation¶

Prepare UAT environment
Create UAT test scenarios with business users
Train users on UAT process
Provide UAT documentation and support
Set up UAT defect tracking

UAT Execution¶

Pre-Deployment Phase¶

Release Readiness¶

Verify all exit criteria met
Confirm all critical defects resolved
Execute final regression testing
Validate deployment package
Review test summary report
Obtain stakeholder approval for release

Documentation¶

Finalize test summary report
Document known issues and workarounds
Prepare release notes
Archive test artifacts
Create handover documentation for support team

Deployment Support¶

Participate in deployment planning
Prepare rollback procedures
Plan post-deployment validation
Define production monitoring approach

Post-Deployment Phase¶

Production Validation¶

Execute smoke tests in production
Monitor production issues
Validate critical business processes
Document production defects
Support incident resolution

Closure Activities¶

Conduct project retrospective
Document lessons learned
Archive all test documentation
Update test process based on learnings
Celebrate successes and recognize team

Phase Gate Criteria¶

Gate Review Checklist¶

Waterfall Testing Guide - Complete Waterfall testing methodology
Methodology Comparison - Compare with other methodologies
Test Plan Template
Test Case Template
Test Summary Report Template
Risk Assessment Template