What is Test Analysis (Test Basis) in Software Testing?

Details: Last Updated: 21 October 2020

Test Analysis

Test Analysis in software testing is a process of checking and analysing the test artifacts in order to base the test conditions or test cases. The goal of test analysis is to gather requirements and define test objectives to establish the basis of test conditions. Hence, it is also called Test Basis.

The source from which you derive test information could be

SRS (Software Requirement Specification)
BRS (Business Requirement Specification)
Functional Design Documents

Testers can create Test Conditions by looking into the Application Under Test or use their experience. But mostly, test cases are derived from test artifacts.

Let's understand Test Analysis with the help of a case study

Consider a scenario, where the client sends the following

Add search functionality to an eCommerce Store

Even though the application is yet to be developed, try and develop a few test cases for this requirement. Pause here, do your homework and move the solution ahead:

A few test cases among the many you could have thought of are listed below

Check the search results when no keyword is entered
Check the search results when no corresponding product is available for the keyword searched
Check the search results when a number of corresponding products are available for the keyword searched

Here, you look into Test Basis (requirement send by the client), analyze it, and convert it into Test Conditions.
This is what happens during the different phases of V- Model. Test Plan/Cases are created using the corresponding documents available at different phases.