Test life cycle in quality control

The test life cycle (Software Testing Life Cycle, STLC) is a sequence of specific activities performed during the testing process to ensure quality goals are met. In quality control it organises testing so that defects are found systematically. It runs in parallel with the SDLC.

Requirement analysis -> Test planning -> Test design
      -> Environment setup -> Test execution
      -> Defect reporting -> Test closure

Phases

1. Requirement analysis (test analysis)
   • Study requirements to identify testable items; clarify unclear ones.
   • Output: list of test conditions, requirement traceability matrix (RTM).
2. Test planning
   • Define scope, objectives, strategy, resources, schedule, tools, risks, entry/exit criteria.
   • Output: test plan, effort estimate.
3. Test case design / development
   • Write test cases with input, steps, expected result; prepare test data.
   • Review test cases.
4. Test environment setup
   • Prepare hardware, software, network and test data; smoke test the environment.
5. Test execution
   • Run tests, compare actual with expected results, log pass/fail.
6. Defect reporting and tracking
   • Log defects with severity and priority, assign to developers, retest after fix, regression testing.
   • Defect states: new, assigned, fixed, retested, closed or reopened.
7. Test closure
   • Evaluate exit criteria, prepare test summary report, metrics (defect density, coverage), lessons learned, archive testware.

Importance

Gives a structured, repeatable and measurable approach; supports early defect detection; clear entry and exit criteria prevent premature release.

Example: For an online exam portal, testers map requirements to 120 test cases, run them on a staging server, log 35 defects, retest fixes and issue a test summary before release.