Documentation is writing narrative information about data processing activities that was developed and maintained. In software testing, documentation may include writing�
- System Specifications
- Test Designs
- Test Plans
- Test Cases
- Test conditions and results
- Program listings
- Bug reports
- Operator Manuals
- User Manuals
- Configuration of the software
- Flow charts
- Status report of the processes
What are the benefits of documentation?
During software development, proper documentation can help and guide both development and testing team through the help of well-written specifications and test plans or a simple list to follow on testing to ensure the quality of the program. Also, through documentation, the details of the test cases and results, bugs reports and how to replicate them can also be helpful as they serve as basis on fixing bugs and defects found. Also, the status of the development and testing can be easily monitored through the help of updated and well-maintained reports.
Documentation also helps to configure or set-up the program through the configuration document and operator manuals. For end-users, it can also help them to easily learn the program as it is detailed in user manual. Since there is a limit to human memory, with the help of these configuration and other manuals, we can easily recall the setup of a program and recall the functionality covered by the program. The documents written are beneficial for future citations as it records the history of the project and can help in fixing the issues that will arise on later stages. Proper documentation can help the organization save time, money, and effort. Example, in Regression testing, it can lessen the cost as test data cases have been preserved and documented properly, therefore, duplication of effort will be minimized.
There are more benefits to elaborate in documentation, but remember that being attentive to details and writing documentation is a vital role of a tester.
