Basic Checklist for Testing Applications

As a test engineer we have to ensure that a bug-free and fully tested application gets delivered to the end user. Complete testing requires a lot of time which is a rare scenario. In such a situation, a quick list of testing scenarios might prove to be the much needed companion of testers.

Below are some of the test scenarios that are essential for an application and must be tested irrespective of the industry or domain.

General Test Scenarios

1. Validate and ensure that all the mandatory fields are indicated by an asterisk (*) symbol
2. Make sure validation error messages are displayed properly at correct positions
3. Check if all the error messages are displayed in the same CSS style (e.g. using red color)
4. Ensure general confirmation messages are displayed using CSS style (e.g. using green color) and not error messages style
5. Tool tips text should be meaningful
6. Dropdown fields should have first entry as blank or text like ‘Select’
7. Ensure that delete functionality for any record on page is asking for confirmation
8. Provide select/deselect all records options if page supports record add/delete/update functionality
9. Confirm if amount values are displayed with correct currency symbols
10. Check if default page sorting is provided
11. Reset button functionality should set default values for all fields
12. All numeric values should be formatted properly
13. Input fields should be checked for max field value. Input values greater than specified max limit should not be accepted or stored in the database
14. Check all input fields for special characters
15. Ensure that the field is labeled in a standard way e.g. field accepting user’s first name should be labeled properly as ‘First Name’
16. Check page sorting functionality after add/edit/delete operations on any record
17. Check for timeout functionality. Timeout values should be configurable. Check application behavior after operation timeout
18. Check cookies used in an application
19. Check if downloadable files are pointing to correct file paths
20. All resource keys should be configurable in config files or database instead of hard coding
21. Ensure that standard conventions are followed throughout for naming resource keys
22. Validate markup for all web pages (validate HTML and CSS for syntax errors) to make sure it is compliant with the standards
23. Check if application crash or unavailable pages are redirected to the error page
24. Check text on all pages for spelling and grammatical errors
25. Check numeric input fields with character input values. Proper validation message should appear
26. Check for negative numbers if allowed for numeric fields
27. Check amount fields with decimal number values
28. Check functionality of buttons available on all pages
29. Verify that the user is unable to submit a page twice by pressing submit button in quick succession
30. Divide by zero errors should be handled for any calculations
31. Input data with first and last position blank should be handled correctly

GUI and Usability Test Scenarios

1. Check if all fields on the page (e.g. text box, radio options, dropdown lists) are aligned in a proper manner
2. Right justify numeric values unless specified otherwise
3. Provide enough space between field labels, columns, rows, error messages etc.
4. Make sure that the scroll bar is enabled only where required
5. Font size, style and color for headline, description text, labels, infield data, and grid info should be standard as specified in SRS
6. Description text box should be multi-line
7. Ensure that the disabled fields are grayed out and user is not able to set focus on these fields
8. Upon click of any input text field, mouse arrow pointer should get changed to cursor
9. User should not be able to type in drop down select lists
10. In case there is an error message on page submit, make sure that information that was filled in by the users is remaining intact. Also check if the user can submit the form again by correcting the errors
11. Check if proper field labels are used in error messages
12. Verify that the dropdown field values are displayed in a defined sort order
13. Tab and Shift+Tab order should work properly
14. Default radio options should be pre-selected on page load
15. Make sure field specific and page level help messages are available
16. Check if correct fields are highlighted in case of errors
17. Check if dropdown list options are readable and not truncated due to field size limit
18. Ensure that all the buttons on the page are accessible by keyboard shortcuts and also check if the user is able to perform all operations using the keyboard
19. Check all pages for broken images
20. Check all pages for broken links
21. Ensure that all the pages have titles
22. Confirmation messages should be displayed before performing any update or delete operation
23. Hour glass should be displayed when application is busy
24. Page text should be left justified
25. Validate that the user is able to select only one radio option and any combination for check boxes