As a rule testing spans all stages of software lifecycle and requires careful planning and diligent execution. It starts with a test plan. The test plan is a document that identifies the high-level project information, software components, and testing environment. It also describes the project's testing strategy, identifies QA resources, efforts, schedule, and cost. Then test cases are developed with specific steps to exercise features of the software. This ensures that you will cost-effectively deliver high-quality software to your customers.

Testing should start once builds (early releases of the software) are made available. Key areas of testing typically include:

• User interface testing
• Database testing
• Security and authorization testing
• Performance testing
• Stress testing
• Fault-tolerance and fail-over testing
• Compatibility and configuration testing
• Installation testing