Software Testing Cycle (Part 2) - Software specifications

Read and understand the software specifications

A Software specification is a document usually created by development with input from other teams that describes what is going to be in the software and how it should function.  Using this document, the Software tester can begin writing test cases without ever seeing a working application. A well written spec should enable the tester to write a majority of the test cases. They may not have all the details but those can always be filled in later with more information. Of course writing all your test cases based on a document has it's risks. What is written and how the application actually turns out will be different. It is best to not get caught up in the details and put in at least place holders for tests and put in more details later after you actually try using the application. During this process it is important to communicate with the developers. Talking with the developer may give more insight and  information on how to write test cases for specific features or functionality. This communication will also help to uncover mistakes or other problems in the spec that the developer (or the tester) can then correct in the document.