Test estimation
Also called: Testing estimate, Effort estimation
Forecasting how much effort and time testing will take, usually as a range with assumptions.
Definition
A test estimate covers understanding the requirement, test design, environment and data setup, execution on every device or browser, bug reporting, retest and regression, reporting and a buffer for blockers. It is a forecast, not a promise, and it is updated when scope or assumptions change.
In practice
"Testing scheduled orders is about five days, three to eight, assuming the build is on staging Monday."
Related terms
- Three-point estimationEstimating a task with an optimistic, a most likely and a pessimistic value, often combined with the PERT formula.
- Work breakdown structureSplitting a job into small tasks that can be estimated and tracked one by one.
- Test planA document describing what will be tested, how, by whom, when, and what 'done' means.
- Risk-based testingPrioritizing testing by risk: how likely something is to fail and how bad the impact would be.