10 Tips for Writing Effective Test Cases


Test cases are a vital part of testing. They are the source of truth, provide proof that the system is working, and are a road taking you from functional tests to system integration tests, to end to end, to regression. Let’s go over 10 tips for making the most of your test cases.

1. Understand the Requirements

Before you begin creating test cases you need to develop an understanding of the functionality under test. This understanding will allow you to create accurate meaningful test cases. 

2. Traceability

Maintain traceability between your test cases and requirements. This ensures you have covered all of the requirements. You can accomplish this using a requirements traceability matrix…which is a fancy way to say, map your test cases to specific requirements. 

3. Keep the Future In Mind

The likelihood that your test cases will be reran is high. Write as many reusable test cases as possible. Your colleagues and future self will be thankful! This can be accomplished by developing and following a standard to test case creation across the organization.

4. Use a Standardized Format

Standardization increases readability and understanding between projects and people. It also allows people to jump to and from projects to execute test cases anytime. Adopt a standard that works for you and your project team.

5. Be Clear and Concise

Write clear and concise test cases. Each test case should focus on a specific functionality, making them easy to understand and execute. Along with defining preconditions, this is especially beneficial when you write the test cases and someone else executes them.

6. Define Preconditions

Clearly define any prerequisites. This allows engineers to configure the environment as needed, request necessary access, or run any required prior test cases.

7. Be Transparent

The more eyes on your test cases, the greater the chance someone will find something wrong or missing. Create your test cases in a shared folder. Include links to your test case repositories in your planning documentation. Review your test cases with the project team.

8. Prioritize and Organize

There is always the likelihood that you will not have sufficient time to execute all test cases. Prioritize your test cases in order of criticality. Organize your test cases in a way that works for you. Consider grouping test cases into test suites with similar scenarios. This will make your execution status easier to report on.

9. Review and Update 

As software evolves, requirements change. Regularly review and update your test cases due to these changing requirements. Doing so will prevent your test cases from becoming irrelevant. 

10. Screenshots!

Take the time to take and attach screenshots to your test cases! Whether you are confirming requirements from a year ago that no one remembers or proving something was tested, screenshots always come in handy in one way or another. Take screenshots of whether your test case passed or failed. 


That’s it! Following these ten tips consistently will lead to better test case creation, saving time during execution, and setting you and your team up for future success. 

Curious to hear your thoughts! Let’s ensure quality together by sharing your insights.

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