Test procedure
In software testing, a test procedure is the ordered sequence in which a set of test cases is run, together with the setup that has to happen first and the clean-up that follows. It turns separate cases into one runnable session with a known starting state, a fixed order and a defined end.
The longer version
The ISTQB glossary defines a test procedure as "a sequence of test cases in execution order and any associated actions that may be required to set up the initial preconditions and any wrap-up activities after execution", and names ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-1 as the source its wording follows. The phrase has other lives outside software. A statistician's test procedure is a rule for accepting or rejecting a hypothesis, and medicine and aviation each have procedures of their own, which is why search results for the words are mixed. The sense here is the software tester's.
Order matters because test cases share state. Take a seat-booking feature for an event. Reserving a seat has to come before paying for it, and cancelling comes after both, so three cases that look independent only make sense in one sequence. The procedure records that sequence. It opens with setup: create an event with ten seats and a customer account. It lists the cases in running order: reserve a seat, pay, cancel, confirm the seat is free again. It closes with teardown: delete the event and the account, so the next run starts from the same place.
A procedure sits between the single case and the suite. A test case fixes one check, a test procedure puts several cases, or the scripts that carry them out, in running order, and a test suite groups the cases, as procedures or scripts, for one run. A test script is the instruction sequence that carries cases out, so a procedure written out step by step, for a person or for a tool, reads as one long script, and some teams use the two words for the same document. In the ISTQB Foundation syllabus, organising cases into procedures belongs to test implementation, where the procedures are also prioritised and placed in a test execution schedule.
Common questions
What is a test procedure in software testing?
A test procedure in software testing is a set of test cases arranged in the order they will be run, with the actions needed to prepare the starting state beforehand and to tidy up afterwards. The ISTQB glossary defines it in those terms.
What is the difference between a test procedure and a test case?
A test case fixes a single check, with its own preconditions, inputs, any steps and expected result. A test procedure strings several test cases together in running order and adds the setup and wrap-up around them, so the state one case leaves behind can serve as the starting point of the next.
What is the difference between a test procedure and a test script?
A test procedure orders the cases or scripts for a run, with the setup before them and the teardown after. A test script is the instruction sequence, prose or code, that carries one or more cases out. In practice one document often does both jobs, and the two words are then used as synonyms.
What does a test procedure include?
A test procedure includes the setup actions that create the starting state, the test cases in execution order, any data handed from one case to the next, and the wrap-up actions that restore the environment. Some teams also record the environment and the build the procedure was written for.
Why does the order of test cases matter?
Order matters whenever one test case depends on the state another leaves behind, such as a payment that needs an existing reservation. A procedure makes that dependency explicit. Running the same cases in a different order can produce failures that come from the sequence and not from the product.
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