Test Documentation

Doc artifacts

• Test strategy.
• Test plan per release.
• Test cases (manual + automated).
• Test data setup guide.
• Environment guide.
• Tool / framework guide.
• Runbook (on-call, smoke test prod).
• Post-mortem archive.

Where to host

• Confluence — enterprise standard.
• Notion — modern.
• GitHub Wiki / docs/ — version-controlled with code.
• TestRail / Xray — test case mgmt embedded.

Test case format

ID: TC-LOGIN-001
Title: Successful login with valid credentials
Pre-condition: User account exists
Steps:
  1. Open login screen
  2. Enter valid email
  3. Enter valid password
  4. Tap Login
Expected: Navigate to Home screen, session token stored
Priority: P0
Automation: Yes (e2e/login.spec.ts)
Last verified: 2026-05-01

Living docs

• Update when feature change (not after).
• Owner per doc.
• Quarterly audit (which doc stale > 6 month).

Anti-pattern

• Write 100-page doc upfront → outdated week 1.
• No table of contents → people don't find.
• Doc in 1 person's local file → bus factor.

Minimum viable doc

• README in repo.
• /docs folder with: setup, run tests, write new test.
• 1-page test strategy.
• Active test case set in TestRail / Xray.

VN context

Outsourcing project doc-heavy (client require traceability). Internal startup doc-light (move fast).

Use AI smartly

GPT-4 / Claude help write test case from user story. Human review + tweak.