Happy Path Testing
Happy Path testing can lead to the best Test Cases
Happy Path defines the success of every QA test - the user should be able to run through the functionality without having to encounter any errors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_path
Defining the Happy Path
The QA Project lead should start out building out a test plan that defines the happy path. While the path may seem obvious - it does help identify risk area.
Only One Happy Path?
Some QA Experts will say that there's only one Happy Path in a project. I'll argue that many paths may exist, for example in eCommerce you may have a Happy Path for existing customers and one for new customer.
Real World Example
A good real-world example of a happy path is going to the grocery store and getting everything on your shopping list.
Can you think of ways that a Happy Path would not be accomplished?
Some things that could cause an unsuccessful Happy Path
- Store isn't open
- Department is closed (Deli or Bakery is closed)
- Product isn't available
- Product is hard to find or not reachable
- Shopping is taking too long
- Checkout can't accept Credit Card transactions
Figuring out all the possibilities that could prevent someone from having a Happy Path is a good way to build test cases.
When starting out testing a new product, QA brainstorm ways that could prevent users from successfully completing their tasks.
Release Day
On release day, all new products should have a successful Happy Path.