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copied!<p>Credentials: I'm an SDET with 5 years of experience, 2 of those years testing web applications.</p> <p>1- I'd say testerab has a pretty good answer. There is no single document that you can invariably rely upon across companies or even teams within a single company. Pay attention to whichever document has information. </p> <p>I'd augment that answer with this advice: Don't be surprised if the documentation is insufficient. Strike up strong relationships with people who help define the product (the dev, the business owner, the program manager, etc.). You will nearly always be relying on them for some of your specifications, since it is difficult to cover everything on paper (and, as you gain expertise as a tester, you will learn to see things that others don't notice). Try to write down any "verbal specs" as you hear them, and ideally get any requests for specification clarification in writing or email. Gathering them all in a public document is wise, and may help to uncover if two people have very different ideas about what the spec "ought" to be.</p> <p>2- Testerab has a good answer to this question, also, here: <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4289170/how-do-you-keep-automated-tests-in-synch-with-test-plans/4294359#4294359">How Do You Keep Automated Tests in Synch With Test Plans</a></p> <p>"1) Who reads it? 2) Who should probably read it, but currently you suspect they don't bother? (Do you know why they don't bother?) 3) What information do they need to get from it? Does it give them that info? 4) How do you currently present that information? Does that work for your readers/non-readers? 5) What sort of feedback do you need to get from the readers of your test plan? 6) Do you have any regulatory requirements that you need to satisfy with your test planning? "</p> <p>Test plans, like product specs, will vary greatly depending on the needs of your group. If you are in an Agile group you may spend very little time on your test plan, doing little more than outlining the areas you need to cover - or you might not even have a test plan at all, but just a conversation with the team about what will be sufficient testing for everyone to feel confident about making decisions about the product. Other companies will have very specific guidelines you will need to follow.</p> <p>Cem Kaner's classic book "Testing Computer Software" is slightly outdated, but still a good place to start and discusses test planning. I'd recommend you buy a copy quite strongly, unless someone can recommend something as authoritative that is more current. Last I heard, this was still <em>the</em> software testing book.</p> <p>3- I'm having a little trouble understanding this question, but will do my best. Do you mean, what specifically will you need to know to test websites? First, what do you mean by websites? Do you mean web applications? If so, you will probably need to understand server / client architecture, web services, databases and basic SQL, at least rudimentary security testing, integration testing, functional testing, and will benefit from an understanding or specialization in performance testing, load testing, more security testing, and familiarity with web GUI testing with Selenium or Watir. </p> <p>Some helpful things for us to know to help you get started:</p> <ol> <li><p>How much experience do you have, both as a developer and as a tester? If you are just getting started in your career, what is your educational background?</p></li> <li><p>How much experience do you have working with web applications, and in what roles (dev, test, PM, etc.)?</p></li> </ol> <p>And, you might want to try asking some of these questions over at <a href="http://www.softwaretestingclub.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.softwaretestingclub.com</a> - this is a site for software testers to build community. You will get a lot of good advice and support there, so long as you are active in the community, and many of the most influential software test writers hang out there. If you do stop by there, feel free to look me up!</p> <p>Hope this helps!</p> <p>Edit: Added some info to answer q. #2 and to mention Cem Kaner's book.</p>

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