Test Suite

Example usage

For an online store checkout, a test set chains several test cases: test case 1 adds an item to the cart (postcondition: item is in the cart), test case 2 proceeds to shipping (precondition: item in cart; postcondition: shipping address saved), test case 3 completes the payment (precondition: shipping saved). The postcondition of one test becomes the precondition of the next — that is what makes the group a test set rather than a random collection.

FAQ

What is a test set? A set of several test cases for a component or system under test, where the postcondition of one test is often used as the precondition of the next one.

How is a test set different from a test suite? A test suite is a general collection of test cases for a component or system. A test set specifically emphasizes the chain of preconditions and postconditions between its test cases — the execution order matters.

Does the order of test cases in a test set matter? Yes. Because one test’s postcondition feeds the next test’s precondition, executing the set out of order can invalidate the later tests.

What happens if a test in the middle of a set fails? The failure breaks the chain — later tests may fail because their preconditions are not met, not because the software is defective. Testers must interpret set failures with this dependency in mind.

Are test sets used in automated testing? Yes, automation frameworks model this explicitly: a test set is a sequence of dependent test cases, and frameworks report the chain position of every failure.

Related terms

• test case — the unit a test set groups
• test suite — the broader collection of test cases
• test procedure — the actions that execute the chained cases
• test data — the inputs flowing through the chain
• test execution — running the test set
• test design — where the chaining is planned