Designing tests from requirements

Requirement-Based Test Design

This approach derives test cases directly from documented requirements — functional specifications, user stories, or acceptance criteria — ensuring every stated requirement has at least one corresponding test.

Typical Process

• Review each requirement and identify its testable conditions.
• Write test cases that verify both the expected (positive) and unexpected (negative) behavior for each condition.
• Maintain traceability, mapping each test case back to the requirement it verifies.

Why This Matters

Traceability between requirements and tests ensures nothing important is left untested, and makes it easy to see the impact when a requirement changes.