Questions to ask when estimating testing effort?

Question

I've been a software tester for a little more than a couple of years now and I'm looking to upgrade my skills for the role of Team Lead.

Team leaders and managers usually have to do the planning and estimation for projects. I'm trying to learn these skills.

I feel I'm not able to reliably assess the testing effort in terms of time, resources and cost. I'd be really thankful if I could get some good pointers to help me understand and do the estimations in a better way.

Answer 1

For estimation, the following aspects should be taken into account:

1. Domain knowledge of the team and the requirements.
2. Risks associated with the project.
3. Buffer time.
4. Historical Data.
5. the software life cycle followed by the project.

There are a number of techniques which can be used for test estimation, namely:

1. 3-Point Software Testing Estimation Technique: Estimation is based on the statistics
2. Delphi Technique: Estimation is based on surveys and data collected from the experts. This is one of the most common techniques used.
3. Work breakdown structure: A big project is made manageable by breaking it down into several smaller components in a hierarchical structure.

More about these techniques:

http://www.softwaretestingclass.com/software-estimation-techniques/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/effort-estimation-model-software-testing-rahul-kumar