Requirements & Tests - The Perfect Marriage

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Many consider tests to be artifacts distinct and different from the application requirements. When you think about it however, tests are really just very detailed requirements. Both requirements and tests describe what the application is "required" to do with the tests simply expressing this using a lot more detail. Since they both are describing the same application, naturally they must be in total alignment, which traceability helps to ensure. This is one reason why test-driven development or test-first programming concepts make total sense.

So it's only natural that modern tools like Blueprint Requirements Center have evolved to automatically generate tests from the requirements. When you add sophisticated test filtering (generate tests based on various filtering criteria) this becomes a very powerful capability indeed.

There's a very good book on the theory behind this model-based approach to test design and lots of tips and best practices. The book is by Shel Prince and is called "Software Test Design through Behavioral Modeling". In spite of the heavy title it's very readable and concise. The modeling approaches and techniques that Shel talks about and shows in the book can all be automated using Blueprint Requirements Center. Highly recommended.  You can get Shel's book here:   Software Test Design