QA Prioritization Criteria

The QA prioritization criteria can be used to determine what test cases get prioritized for testing and automation in any particular release for any OpenMRS product. Below is a description of the 8 point criteria:

  1. Availability of documented requirements
    1. Documented requirements will be a key determinant in selecting or developing a test case as it will be the main reference point. 
    2. The weight of this criterion is high.
    3. The score for this criterion is 5.
  2. Value add and impact of the feature.
    1. This criterion looks at core features that would directly impact implementations.
    2. The weight of this criterion is high.
    3. The score for this criterion is 4.
  3. Critical functionality with a direct impact on workflow.
    1. This criterion looks at ensuring the clinical workflows are not broken.  For example, in a patient registration workflow, the following features should be tested Search and the registration form should be tested to ensure the workflow is not broken.
    2. The weight of this criterion is high.
    3. The score for this criterion is 3.
  4. Critical functionality with a direct impact on patient safety.
    1. This criterion looks at ensuring the decision making features are functioning appropriately. For example, high blood pressure is flag appropriately and displayed in a visible manner. 
    2. The weight of this criterion is high.
    3. The score for this criterion is 3.
  5. Information Security Issue.
    1. This criterion looks at ensuring issues to do with authorized access to information are well handled. It also looks into issues revolving around roles and privileges.
    2. The weight of this criterion is high.
    3. The score for this criterion is 2.
  6. Needs to always be tested (fragile feature).
    1. This criterion to any identified features that easily break once a change is made to the product.
    2. The weight of this criterion is medium.
    3. The score for this criterion is 1.5.
  7. Part of the current release.
    1. In applying this criterion, look into the overall purpose of the project that is to be achieved at the time. For example, if the purpose of the project is to change the User interface then any test case that looks into the look and feel of the product should be prioritized.
    2. The criterion weight will be high when one wishes to determine what to prioritize for a specific release, else it will always be low or not applicable if one is planning on conducting a general end to end testing.
    3. The score for this criterion is 4.5 if high and 1 if low.
  8. The complexity of the test case.
    1. In applying this criterion,  take into consideration the following:
      1. Time taken to develop the test case.
      2. Time taken to execute the test case.
      3. The number of times required to run the test case.
    2. This criterion applied in the form of a scale ranked as follows:
      1. Simple i.e  It takes minimal time and effort to develop and execute the test case
      2. Medium i.e the time taken to develop and execute the test case is minimal,  however, the test case requires to execute a number of times for positive results.
      3. Hard i.e a substantial amount of time is required to develop and execute the test case.  Additionally, the test case needs to run a number of times with a complex data set to get viable results.
    3. The weight of this criterion is medium.

Here is a link on how to apply the criteria: QA Prioritization Criteria Spreadsheet.