What are the different phases of the software testing life cycle?

The Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) consists of several phases that guide the testing process from the planning stage to the closure of the testing activities. The specific phases can vary slightly depending on the development methodology used (e.g., waterfall, agile), but here is a general overview of the common phases in the software testing life cycle:

Requirements Analysis:
- Objective: Understand and analyze the requirements to identify testing needs and establish a testing strategy.
- Activities: Reviewing requirements, creating a test plan, and defining testing scope.
Test Planning:
- Objective: Define the overall testing approach, strategy, resources, and schedule.
- Activities: Creating a detailed test plan, identifying test cases, and allocating resources.
Test Design:
- Objective: Develop detailed test cases based on the requirements and design specifications.
- Activities: Creating test cases, test data, and test scripts for automation.
Test Environment Setup:
- Objective: Establish a test environment with the necessary hardware, software, and network configurations.
- Activities: Setting up test servers, databases, and configuring the test environment.
Test Execution:
- Objective: Execute the test cases and scripts to identify defects and validate system functionalities.
- Activities: Running test cases, recording results, and logging defects.
Defect Tracking:
- Objective: Capture, prioritize, and track defects found during testing.
- Activities: Logging defects, assigning priorities, and working with developers for resolution.
Test Reporting:
- Objective: Communicate test progress, results, and other relevant information to stakeholders.
- Activities: Generating test summary reports, defect reports, and progress reports.
Regression Testing:
- Objective: Ensure that new changes or updates do not introduce new defects or impact existing functionalities.
- Activities: Re-executing selected test cases to verify system stability.
Test Closure:
- Objective: Summarize the testing activities, assess the quality of the software, and prepare for project closure.
- Activities: Finalizing test documentation, gathering metrics, and conducting a test closure meeting.
Post-Implementation Review:

Objective: Evaluate the testing process, identify areas for improvement, and capture lessons learned.
Activities: Conducting a retrospective meeting to review the testing process and discuss improvements.

These phases are iterative and may overlap, especially in agile development methodologies where testing is integrated into each iteration. Additionally, the STLC may integrate with the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to ensure a cohesive and collaborative approach to software development and testing.