Purpose
Prepare the dedicated test environment and structured test design used for COTS acceptance testing.
Scope
This procedure applies to environment intake, isolation from production, production-like configuration and test case design.
Steps
| # | Action | Details | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm environment isolation | Confirm the test environment is isolated from production and access is restricted to authorized personnel. | Environment isolation record |
| 2 | Perform environment intake test | Perform and record an environment intake test before use. | Environment intake record |
| 3 | Verify production-like configuration | Verify the infrastructure, network, configuration and integrations mirror production as closely as practical; document every material limitation. | Configuration verification record |
| 4 | Design traceable test cases | Design traceable test cases for expected, unexpected and invalid inputs using structured techniques such as boundary-value analysis and equivalence partitioning. | Test case set |
| 5 | Map test cases to acceptance criteria | Map test cases to functional, integration, performance, security, operational and compliance acceptance criteria according to system criticality. | Traceability matrix |
| 6 | Escalate readiness gaps | Escalate environment-readiness or coverage gaps before testing proceeds. | Readiness or escalation record |
Evidence
- environment intake record
- test case set
- readiness or escalation record where relevant
Relationships
- Requirement: REQ-IT-007 Maintain Software Testing and Release Assurance
- Policy: POL-COTS-001 Commercial Off-The Shelf Software Acceptance and Testing Manual
- Process: PRC-RSA-001 Resilience Systems and Assurance
- Control: CTRL-COTS-003 Ensure COTS Test Environment and Test Design Are Controlled
Implementation
- Implementation state: current under the approved COTS Acceptance and Testing Manual version 1.0
- Execution evidence: retained for each test cycle
History
- 2026-07-26: Added the evidence-system relationship required for Hermes assessment mapping.
- 2026-07-26: Created from the approved COTS manual and mapped to CBCS-derived IT requirements.