Once the various test cases and test procedures are produced ( with some test procedures potentially automated) and assembled into test suites, the test suites can be arranged in a test execution schedule that defines the order in which they are to be run.
The test execution schedule should take into account such factors as:
- Prioritizations
- Dependencies
- Confirmation tests
- Regression tests, and
- The most efficient sequence for executing the tests.
Ideally, test cases would be ordered to run based on their priority levels, usually by executing the test cases with the highest priority first.
If a test case with a higher priority is dependent on a test case with a lower priority, the lower-priority test case must be executed first.
Similarly, if there are dependencies across test cases, they must be ordered appropriately regardless of their relative priorities.
Confirmation and regression tests must be prioritized as well, based on the importance of repaid feedback on changes, but here again dependencies may apply.
In some cases, various sequences of tests are possible, with differing levels of efficiency associated with those sequences. In such cases, trade-offs between the efficiency of test execution versus adherence to prioritization must be made.