Test and QA Plan

How the build is validated before go-live: three sequential test phases, edge cases, and production verification.

4 pagesPDF · Quality

FS-DOC-06Quality

Test and QA Plan

Timesheet Collection and Approval

[YourCompany.com] · HR Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]

This document defines the full quality assurance programme for the Timesheet Collection and Approval automation. It is written for the FullSpec build team and covers every test case required to verify that the Collection Agent, Approval Agent, and Payroll Sync Agent behave correctly in isolation, in combination, and in a live production environment. Tests are organised into three sequential phases: no phase begins until the previous phase has fully passed. The process owner joins Phase 3 to review and formally confirm the production run before go-live is authorised.

01Testing approach

Testing is structured across three phases and must be completed in sequence. A phase may not begin until every test case in the preceding phase carries a confirmed pass status. This prevents integration or end-to-end tests from masking unit-level defects. The FullSpec team runs Phases 1 and 2 independently. The process owner participates in Phase 3 as the final reviewer and sign-off authority.

Phase 1: Unit Testing

Each agent tested in isolation against sandbox data

Scope

Each agent tested independently: Collection Agent, Approval Agent, and Payroll Sync Agent. No cross-agent handoffs are triggered.

Environment

Sandbox only. Google Sheets test workbook, Gmail sandbox account, Slack test workspace, and Xero demo company.

Credential rule

All sandbox credentials must be used. No production OAuth tokens, no live Xero tenant, no real employee email addresses.

Pass condition

All cases T01 through T15 return the expected output with no unhandled errors. Any failure blocks progression to Phase 2.

Who runs it

FullSpec team only.

Phase 2: Integration and Edge Case Testing

Agent handoffs and failure scenarios tested end to end in sandbox

Scope

Full agent-to-agent handoff sequence from Collection Agent output through to Payroll Sync Agent. Separate edge-case scenarios for data anomalies, tool unavailability, and timeout logic.

Environment

Sandbox only. Full workflow automation platform configured with sandbox credentials for all five integrated tools.

Credential rule

Sandbox credentials throughout. The Xero demo company must be used; no payroll data may be written to a live Xero tenant during this phase.

Pass condition

All cases T16 through T22 and edge cases E01 through E06 pass with correct data state in the master sheet and expected tool outputs confirmed. Any failure blocks progression to Phase 3.

Who runs it

FullSpec team only.

Phase 3: End-to-End Production Testing

Single full production run verified with process owner sign-off

Scope

One complete pay cycle run in the live production environment using an internal test employee record. All three agents execute in sequence against real credentials.

Environment

Production. Live Google Workspace, live Slack workspace, live Xero tenant (test employee record only). Internal test addresses used for all communications.

Credential rule

Production OAuth tokens and Xero API keys are active. The test employee record must be voided in Xero immediately after the run is verified.

Pass condition

All cases T23 through T27 pass, including the process owner review case T27. Sign-off is recorded in the FullSpec confirmation log.

Who runs it

FullSpec team executes; process owner participates in review and approval for case T27.

Test and QA PlanPage 1 of 4

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02Phase 1 — unit test cases

Sandbox credentials only throughout Phase 1. Do not use real employee email addresses, a live Xero tenant, or any production OAuth token during unit testing. All Gmail sends must route to the internal sandbox inbox. All Xero writes must target the demo company only.

Collection Agent — complexity: Moderate. Estimated build time: 10 hours. Tests cover the scheduled trigger, submission-status check, personalised reminder dispatch, Google Forms ingestion, validation logic, and master sheet write.

Scenario

Input

Expected Output

Pass Criteria

T01

Pay period trigger fires on schedule

Scheduled trigger fires at configured pay period close date and time

Workflow execution log shows trigger event at correct timestamp; Collection Agent initialises

Execution log entry confirmed; no timeout or missed-fire error

T02

Master sheet read: all employees submitted

Google Sheets test workbook with all 10 sandbox employees marked as submitted

Agent reads sheet, finds zero missing submissions, logs status as complete, does not send reminders

No reminder emails or Slack messages dispatched; status field in sheet set to 'All submitted'

T03

Master sheet read: three employees missing

Google Sheets test workbook with 3 of 10 sandbox employees showing no submission

Agent identifies the three missing rows and prepares personalised reminder payloads for each

Exactly three reminder payloads generated; employee names and email addresses match the missing rows

T04

Reminder sent via Gmail

Three missing employee records with sandbox email addresses; Gmail sandbox credentials active

Three personalised reminder emails dispatched from sandbox sender address, each containing the employee's name and Google Form link

Three emails received in sandbox inbox; subject line, name, and form link correct in each

T05

Reminder sent via Slack

Same three missing employees mapped to sandbox Slack user IDs

Three direct Slack messages dispatched to the correct sandbox users, each with form link

Three Slack DMs confirmed in test workspace; message text and link correct

T06

Google Forms response ingested

Sandbox Google Form submission with valid hours for one employee (40 hours, 5 days, all fields populated)

Collection Agent pulls the response, maps fields to master sheet columns, writes entry to the correct employee row

Master sheet row updated with correct hours; timestamp and form response ID recorded

T07

Validation: hours within threshold

Sandbox submission with 38 hours across 5 days (within agreed 0 to 48-hour threshold)

Entry passes validation; no anomaly flag written; row marked as validated in master sheet

Anomaly column for this row is blank; status set to 'Validated'

T08

Validation: hours exceed threshold (anomaly flagged)

Sandbox submission with 62 hours across 5 days (exceeds 48-hour ceiling)

Entry fails validation; anomaly flag written to master sheet row; HR review column populated with reason

Anomaly column contains flag text; row highlighted in sheet; agent does not pass entry to approval stage

T09

Validation: required field missing

Sandbox Google Form response with 'Department' field left blank

Entry fails validation; incomplete-entry flag written; row not moved to validated state

Flag text present in anomaly column; row status remains 'Incomplete'; no downstream action triggered

T10

Master sheet write: all submissions consolidated

10 sandbox employee submissions all valid

All 10 rows written to master sheet with correct hours, timestamps, and 'Validated' status; sheet status field set to 'Ready for approval'

All 10 rows match input data; sheet-level status field reads 'Ready for approval'; no duplicate rows created

Approval Agent — complexity: Moderate. Estimated build time: 10 hours. Tests cover approval email dispatch, token link generation, manager response logging, escalation timer, and audit trail write.

Scenario

Input

Expected Output

Pass Criteria

T11

Approval email dispatched to manager

Master sheet status 'Ready for approval'; two sandbox managers each responsible for 5 employees

Two approval emails sent from sandbox Gmail, each containing a formatted hours summary and a unique one-click approve link

Two emails received in sandbox inbox; employee lists correct per manager; token links are unique and well-formed

T12

Manager approves via token link

Sandbox manager clicks approve link from T11 email within the response window

Approval Agent captures the response, logs manager name and timestamp against each employee row in master sheet, marks rows as 'Approved'

All five employee rows under that manager show 'Approved' status and correct approval timestamp

T13

Escalation fires after timeout window

Sandbox manager has not clicked approve link within the configured 24-hour window

Escalation message sent to manager via Gmail and Slack; escalation timestamp logged in master sheet

Escalation email and Slack message confirmed in sandbox; escalation timestamp present in sheet; original approval row still shows 'Pending'

T14

All managers approved: agent marks sheet complete

Both sandbox managers have approved (T12 repeated for second manager)

Master sheet approval-complete flag set to true; Payroll Sync Agent trigger condition met

Sheet approval-complete field reads true; workflow execution log shows Payroll Sync Agent trigger event queued

T15

Payroll Sync Agent: Xero API write

Master sheet with 10 approved employee rows; Xero demo company credentials active; all employee IDs present in Xero demo

Approved hours for all 10 employees written to Xero demo company via payroll API; Slack confirmation message sent to payroll owner sandbox account

Xero demo company shows correct hours against each employee pay item; Slack message received with correct employee count and total hours

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03Phase 2 — integration and edge case tests

Phase 2 tests the full agent-to-agent handoff chain and verifies that data state is maintained correctly across all three agents. Test IDs continue from T16. A separate edge-case table follows, covering realistic failure and exception scenarios that must be handled gracefully.

Scenario

Input

Expected Output

Pass Criteria

T16

Collection Agent to Approval Agent handoff: clean data

10 sandbox submissions all validated and written to master sheet by Collection Agent

Approval Agent triggers automatically on sheet status change to 'Ready for approval'; approval emails dispatched within 60 seconds

Approval emails confirmed in sandbox; no manual trigger required; handoff latency under 60 seconds

T17

Approval Agent to Payroll Sync Agent handoff: all approved

All 10 sandbox employee rows marked 'Approved' by Approval Agent

Payroll Sync Agent triggers automatically; Xero demo write initiates; Slack confirmation sent

Xero demo hours updated; Slack message received; no manual intervention required between agents

T18

Partial approval: one manager pending, one approved

Manager A approved 5 employees; Manager B has not responded

Payroll Sync Agent does not trigger; escalation fires to Manager B after timeout; sheet status remains 'Pending approval'

Sync Agent shows no execution; escalation message confirmed; sheet status unchanged

T19

Anomaly flagged: HR resolves, flow resumes

One employee submission flagged in T08 reviewed and corrected by HR in master sheet; flag cleared manually

Collection Agent or orchestration layer detects flag cleared; row enters approval queue; Approval Agent routes correctly

Corrected row appears in manager's approval email with correct hours; no duplicate row created

T20

Full cycle: trigger to Slack confirmation

Complete 10-employee sandbox pay cycle run from scheduled trigger through to Xero write and Slack message

All three agents execute in sequence; master sheet shows 10 validated, 10 approved rows; Xero demo updated; Slack message received

End-to-end execution confirmed with no manual steps; all data states correct; execution log shows no errors

T21

Xero API rate limit response (429) handling

Payroll Sync Agent attempts to write 10 records; Xero demo returns 429 on the 8th record

Agent pauses, waits the retry interval (60 seconds), retries the failed record, completes remaining two records

All 10 records eventually written to Xero demo; no data duplicated; error log shows 429 event and successful retry

T22

Gmail send failure: SMTP authentication error

Collection Agent attempts reminder send; Gmail OAuth token returns 401 invalid-credentials response

Agent logs the authentication error; execution halts for that send step; error written to workflow log; FullSpec alert triggered

No email dispatched; error log entry present; workflow does not silently continue or mark step as successful

Edge case tests below use the E-prefix numbering series. These scenarios target data quality failures, duplicate submissions, missing employee mappings, and human timeout conditions.

Scenario

Input

Expected Output

Pass Criteria

E01

Duplicate Google Form submission from same employee

Sandbox employee submits the Google Form twice within the same pay period

Collection Agent detects duplicate (matching employee ID and pay period); second submission flagged; only first submission written to master sheet unless HR overrides

Master sheet contains one row per employee; duplicate flag visible in log; no double-counting of hours

E02

Employee record in master sheet not found in Xero

Master sheet contains sandbox employee ID '99999' which does not exist in Xero demo company

Payroll Sync Agent skips the unmatched record, logs the mismatch error, completes all other records, and includes the skipped employee in the Slack confirmation message

Xero demo shows no entry for '99999'; Slack message lists the skipped employee by name; all other records written correctly

E03

Missing manager mapping for one employee team

Approval Agent reads master sheet; one employee group has no manager email address in the manager mapping table

Agent skips the unmapped group, logs a configuration error, sends an alert to the FullSpec workflow log, and does not send a partial approval email

No email sent for unmapped group; error log shows specific employee group; rest of approval routing continues

E04

Employee submits Google Form after pay period close

Sandbox Form submission arrives with a timestamp 2 hours after the pay period close deadline

Collection Agent rejects the late submission, logs it as out-of-window, and does not write it to the current-period master sheet; HR notified via error log

Late submission absent from master sheet for current period; log entry present; no disruption to other rows

E05

Slack API unavailable during reminder dispatch

Collection Agent attempts Slack DM send; Slack API returns 503 service unavailable

Agent logs the Slack failure, falls back to Gmail reminder only for affected employees, and records the fallback action in the execution log

Gmail reminders confirmed sent; Slack failure logged; no employee left without any reminder; execution continues

E06

Manager approval link used after expiry

Sandbox manager clicks the approval token link 48 hours after it was issued (past the configured 24-hour token expiry)

System rejects the expired token, returns an appropriate error page to the manager, and logs the expired-token event; master sheet row remains 'Pending'

No approval recorded in master sheet; expired-token event in log; escalation path remains active for the manager

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04Phase 3 — end-to-end production test

Important before running Phase 3: use an internal test email address (not a real employee address) for all communications during this run. The test employee record written to Xero must be clearly labelled as a test entry and voided in Xero immediately after the production run is verified and T27 is signed off. Do not run Phase 3 during an active pay cycle where real payroll data is being processed.

Phase 3 executes one complete production run using live credentials, live Google Workspace, the live Slack workspace, and the live Xero tenant. A single internal test employee record is used for all data writes. The FullSpec team orchestrates the run and records outcomes in the test log. The process owner joins for case T27, reviews the full output, and confirms approval in the FullSpec confirmation record.

Scenario

Input

Expected Output

Pass Criteria

T23

Production trigger: scheduled pay period close fires

Live automation platform configured with production schedule; pay period close date reached

Collection Agent initialises in production environment; execution log records trigger event with correct timestamp

Live execution log confirms trigger at correct time; no duplicate trigger; Collection Agent status shows 'Running'

T24

Production reminder: Gmail and Slack messages dispatched to test address

Internal test employee record set to 'Not submitted' in live master Google Sheet

Personalised reminder email sent to the internal test Gmail address; Slack DM sent to internal test Slack account; form link functional

Email received at internal test address within 2 minutes of trigger; Slack DM confirmed; form link opens correct Google Form

T25

Production submission ingested and written to live master sheet

Internal test address submits the live Google Form with valid hours (40 hours, 5 days, all fields complete)

Collection Agent reads live Form response; validates entry; writes to live master Google Sheet; sheet status updates to 'Ready for approval'

Live master sheet row populated with correct hours; validation status 'Validated'; sheet-level status 'Ready for approval'

T26

Production Xero write: approved hours loaded via API

Live master sheet approval-complete flag set to true by Approval Agent (process owner approves via live token link); Payroll Sync Agent triggers

Approved hours for test employee written to live Xero tenant via payroll API; Slack confirmation sent to payroll owner's live Slack account

Live Xero tenant shows correct hours for test employee pay item; Slack message received with correct employee count and hours; test record immediately voided in Xero post-confirmation

T27

Process owner review and production sign-off

Process owner reviews: live execution log, live master Google Sheet (all states correct), Slack confirmation message, and Xero write confirmation (pre-void)

Process owner confirms that all outputs match the expected workflow, no data errors are present, and the automation is approved for go-live on the next pay cycle

Process owner review completed and approval confirmed. Sign-off recorded by the FullSpec team in the FullSpec confirmation log. Go-live authorised for the next live pay cycle.

Once T27 is confirmed, the FullSpec team records the approval in the project confirmation log and notifies the process owner at the email address on file. The test Xero record must be voided before the next real pay cycle begins. Any issues identified during Phase 3 are logged as defects, resolved by the FullSpec team, and Phase 3 is re-run in full before go-live is authorised. Contact support@gofullspec.com for any post-sign-off queries.

Test and QA PlanPage 4 of 4

Test and QA Plan

Test and QA Plan

01Testing approach

02Phase 1 — unit test cases

03Phase 2 — integration and edge case tests

04Phase 3 — end-to-end production test

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