The ideal way of learning QTP or for that matter any other tool is to go through the basics first. Once you are clear with the basics, you can start learning the advanced concepts of the tool. This article aims to list out all the basic concepts that QTP beginners should go through as part of their initial learning of the tool. For those of you who have had exposure to QTP, this article would serve as a checklist to see whether or not you have missed any of the basic concepts.

Basic Concepts in QTP

• What is QTP? This is the topic you should ideally start with. You should have an idea of what QTP is all about, what type of testing you can do with QTP, different types of applications that it supports & other general stuff like what is the latest QTP version, from where you can download QTP, what are the different license modes etc.
• What sort of Applications / Test Cases should be considered for Automation using QTP. Now this is a very important concept that must be looked at before starting with any automation project using QTP. You should be able to analyze your manual test cases and your application to see if it is can be automated or not. If it can be automated, you should be able to figure out if you’d really derive any benefit by automating the test cases.
• Get familiar with the QTP tool. Before starting to create test scripts in QTP, you should be familiar with the QTP tool. You should be aware of the different panes and controls in the QTP window. You should know what they are and for what purpose they are used.
• Test Objects and Object Repositories. You should know what are test objects, what is object hierarchy, how you can identify objects using QTP and how you can identify unique properties for your objects. You should also know what object repositories are, why they are used and how you can use them to add objects.
• Creating Test Scripts / Actions. Now comes the real scripting part. You should be able to use the record & playback method to create & run test cases. Together with record & playback method, you should be able to ‘write’ your code after associating object repositories to your actions.
• Analyzing your Test Run Results. Once you run your test scripts, you should be able to analyze the test run results. You should be able to find out which steps have passed & which have failed. You should also be able to identify the test case flow using the run results.
• Creating Functions & Using Function Libraries. You should be able to identify reusable flows & functionality in your test cases. You should be able to write user defined functions for the reusable flows. You should also be able to create new function libraries, add some reusable functions to these function libraries and use these functions in your script by associating the function libraries to your test script.
• Working with Data Tables. You should know how you can use data table to pass on data values in your test script. You should also be aware of how you can take data from excel sheets and use it in your scripts.
• Basics of Debugging. You should have a clear understanding of the basic debugging techniques in QTP. You should know how to use breakpoints in your code. You should also know how you can make use of the debug viewer pane while running your test scripts.

If you are thorough with all these concepts you can be rest assured that you have good understanding of QTP Basics. ::-) You can use the comments section to let us know your views on this article.