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<h1><a id="spec-title" name="spec-title" shape="rect">QA Framework: Test
Guidelines</a></h1>

<h2><a id="dated-subtitle" name="dated-subtitle" shape="rect">W3C Working
Draft 20 August 2004</a></h2>
<dl>
  <dt>This version:</dt>
    <dd><a shape="rect"
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-qaframe-test-20040820/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-qaframe-test-20040820/</a></dd>
  <dt>Latest version:</dt>
    <dd><a shape="rect"
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/qaframe-test/">http://www.w3.org/TR/qaframe-test/</a></dd>
  <dt>Previous version:</dt>
    <dd><a shape="rect"
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-qaframe-test-20040225/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-qaframe-test-20040225/</a></dd>
  <dt>Editors:</dt>
    <dd>Patrick Curran (<a shape="rect"
      href="mailto:patrick.curran@sun.com">Patrick.Curran@sun.com</a>)</dd>
    <dd>Dimitris Dimitriadis (<a shape="rect"
      href="mailto:dimitris@ontologicon.com">dimitris@ontologicon.com</a>)</dd>
</dl>

<p class="copyright"><a shape="rect"
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice#Copyright">Copyright</a>
© 2002-2004 <a href="http://www.w3.org/" shape="rect"><acronym
title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</acronym></a><sup>®</sup> (<a
href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/" shape="rect"><acronym
title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</acronym></a>, <a
href="http://www.ercim.org/" shape="rect"><acronym
title="European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics">ERCIM</acronym></a>,
<a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/" shape="rect">Keio</a>), All Rights Reserved.
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<h2><a id="abstract" name="abstract" shape="rect">Abstract</a></h2>

<p>The principal goal of <cite>QA Framework: Test Guidelines</cite> is to
help W3C Working Groups to develop more useful and usable test materials. The
material is to be presented as a set of principles and good practices. This
document is one in a family of QA Framework documents of the <a shape="rect"
href="http://www.w3.org/QA/">Quality Assurance (<acronym
title="QA">QA</acronym>) Activity</a>. The other existing or in-progress
specifications are: <cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/qa-handbook/">The QA
Handbook</a></cite>, and <cite><a
href="http://www.w3.org/TR/qaframe-spec/">Specification
Guidelines</a></cite>.</p>

<h2><a id="status" name="status" shape="rect">Status of this document</a></h2>


<p><em>This section describes the status of this document at the time of its
publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current
W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be
found in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/" shape="rect">W3C technical
reports index</a> at http://www.w3.org/TR/.</em></p>

<p><strong>Progression and publication of this document is temporarily on
hold.</strong></p>

<p>Previously published versions of this document were W3C Working Drafts
made available by the W3C <a href="http://www.w3.org/QA/WG/">Quality
Assurance (QA) Working Group</a> for discussion by W3C members and other
interested parties. For more information about the QA Activity, please see
the <a href="http://www.w3.org/QA/Activity" shape="rect">QA Activity
statement</a>.</p>

<p>At its <a href="http://www.w3.org/QA/2004/06/f2f-minutes">June 2004
face-to-face</a> meeting, the QA Working Group (QAWG) determined that it had
insufficient resources to progress all parts of the QA Framework together at
the same pace. Therefore, it resolved to focus resources on first progressing
<cite>The QA Handbook</cite> and <cite>Specification Guidelines</cite> to the
maturity level of Last Call Working Draft. Those resources would then be
available for progressing <cite>Test Guidelines</cite> (TestGL) to the same
level of maturity.</p>

<p>Shorly after publication of the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-qaframe-test-20040225/">previous
version</a> of TestGL, the QAWG resolved at its <a
href="http://www.w3.org/QA/2004/03/f2f-minutes#QAF-future">2004 Technical
Plenary face-to-face</a> meeting (March 2004) that TestGL and the other parts
of the QA Framework would be revised to be lighter-weight, less
authoritarian, and more user-friendly and useful. QAWG discussed and agreed
to an <a
href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-qa-wg/2004Apr/att-0008/TestGL-20040404.html">initial
outline</a> for a revised, lightweight TestGL.</p>

<p>Despite the delay of publication and progression, the QAWG wants to
continue development of the material for TestGL. Accordingly, a <a
href="http://esw.w3.org/topic/QA#head-8dc1a611f322110d4051f570a734454f1a6463f7">TestGL
idea-incubator</a> area has been set up in the <a
href="http://esw.w3.org/topic/QA">QA Wiki pages</a>. Material within the
scope of TestGL has been placed there, and contributions are encouraged.</p>

<p>Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C
Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or
obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this
document as other than work in progress.</p>

<p>Patent disclosures relevant to this specification may be found on the
Working Group's <a
href="http://www.w3.org/2004/01/pp-impl/34282/status" rel="disclosure">Patent disclosure
page</a> in conformance with the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">W3C Patent
Policy</a> of 5 February 2004. An individual who has actual knowledge of a
patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) with respect
to this specification should disclose the information in accordance with
<a>section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy</a>. [3]</p>

<p>You may email comments about this or previous <cite>Test Guidelines</cite>
documents, or about topics in the <a
href="http://esw.w3.org/topic/QA#head-8dc1a611f322110d4051f570a734454f1a6463f7">TestGL
Wiki area</a>, to <a shape="rect"
href="mailto:www-qa@w3.org">www-qa@w3.org</a>, the <a shape="rect"
href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-qa/">publicly archived</a> list
of the <a shape="rect" href="http://www.w3.org/QA/IG/">QA Interest Group</a>. Please note
that comments that you make will be <strong>publicly</strong> archived and
available, do not send information you would not want to see distributed,
such as private data. You are also encouraged to contribute your ideas,
examples, or related materials directly to the <a
href="http://esw.w3.org/topic/QA#head-8dc1a611f322110d4051f570a734454f1a6463f7">TestGL
Wiki area</a>.</p>
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