Outlook Plugin - Momentous Testcases / Checklist

Last week, I got an opportunity to play with a plugin meant for outlook, through 99tests.com. Lot of testers logged remarkable bugs. I did not want to leave my observations unshared, hence posted it.

To get an acquaintance about Outlook plugins, please read Outlook_add-ins. To note, here I have cited cases that are applicable for COM plugins for Windows. As we know, types of testing that are eligible for any plugin depends upon its domain & functionality, since this is a general feed, I waived those cases.

So here are the few notable pointers

1. Validate properties of Add-In
   
   • Navigate to outlook->options->Add-Ins page. 
   Check for the foll properties
   • Name – Caption or title of the plug in
   • Publisher – Name of the organization or publisher
   • Location – Path of application, mostly the dlls
   • Compatibility – Usually this field won’t be available for predominant applications
   • Description – A one liner, that calls out the functionality or usage
2. Check load behavior of Add-In
• Manage Add-Ins - Dialog has options to, manage
• Location: Path of application, mostly the dlls
• Load Behavior: When to load the application
• Unloaded
• Load on Demand (not currently loaded)
• Loaded at startup
3. Valiidate availability of plugin under Ribbon or Toolbar
• Navigate to outlook->options-> Customize Ribbon/Quick Access Toolbar
  
4. Plug-in shortcuts should not clash with outlook standard keystrokes

Of-course not to mention the followings are mandatory

• Must co-exist with Outlook and Windows versions.
• Should not alter existing functionalities of Outlook.
• Outlook data loss is not acceptable.
• Must comply with Outlook protocols

These pointers many not be fresh for voluminous, but still it could be a checklist for testing newbie. Share your learnings, am definite it will be supportive to someone. I consider "in doing & sharing, we learn".