Persona tests
A persona is a made-up customer whose situation tests a rule or a journey. For each one, the figures were worked out by hand from the rates on GOV.UK, and the service must give exactly the same answer.
The calculator is also tested at every threshold, against a separately written calculation, and with random answers. Does the testing cover every situation?
| Table | Tests | Checks | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-to-endCustomers going through whole journeys, using the dummy services | 78 journeys | 263 | All passed |
| CalculatorEvery kind of tax return, through the calculation and the API | 137 customers | 381 | All passed |
| Payment plansForecasts and Budget Payment Plan amounts | 23 customers | 112 | All passed |
| Making Tax DigitalWhen it starts, exemptions, penalty points and late payment | 26 customers | 47 | All passed |
| ThresholdsEvery threshold, for every tax year, at the threshold and just over it | 53 rules | 496 | All passed |
| Separate calculationRandom customers, worked out again by a second calculation written separately | 25,000 customers | 300,000 | All agree |
| Any answersRandom customers giving any of the answers in any combination | 30,000 customers | 30,000 | None broke |
The persona tables are part of 1,737 automated tests: 1,737 passed, 0 failed and 0 were skipped.
How the tests work
- Calculator personas are checked through the calculation engine and the public API, and some through the question pages.
- Payment plan personas are checked through the forecast and the Budget Payment Plan API. Dates allow for weekends and GOV.UK bank holidays.
- End-to-end personas go through whole journeys in a browser-like client. They use the dummy GOV.UK One Login, HMRC APIs, GOV.UK Notify, DVLA and Budget Payment Plan service, reached over HTTP like the real ones.
- Each end-to-end test customer is based on a calculator or payment plan persona, so its figures were worked out by hand too.