What process transforms general test objectives into specific test cases?

The process that transforms general test objectives into specific test cases is known as test design. During this phase, testers take the broader goals of the testing effort and break them down into detailed test cases that are actionable and measurable.

Test design involves identifying the required test cases based on various testing techniques, such as equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, or decision tables, to ensure comprehensive coverage of the application under test. This helps in defining clear steps, expected outcomes, and specific conditions for each test case, allowing testers to effectively validate the software against its requirements.

In this context, while test execution, test environment, and test data preparation are important aspects of the testing process, they do not focus on the creation of specific test cases. Test execution is about running the tests that have already been designed, the test environment pertains to the setup required for testing, and test data preparation involves gathering or creating the data needed for the tests. All these are important, but they come after the test design phase, which is fundamental for creating the actual tests that will be executed.