All glossary terms
Verify

Test case vs test scenario

A test scenario describes what to verify at a high level, 'a user can reset a forgotten password', while a test case specifies the concrete steps, inputs, and expected results that prove it. One scenario usually expands into several test cases (valid email, unknown email, expired link); conflating the two yields either vague coverage or unmanageable detail.

The distinction matters because conflating the two produces either unrunnable vagueness or unreadable sprawl. A test scenario is the situation under test ("checkout with an expired card"); a test case is the concrete, step-by-step instantiation with specific data and an expected result. Scenarios keep coverage discussions human and high-level; cases make execution unambiguous. Good suites move deliberately between the two rather than blurring them.