Scenario Matrix Template

About

A Scenario Matrix Template for Recovery Testing is used to plan and track test cases that evaluate how well a system can recover from failures, crashes, or unexpected interruptions and return to normal operations. The focus is on verifying resilience, data integrity, and restoration speed after different types of failures, including hardware faults, software errors, network outages, or environmental disasters.

This matrix ensures:

• The system can restart and recover within acceptable downtime limits

• Data loss is minimal and within defined Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

• Recovery procedures are documented, tested, and repeatable

• Failover mechanisms and redundancy work as designed

Recovery testing scenarios often simulate server crashes, database failures, network disruptions, power outages, and disaster recovery drills.

Template

Scenario ID	Scenario Description	Preconditions	Test Data / Inputs	Steps to Execute	Expected Result	Priority	Remarks
RCV-01	Server crash recovery test	System running under normal load	Normal workloads	Force server shutdown	System restarts and restores state	High	Baseline recovery scenario
RCV-02	Database failure and recovery	Database replication enabled	Sample dataset	Stop DB service unexpectedly	DB restored without corruption	High	Validates RPO compliance
RCV-03	Network outage recovery	Redundant network paths configured	Normal traffic	Disconnect network temporarily	Service resumes when network restored	Medium	Checks failover connectivity
RCV-04	Application crash recovery	Application with persistence enabled	Active user session	Kill application process	App restarts, resumes session or prompts login	High	User continuity check
RCV-05	Failover recovery in cluster	Clustered environment	Active cluster nodes	Stop one node	Other nodes handle requests seamlessly	High	High availability test
RCV-06	Power outage simulation	UPS/failover power configured	Running workload	Simulate power loss	System recovers when power restored	Medium	Hardware recovery test
RCV-07	Cloud zone failover	Multi-zone deployment	Cloud failover setup	Shut down primary zone	Workload shifts to secondary zone	High	Cloud resilience validation
RCV-08	File corruption recovery	Backup configured	Corrupt critical files	Attempt recovery from backup	Files restored successfully	Medium	Data integrity check
RCV-09	Disaster recovery site activation	DR site prepared	Full system image	Simulate primary site failure	DR site activated within RTO	High	Business continuity validation
RCV-10	Partial component recovery	Microservices deployed	Fault injection tool	Disable single service	Service recovers without full restart	Medium	Component-level resilience