PowerShell Pester — Lesson 1: Pester Foundations and Test Structure

Learning Objectives

• Install Pester and understand versions, discovery, and execution
• Organize tests using Describe, Context, BeforeAll, and It
• Create clear test names, arrangements, actions, and expected outcomes

Detailed Topics

• Install Pester and understand versions: Install Pester and understand versions, discovery, and execution
• Organize tests using Describe: Organize tests using Describe, Context, BeforeAll, and It
• Create clear test names: Create clear test names, arrangements, actions, and expected outcomes

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, environment, dependencies, roles, risks, and expected outcome.
2. Demonstrate the relevant configuration, analysis, code, or administration workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, or test evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with the stated acceptance criteria.

Hands-On Activity

Create a structured Pester test suite for a small PowerShell module.

• Document assumptions and the planned sequence before making changes.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal and exception behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, and reusable operational or development notes.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, permissions, data, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, support ownership, and user or business impact.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected configuration, design, query, code, or process is documented.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Pester Foundations and Test Structure in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.