Thermal cycling (TC) is a well-known testing method to assess the durability of photovoltaic (PV) modules towards thermo-mechanical fatigue. Thermal cycle operating parameters viz. ramp rate and isothermal dwell period would cause distinct influence on the thermo-mechanical degradation modes in PV modules. For this purpose, detailed analysis of different parameters of TC test have been investigated using a systematic approach wherein specific modified TC tests have been derived from IEC 61215 standards to decouple their individual effects. The derived tests were subjected on a 3-D finite element model (FEM) of a PV module for quantification of thermo-mechanical damage accumulation at the finger-solder interface, which is most susceptible to such TC variations. The simulated findings were experimentally supported with finger breakages and increase in series resistance obtained under the modified tests, using electroluminescence (EL) imaging and illuminated current-voltage (I-V) technique respectively. This systematic study could isolate the effects of ramp rate and dwell period on the basis of rate and amount of damage accumulation, equivalent test time, and operational feasibility. The major findings in addition to a detailed discussion showed that, a noteworthy decrease in equivalent test time was observed with change in ramp rate. Also, dwell period was identified as an additional key factor for catalysing finger breakages. In addition, isothermal dwell period at low temperatures was identified to be inherently severe for causing finger breakages. Based on this study, the reason behind the delayed generation of finger breakages under field conditions have been discussed using experimentally measured temperature profiles on a PV module under a hot and dry outdoor location. This work can be useful to design application-specific tests by optimization of cycle parameters on the basis of the particular requirements.