Test Strategy

A test strategy decides how a team will obtain useful evidence about product quality. It is not a catalog of every test case. It is the set of choices that makes test work fit the product, its risks, and the way it is delivered.

The central question is not “How much testing can we do?” It is “What evidence does this release need before people can accept its remaining risk?” A payment change, a data migration, and a copy edit do not deserve the same test effort. A strategy makes that difference explicit before the deadline does it for you.

Strategy, plan, and execution

Keep three layers separate.

• A test strategy sets the enduring approach. It explains how the organization or product family chooses scope, risk, test levels, test types, techniques, environments, evidence, and ownership.
• A test plan applies that approach to a release, project, or iteration. It records objectives, resources, schedule, constraints, risks, entry criteria, exit criteria, and communications.
• Test execution produces evidence: results, defects, coverage information, observations, and a statement of residual risk.