The purpose of the Testing Strategy is to define the overall context for the entire testing process. The process isdifferent depending on the specific characteristics of your solution. In many respects, this is the most importantpart of the testing process, since all future testing decisions will be made within the context of the strategy. Hereare the basic parts of the testing strategy:
Project OverviewBusiness RiskTesting MethodTesting ApproachTesting Environment
The Testing Strategy should be written at a high level so that it can be read and understood by the customer. Sinceall future testing decisions are based on the strategy, the project sponsor and other major stakeholders shouldapprove this document.
If you are working on a large project, you need to formulate an overall Testing Strategy during the analysisphase. The Testing Strategy defines the overall approach to testing and describes how the testing process willensure that the solution has the appropriate level of quality and reliability.
The Testing Strategy provides the overall guidelines from which all future testing decisions are made. A well-crafted Testing Strategy allows the rest of the testing process to be defined more effectively.
The Testing Strategy needs to be understood and approved by the sponsor. If the strategy is accepted, there is
a much better likelihood that the final solution will meet the customer’s expectations.
The areas covered by a strategy will vary depending on the size of organisation and nature of the software testingundertaken however, here is a list of suggestions for the areas you may want to consider:
Introduction and objective of the strategy document.
An explanation of your testing philosophy or ‘
Responsibility for ownership and sign-off of the strategy.
Who the document is aimed at and how they should use it.
An overview of your testing methodology (e.g.V-Model)and how this fits into the overall project developmentmethodology.
A list of Test Phases to be considered for each project e.g. Unit Testing, Integration Testing etc.
An overview of the process followed and deliverables produced (e.g. test plans/scripts/handover criteria) fromeach test phase and who is responsible for these.
Testing waiver process i.e. what happens and who needs to agree when a test phase which would normally beincluded in a project is being waived.
Constraints of the current test environment and longer term plans to overcome these.
Accepted and agreed risks associated with your testing and any mitigating factors.
Current known Issues associated with testing and plans to overcome these.
Any long term plans for process improvements (e.g. plans toautomate testing)and the deadlines associatedwith these.