Test Strategy: Understanding Its Types and Exploring Examples

A test strategy is a high-level organizational document used to set down the approach that an organization will take toward software testing. Consider a software development team developing a new app. Prior to testing, they develop a test strategy that describes general testing goals, methodologies, tools, and standards to be used.

This strategic plan provides the security of all teams keeping at par with the same road map, aiming for quality and efficiency that aligns their efforts with the objectives of the project and the bigger goals of the organization.

Table of Content (TOC)

• What is a Test Strategy?
• What are the Different Types of Test Strategy?
• What is a Test Strategy Document? 
• How to Write a Test Strategy Document?
• Test Strategy Document Example

What is a Test Strategy?

A test strategy is a high-level plan that outlines the approach, objectives, and priorities for software testing activities within a project or organization. 

It serves as a blueprint or roadmap for the testing process and helps ensure that testing efforts are focused, efficient, and aligned with the project or organization's overall goals. 

What are the Different Types of Test Strategy?

Here are some of the most common ones:

• Analytical Strategy: This aims to prioritize and guide testing efforts using a method with wide coverage of areas that analyze some risk, requirement, or objective factor of the project.
• Model-Based Strategy: It employs various models, such as flow charts or UML diagrams, which describe the behavior of systems, requirements, and design of test cases based on these. Easy to understand the test scenario of any large and complex system, at the same time making it possible for most of the test cases to be well covered.
• Systematic Strategy: This approach follows the predefined sets of test conditions or test cases, often based on the industry standards, checklists, or detailed test condition catalogs. It is a systematic way that brings consistency and completeness into testing.
• Process-Compliant Strategy: It is tailored in-process specifications or standards (ISO or CMMI) compliant way and assures that the testing is carried out in consistency with regulatory requirements or pre-defined quality standards of testing. It is indispensable for industrial scopes with imposed hard compliance requirements.
• Reacting Strategy: This refers to a flexible and adaptive approach that includes the design and execution of tests while reacting to the behavior of the software during the execution of the tests, rather than planning detailed tests upfront. It allows testers to react as per the issue on the go, thus very much suitable for dynamic and evolving projects.
• Consultative Approach: Involves multiple stakeholders or subject matter experts who, because of their rich knowledge and experience, provide a way toward testing that would be in congruence with business need, user expectation, and technical realities.
• Regression-Averse: It focuses on reducing the risks of regression—bugs coming up again after being fixed—through the automation of the regression test suite and its expansiveness. It is especially pertinent in a project environment of constant change or updating.

What is a Test Strategy Document? 

A test strategy document is a comprehensive document that outlines the overall approach, objectives, and guidelines for testing a software system or product. Here are some of the key components of a test strategy document:

• Introduction
• Testing scope and objectives
• Testing approach and methodology
• Test environment
• Test automation strategy
• Test data management
• Defect management
• Test metrics and reporting
• Resource planning
• Risk management
• Test deliverables
• Roles and responsibilities

How to Write a Test Strategy Document?

Follow these steps:

Test Strategy Document Example

Scenario: Test strategy document for an e-commerce web application

• Introduction: This document outlines the testing strategy for the e-commerce web application. The application allows customers to browse and purchase products online and manage their accounts and orders.
• Testing Scope and Objectives: The primary objectives of testing are to ensure functional correctness, validate performance and scalability, and assess security and compliance with industry standards. The scope of testing includes the following components:

• User registration and authentication
• Product catalogue and search functionality
• Shopping cart and checkout process
• Order management and tracking
• Payment gateway integration
• Testing Approach and Methodology: The testing approach will follow an agile methodology, with iterative testing cycles aligned with the software development sprints. The types of testing to be performed are:
• Functional Testing: Manual and automated testing of user stories and requirements
• Integration Testing: Testing of interfaces and data flow between components
• Performance Testing: Load and stress testing to validate system performance
• Security Testing: Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
• Usability Testing: Evaluation of user experience and accessibility
• Test Environment: The test environment will consist of the following:
• Web servers running Apache/Nginx with PHP and MySQL
• Load testing tools (e.g., JMeter, LoadRunner)
• Security testing tools (e.g., OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite)
• Test management tool (e.g., TestRail, qTest)
• Test Automation Strategy: Automated testing will be implemented for regression and smoke testing. The automation framework will be developed using Selenium WebDriver with Java for web UI testing and JUnit for unit testing. The automation suite will include test scripts for critical user flows and scenarios.
• Test Data Management: Test data will be generated using a combination of synthetic data and masked production data. Sensitive data will be anonymized using data masking tools. Test data will be provisioned into the test environment using SQL scripts and APIs.
• Defect Management: Defects will be logged and tracked using the TestRail tool. Defects will be triaged based on severity and priority and assigned to developers for resolution. Regression testing will be performed to verify defect fixes.
• Test Metrics and Reporting: The following metrics will be tracked and reported:
• Test case execution status (pass/fail/blocked)
• Defect density and distribution
• Test coverage (requirements and code coverage)
• Performance metrics (response times, throughput, resource utilization)
• Weekly status reports will be generated and shared with stakeholders, highlighting testing progress, quality indicators, and major issues or risks.
• Resource Planning: The testing team will consist of:
• 2 Test Leads
• 4 Functional Testers
• 2 Performance Testers
• 1 Security Tester
• Risk Management: Potential risks and mitigation strategies:
• Delayed or changing requirements: Maintain close communication with product owners and adjust test plans accordingly.
• Limited test data availability: Leverage data masking and synthetic data generation tools.
• Performance bottlenecks: Conduct early performance testing and optimize system architecture as needed.
• Test Deliverables: These will be the test deliverables:
• Test Plan
• Test Case Specifications
• Automation Test Scripts
• Test Execution Reports
• Defect Logs
• Performance Test Reports
• Security Assessment Reports
• Roles and Responsibilities: These are the roles and responsibilities:
• Test Leads: Overall test planning, execution, and reporting
• Functional Testers: Manual and automated functional testing
• Performance Testers: Load and stress testing, performance analysis
• Security Tester: Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
• Developers: Code implementation and defect resolution
• Product Owners: Requirements clarification and acceptance testing