The selection of test methodologies or Test Strategy for any given project, combined with the accuracy of the test plans and estimates provided, is one of the most important and determining aspects in the success of the test endeavor. According to Wikipedia, Test Strategy is 'an outline that explains the testing methodology of the software development cycle.' Simply put, strategy rarely permits one to follow a carefully established approach and accomplish the desired outcome.

WHAT IS TEST STRATEGY?

For starters, Test Strategy assists testers and testing teams in defining the method to testing an application. This strategy will eventually result in high-quality products that can be released to end users/clients. The Test Strategy is intended to be ready/prepared throughout the project's design phase, or perhaps earlier. This is done to identify any missing requirements and to more clearly define the testing scope and test coverage. Test Strategy is not to be confused with Test Plan. A test plan is created from the Test Strategy. A project may have numerous test plans depending on its size (small or large), but only one test strategy.

Learn more about what’s the Difference between Test Strategy vs Test Plan 

WHY IS A TEST STRATEGY REQUIRED?

The goal of a Test Strategy is to establish a knowledge of the general objectives, approach, tools, and scheduling of test activities to be completed. It should outline the main issues and tasks of the test project. A good test strategy should be simple to grasp, specific to the requirements, practically applicable, and have attainable goals. The test team examines the requirements, develops the test strategy, and reviews it with the project team.

The Test Strategy document formally describes how a software product will be tested. It is designed for all stages of testing (unit, integration, system, manual, automated, and performance). This is done to eliminate any potential conflicts or confusion when the product progresses through the next stages of testing and delivery.

HOW TO PREPARE A TEST STRATEGY?

A Test Strategy document's main contents are Business Goals, Quality Objectives and their alignment with the business goals, Scope, Breakdown of test efforts into logical areas and sub-areas, Testing Approach and Methodologies, Test Automation Strategy, Testing Environments, Release Criteria, Tools, Processes and Metrics, and Risk Mitigation techniques. Different types of test strategies must be used depending on the project's requirements. Analytical, model-based, methodical, and dynamic test strategies are some of the most commonly employed. The testing objectives, the product being tested, the risks involved, and business views should all be considered when deciding on a sort of test strategy. Along with these elements, the project's timeline, budget, and feature limits, as well as the organization's realities.

Check out some test strategy example

AGILE TEST STRATEGY

With the introduction of Agile methodology, developing a test strategy has become a difficult effort for the entire testing team. Due to time limits, not all sprints can be included in a Test Strategy; however, a high-level Test Strategy serves as a guideline for agile teams.  Typically, this should include a Release Plan (or a Test Plan), Individual Sprints (which include task estimation, unit testing, integration testing, feature testing, manual/automation testing, and nonfunctional testing, among other things), and Release (which defines the project's exit criteria as well as the final release and deployment). Most significantly, the agile Test Strategy should be designed in such a way that it is easily adaptive to the project's ever-changing nature.

Learn more about the Agile test strategy template

CONCLUSION

A project rarely succeeds without a well-designed test strategy. When a suitable Test Strategy is in place, the likelihood of missing any test activity is greatly reduced. The key to a test strategy is to preserve flexibility throughout the entire process while without changing the dynamics of the testing services. This contributes to achieving the highest possible quality, particularly in fast evolving/changing contexts.