Test Strategy and Test Plan | Definition , Approaches and Difference
Test strategy and Test Plan are very common terms used in the software QA industry and every tester should know the difference between both of these terms
Test Plans and Test Strategies both helps in planning and executing test activities more effectively. The Test Plan focuses on providing details for testing procedures (e.g. which tests need to be conducted), whereas the Test Strategy is a high level static document usually developed by Project manager on the testing process (e.g. how tests should be performed). A Test Plan is more formal and typically has a larger scope than a Test Strategy .
A Test Strategy is a plan for defining an approach to the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) .
The purpose of a test strategy is to provide a rational deduction from organisational, high-level objectives to actual test activities to meet those objectives from a quality assurance perspective. The creation and documentation of a test strategy should be done in a systematic way to ensure that all objectives are fully covered and understood by all stakeholders
This article will present you with a complete idea about Test plan ,Test strategy , Approaches and Difference.
We will learn below topics in this article
Test Plan:
- Test Plan describes scope, objectives, and approach of the to-be-done test.
- Test Plan describes specification, how to test when to test, who will test and what to test.
- Determine possible issues, challenges, and dependencies to identify the risk areas.
- Test Plan is prepared by test manager or team lead
Test strategy:
- Test Strategy describes the general approaches, in short, it describes the types of techniques we need to follow and which module to test.
- Test Strategy is mostly derived from the (BRS)Business Requirement Specification document.
- High level document related to way of testing to be performed
- Contains set of guidelines about test design and execution
- Test Strategy is prepared by project manager
Test Estimation Approaches
Test estimation approaches are the methods used by software testers to estimate the time and effort required to complete testing activities. The following are the most commonly used test estimation approaches in software testing:
The metrics-based approach
- Measures of previous or similar projects
- A useful approach is to track past experience of an organization’s various projects and the associated test effort that worked well for projects
The expert-based approach
- Assessment by experts or task owner (depends on their expertise / experience)
- For example- Planning Poker in Agile
Choosing the right test estimation approach depends on the specific project requirements, constraints, and risks. A combination of these approaches may also be used to obtain a more accurate estimate. It is important to remember that test estimation is not an exact science, and the actual time and effort required may vary from the estimate.
Components of Test Plan & Test Strategy document
Components of Test plan-
- Test Plan id
- Introduction
- Test items
- Features to be tested
- Features not to be tested
- Test techniques
- Testing tasks
- Suspension criteria
- Features pass or fail criteria
- Test environment (Entry criteria, Exit criteria)
- Test deliverables
- Staff and training needs
- Responsibilities
- Schedule
Components of Test strategy-
- Scope and Objectives
- Business issues
- Roles and responsibilities
- Communication and status reporting
- Test deliverables
- Industry standards to follow
- Test automation and tools
- Testing measurements and metrices
- Risks and mitigation
- Defect reporting and tracking
- Change and configuration management
- Training plan
Difference between Test Strategy and Test Plan
Test Plan | Test Strategy |
| A document which drives all future testing activities | guideline to be followed to achieve the test objective and execution of test types mentioned in the testing plan |
| Carried out by a testing manager or lead that describes how to test, when to test, who will test and what to test | Carried out by a testing manager or lead that describes how to test, when to test, who will test and what to test |
| Test plan can change | Test strategy cannot be changed |
| It is defined at project level | It is defined at organization/Unit level and can be used by multiple projects |
| Test plan happens independently. | While test strategy is often found as a part of a test plan |
| Test planning helps to identify the possible risks or issues. | A test strategy helps to abstract information that does not project specific but it can be used with the test approach. |
| A Test Plan usually exists individually. | Test strategy is divided into multiple test plans that are taken care further independently. |
| It is used by one project only and is very rarely repeated. | It is used by multiple projects and can be repeated a lot of times. |