Test Strategy

中文版： 见技能 test-strategy 。

Prompts: see prompts/test-strategy_EN.md in this directory.

When to Use

• User mentions test strategy, test plan, quality strategy, or test planning

• Need to develop test strategy or plan for a project

• Trigger: e.g. "Develop test strategy for this project" or "Write test plan document"

Output Format Options

This skill defaults to Markdown output (consistent with Standard-version template). For other formats, specify at the end of your request:

Format Description How to Request (Example)

Markdown Default, easy to read and version control No need to specify

Excel Tab-separated, paste into Excel "Please output as tab-separated table for Excel"

PDF Formal document format "Please output in PDF format"

JSON Easy for program parsing "Please output in JSON format"

See output-formats.md for detailed specifications and examples.

How to Use

• Open the relevant file in this directory's prompts/ and copy the content below the dashed line.

• Append your requirements and context (business flow, environment, constraints, acceptance criteria).

• If you need non-Markdown output, append the request sentence from output-formats.md at the end.

Reference Files

• prompts/test-strategy_EN.md — Test strategy Standard-version prompts

• output-formats.md — Markdown / Excel / PDF / JSON request instructions

Code Examples

This skill provides the following real code examples:

Test Strategy Template Collection - Complete test strategy templates

• Agile project test strategy

• Waterfall project test strategy

• Mobile app test strategy

• API test strategy

• Microservices test strategy

• Risk assessment matrix

• Resource planning templates

Strategy Generation Tools (coming soon)

Risk Assessment Tools (coming soon)

See Reference templates for practical templates.

Common Pitfalls

• ❌ Strategy too generic → ✅ Develop specific strategy for project characteristics

• ❌ Ignoring risk assessment → ✅ Identify and assess testing risks

• ❌ Insufficient resource planning → ✅ Specify personnel, time, tool requirements

• ❌ Missing metrics → ✅ Define clear quality goals and measurements

• ❌ Strategy never changes → ✅ Adjust strategy based on project progress

• ❌ Only focus on functional testing → ✅ Cover performance, security, compatibility, etc.

• ❌ No exit criteria → ✅ Define clear test completion and release criteria

Best Practices

1. Test Strategy Core Elements

Complete test strategy should include:

Test Strategy Document

1. Project Overview

• Project background
• Project goals
• Project scope

2. Test Objectives

• Quality goals
• Coverage goals
• Performance goals

3. Test Scope

• Included features
• Excluded features
• Test types

4. Test Approach

• Test levels (unit/integration/system/acceptance)
• Test types (functional/performance/security/compatibility)
• Test techniques (black-box/white-box/gray-box)

5. Test Environment

• Hardware requirements
• Software requirements
• Network requirements
• Test data

6. Test Tools

• Test management tools
• Automation tools
• Performance testing tools
• Defect management tools

7. Resource Planning

• Staffing
• Schedule
• Budget estimation

8. Risk Management

• Risk identification
• Risk assessment
• Mitigation measures

9. Test Deliverables

• Test plan
• Test cases
• Test reports
• Defect reports

10. Entry/Exit Criteria

• Test start conditions
• Test completion conditions
• Release criteria

2. Test Pyramid Strategy

    /\
   /  \  E2E Tests (10%)
   

   /__
   /
   / Integration \ (30%) / Tests
   /
   /
   / Unit Tests (60%)
   /____\

Layered Testing Strategy:

• Unit Tests (60%): Fast, stable, low cost

• Integration Tests (30%): Verify module interactions

• End-to-End Tests (10%): Verify critical business flows

3. Risk-Driven Testing

Risk Assessment Matrix:

Feature Module Business Impact Technical Complexity Change Frequency Risk Level Test Priority

Payment High High Low High P0

Login High Medium Low High P0

Search Medium High Medium Medium P1

Recommendation Medium High High Medium P1

Comments Low Low Low Low P2

Risk Level Calculation:

Risk Level = (Business Impact + Technical Complexity + Change Frequency) / 3

4. Agile Testing Strategy

Sprint Testing Activities:

Sprint Planning (Day 1)

• Participate in Sprint Planning
• Understand user stories
• Identify testing tasks
• Estimate testing effort

Sprint Execution (Day 2-9)

• Write test cases
• Execute exploratory testing
• Automate regression tests
• Track defects

Sprint Review (Day 10)

• Demo test results
• Collect feedback
• Update test strategy

Sprint Retrospective (Day 10)

• Summarize testing experience
• Identify improvement points
• Update best practices

5. Test Type Coverage

Comprehensive Test Types:

Test Type Goal Tools Frequency

Unit Testing Code quality Jest, Pytest Every commit

Integration Testing Module interaction Postman, Pytest Daily build

Functional Testing Business functionality Playwright, Selenium Every Sprint

Performance Testing Response time, throughput K6, JMeter Every release

Security Testing Vulnerability scanning OWASP ZAP Every release

Compatibility Testing Cross-browser, devices BrowserStack Before release

Accessibility Testing WCAG compliance axe-core Before release

Exploratory Testing Discover unknown issues Manual Continuous

6. Automation Strategy

Automation Decision Tree:

Is the test repeatedly executed? No → Manual testing Yes ↓

Is the test stable? No → Manual testing Yes ↓

Automation cost < Manual cost? No → Manual testing Yes → Automated testing

Automation Priority:

• High Priority: Smoke tests, regression tests, API tests

• Medium Priority: Functional tests, integration tests

• Low Priority: Exploratory tests, usability tests

7. Test Metrics

Key Metrics:

Process Metrics

• Test case count
• Test execution rate
• Automation coverage
• Defect discovery rate

Quality Metrics

• Defect density (defects/KLOC)
• Defect escape rate
• Defect fix time
• Test pass rate

Efficiency Metrics

• Test execution time
• Automation time saved
• Test ROI
• Team productivity

Troubleshooting

Issue 1: Don't know how to start developing strategy

Symptom: Facing new project, don't know where to start

Solution:

Use 5W2H Analysis:

Test Strategy Analysis

What (What to test)

• Functional requirements
• Non-functional requirements
• Business processes
• User experience

Why (Why test)

• Quality assurance
• Risk control
• User satisfaction
• Compliance requirements

Who (Who tests)

• Test team
• Development team
• Business team
• End users

When (When to test)

• Unit testing: Development phase
• Integration testing: Integration phase
• System testing: Testing phase
• Acceptance testing: Before release

Where (Where to test)

• Development environment
• Test environment
• Pre-production environment
• Production environment

How (How to test)

• Manual testing
• Automated testing
• Exploratory testing
• Performance testing

How Much (How much to invest)

• Personnel: X people
• Time: Y weeks
• Budget: Z dollars
• Tools: List

Issue 2: Test scope unclear

Symptom: Unsure what needs testing and what doesn't

Solution:

Create Test Scope Matrix:

Test Scope Definition

In Scope

Out of Scope

Assumptions & Dependencies

• Test environment ready before Sprint starts
• Test data provided by development team
• Third-party APIs available in test environment

Issue 3: Insufficient resources, cannot complete all testing

Symptom: Limited time, personnel, budget

Solution:

Adopt Risk-Based Testing:

Risk-Driven Test Priority

High-Risk Areas (Must Test)

• Payment flow
• User authentication
• Data security
• Core business logic

Medium-Risk Areas (Should Test)

• Search functionality
• Recommendation algorithm
• Notification system
• Report generation

Low-Risk Areas (Optional Test)

• UI beautification
• Help documentation
• Statistical analysis
• Logging

Resource Allocation

• High risk: 60% resources
• Medium risk: 30% resources
• Low risk: 10% resources

Issue 4: Test strategy disconnected from reality

Symptom: Strategy document looks good but cannot be executed

Solution:

Develop Executable Strategy:

Executable Test Strategy

Daily Activities

• 09:00 - Standup sync test progress
• 09:30 - Execute smoke tests
• 10:00 - Execute new feature tests
• 14:00 - Defect verification and regression
• 17:00 - Update test report

Weekly Activities

• Monday: Sprint Planning, identify testing tasks
• Wednesday: Test progress check
• Friday: Sprint Review, demo test results

Per Sprint Activities

• Sprint start: Create test plan
• Sprint mid: Execute tests, track defects
• Sprint end: Test summary, retrospective

Checkpoints

• Complete smoke test within 30 min after code commit
• Complete functional test within 2 hours after user story completion
• Complete regression test 1 day before Sprint end

Issue 5: Test strategy for different environments

Symptom: Don't know what testing to do in different environments

Solution:

Environment Testing Matrix:

Environment Testing Strategy

Development Environment (Dev)

• Purpose: Quick verification of code changes
• Test Types: Unit tests, smoke tests
• Frequency: Every code commit
• Automation: 100%

Test Environment (QA)

• Purpose: Comprehensive functional testing
• Test Types: Functional, integration, regression
• Frequency: Daily build
• Automation: 80%

Pre-production Environment (Staging)

• Purpose: Production environment simulation
• Test Types: End-to-end, performance, security
• Frequency: Before release
• Automation: 60%

Production Environment (Production)

• Purpose: Monitoring and verification
• Test Types: Smoke tests, monitoring
• Frequency: After release, continuous monitoring
• Automation: 100%

Issue 6: How to develop strategy in agile projects

Symptom: Agile projects change fast, strategy hard to develop

Solution:

Adopt Lightweight Agile Testing Strategy:

Agile Testing Strategy

Testing Quadrants

Quadrant 1: Technology-facing, Supporting the Team

• Unit tests
• Component tests
• Automation first

Quadrant 2: Business-facing, Supporting the Team

• Functional tests
• User story tests
• Example-driven

Quadrant 3: Business-facing, Critique Product

• Exploratory testing
• Usability testing
• User acceptance testing

Quadrant 4: Technology-facing, Critique Product

• Performance testing
• Security testing
• Maintainability testing

Testing Activities in Sprint

Sprint Planning:

• Participate in user story discussion
• Identify testing tasks
• Define acceptance criteria

Daily Standup:

• Sync test progress
• Identify blocking issues
• Adjust test plan

Sprint Review:

• Demo test results
• Collect feedback
• Verify acceptance criteria

Sprint Retrospective:

• Review testing process
• Identify improvement points
• Update testing practices

Issue 7: How to measure test strategy effectiveness

Symptom: Don't know if strategy is effective

Solution:

Define Test Strategy KPIs:

Test Strategy Effectiveness Metrics

Quality Metrics

Efficiency Metrics

Coverage Metrics

Improvement Suggestions

• ✅ Quality metrics met, continue maintaining
• ⚠️ Consider increasing release frequency to weekly
• 💡 Explore AI-assisted testing to improve efficiency

Get More Help

If the issue is still unresolved:

• Check FAQ.md

• Check example README.md files

• Reference test strategy templates

• Consult team's test manager

Related Skills: requirements-analysis-en, test-case-writing-en, test-reporting-en, functional-testing-en.

Target Audience

• QA engineers and developers executing this testing domain in real projects

• Team leads who need structured, reproducible testing outputs

• AI users who need fast, format-ready deliverables for execution and reporting

Not Recommended For

• Pure production incident response without test scope/context

• Decisions requiring legal/compliance sign-off without expert review

• Requests lacking minimum inputs (scope, environment, expected behavior)

Critical Success Factors

• Provide clear scope, environment, and acceptance criteria before generation

• Validate generated outputs against real system constraints before execution

• Keep artifacts traceable (requirements -> test points -> defects -> decisions)

Output Templates and Parsing Scripts

• Template directory: output-templates/

• template-word.md (Word-friendly structure)

• template-excel.tsv (Excel paste-ready)

• template-xmind.md (XMind-friendly outline)

• template-json.json

• template-csv.csv

• template-markdown.md

• Parser scripts directory: scripts/

• Parse (generic): parse_output_formats.py

• Parse (per-format): parse_word.py , parse_excel.py , parse_xmind.py , parse_json.py , parse_csv.py , parse_markdown.py

• Convert (generic): convert_output_formats.py

• Convert (per-format): convert_to_word.py , convert_to_excel.py , convert_to_xmind.py , convert_to_json.py , convert_to_csv.py , convert_to_markdown.py

• Batch convert: batch_convert_templates.py (outputs into artifacts/ )

Examples:

python3 scripts/parse_json.py output-templates/template-json.json python3 scripts/parse_markdown.py output-templates/template-markdown.md python3 scripts/convert_to_json.py output-templates/template-markdown.md python3 scripts/convert_output_formats.py output-templates/template-json.json --to csv python3 scripts/batch_convert_templates.py --skip-same