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

1. Open the relevant file in this directory's prompts/ and copy the content below the dashed line.
2. Append your requirements and context (business flow, environment, constraints, acceptance criteria).
3. 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:

1. 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

2. Strategy Generation Tools (coming soon)

3. 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:

1. High Priority: Smoke tests, regression tests, API tests
2. Medium Priority: Functional tests, integration tests
3. 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
| Feature Module | Test Types | Priority | Owner |
|---------------|------------|----------|-------|
| User Login | Functional, Security, Performance | P0 | John |
| Product Search | Functional, Performance | P1 | Jane |
| Order Payment | Functional, Security, Integration | P0 | Bob |

### Out of Scope
| Item | Reason | Notes |
|------|--------|-------|
| Third-party payment internal logic | External system | Only test integration points |
| Historical data migration | One-time task | Handled by DBA |
| Admin backend (old version) | Being deprecated | No longer maintained |

### 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
| Metric | Target | Current | Status |
|--------|--------|---------|--------|
| Production defects | < 5/month | 3/month | ✅ |
| Defect escape rate | < 5% | 3% | ✅ |
| Critical defects | 0 | 0 | ✅ |
| Customer complaints | < 2/month | 1/month | ✅ |

### Efficiency Metrics
| Metric | Target | Current | Status |
|--------|--------|---------|--------|
| Test automation rate | > 80% | 85% | ✅ |
| Test execution time | < 2h | 1.5h | ✅ |
| Defect fix time | < 2 days | 1.5 days | ✅ |
| Release frequency | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | ✅ |

### Coverage Metrics
| Metric | Target | Current | Status |
|--------|--------|---------|--------|
| Requirements coverage | 100% | 100% | ✅ |
| Code coverage | > 80% | 85% | ✅ |
| Automation coverage | > 70% | 75% | ✅ |

### 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:

1. Check FAQ.md
2. Check example README.md files
3. Reference test strategy templates
4. 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