Context-Driven Testing

<default_to_action> When making testing decisions or adapting approaches:

ANALYZE context: project goals, constraints, risks, team skills
QUESTION practices: "Why this? What risk does it address? What's the cost?"
INVESTIGATE not just check: Does software solve the problem, or create new ones?
ADAPT approach based on context, not "best practices"
DOCUMENT discoveries, not pre-written plans

Quick Context Analysis:

Mission: "Find important problems fast enough to matter" (not "execute test cases")
Risk: Safety-critical = high rigor; internal tool = lighter touch
Constraints: Startup with tight timeline ≠ enterprise with compliance
Skills: Novice needs structure; expert adapts intuitively

Critical Success Factors:

No "best practices" work everywhere - only good practices in context
Testing is investigation, not script execution
Context changes; your approach should too </default_to_action>

Quick Reference Card

When to Use

Making testing decisions for new project
Questioning "that's how it's done" dogma
Adapting approach to specific constraints
Exploratory testing sessions

RST Heuristics

Heuristic	Application
SFDIPOT	Structure, Function, Data, Interfaces, Platform, Operations, Time
Oracles	Consistency with history, similar products, expectations, docs
Tours	Business District, Historical, Bad Neighborhood, Tourist, Museum

Context-Driven Decisions

Example: Test Automation Level

Startup Context:

Small team, rapid changes, unclear product-market fit
Decision: Light automation on critical paths, heavy exploratory
Rationale: Requirements change too fast for extensive automation

Enterprise Context:

Stable features, regulatory requirements, large team
Decision: Comprehensive automated regression suite
Rationale: Stability allows automation investment to pay off

Example: Documentation

Regulated (FDA/medical):

Decision: Detailed test protocols, traceability matrices
Rationale: Regulatory compliance isn't optional

Fast-paced startup:

Decision: Lightweight session notes, risk logs
Rationale: Bureaucracy slows more than it helps

Agent-Assisted Context-Driven Testing

// Agent analyzes context and recommends approach
const context = await Task("Analyze Context", {
  project: 'e-commerce-platform',
  stage: 'startup',
  constraints: ['timeline: tight', 'budget: limited'],
  risks: ['payment-security', 'high-volume']
}, "qe-fleet-commander");

// Context-aware agent selection
// - qe-security-scanner (critical risk)
// - qe-performance-tester (high volume)
// - Skip: qe-visual-tester (low priority in startup context)

// Adaptive testing strategy
await Task("Generate Tests", {
  context: 'startup',
  focus: 'critical-paths-only',
  depth: 'smoke-tests',
  automation: 'minimal'
}, "qe-test-generator");

Agent Coordination Hints

Memory Namespace

aqe/context-driven/
├── context-analysis/*    - Project context snapshots
├── decisions/*           - Testing decisions with rationale
├── discoveries/*         - What was learned during testing
└── adaptations/*         - How approach changed over time

Fleet Coordination

const contextFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({
  strategy: 'context-driven',
  context: {
    type: 'greenfield-saas',
    stage: 'growth',
    compliance: 'gdpr-only'
  },
  agents: ['qe-test-generator', 'qe-security-scanner', 'qe-performance-tester'],
  exclude: ['qe-visual-tester', 'qe-requirements-validator']  // Not priority
});

Practical Tips

Start with risk assessment - List features, ask: How likely to fail? How bad? How hard to test?
Time-box exploration - 2 hours checkout, 30 min error handling, 15 min per browser
Document discoveries - Not "Enter invalid email, verify error" but "Payment API returns 500 instead of 400, no user-visible error. Bug filed."
Talk to humans - Developers, users, support, product
Pair with others - Different perspectives = different bugs

Related Skills

agentic-quality-engineering - Context-aware agent selection
holistic-testing-pact - Adapt holistic model to context
risk-based-testing - Context affects risk assessment
exploratory-testing-advanced - RST techniques

Remember

With Agents: Agents analyze context, adapt strategies, and learn what works in your situation. Use agents to scale context-driven thinking while maintaining human judgment for critical decisions.

context-driven-testing