Test Strategy guides project testing. Distinct from Test Plan (project-specific).
Sections:
1. Scope and objectives.
- What's in scope; what's out.
- Test goals.
- Success criteria.
2. Test approach.
- Test levels (unit, integration, system, UAT).
- Test types (functional, non-functional).
- Manual vs automated mix.
3. Test environment.
- Sandbox tiers.
- Data strategy.
- Tools.
4. Resources.
- Team composition.
- Skills needed.
- External resources (vendors).
5. Schedule.
- High-level testing timeline.
- Milestones.
- Dependencies.
6. Risk management.
- Top risks with mitigation.
- Contingencies.
7. Quality gates.
- Coverage thresholds.
- Defect severity tolerances.
- Sign-off criteria.
8. Reporting and communication.
- Cadence.
- Audiences.
- Format.
9. Tools and infrastructure.
- Test management.
- Automation tools.
- CI/CD.
10. Standards and conventions.
- Test case format.
- Naming.
- Documentation.
Audience: project sponsor, project manager, dev lead, QA team, stakeholders.
Maintenance: living document; review quarterly.
Common pitfalls:
- No strategy — ad-hoc testing.
- Strategy too generic — doesn't guide actual decisions.
- Strategy ignored — written, never read.
Senior insight: Test Strategy is a coordination tool. Aligns team on approach.
The senior framing: without strategy, testing is random. With it, deliberate.