Writing a test strategy

20 min · Module 15

A test strategy answers: what quality means for this product, which risks matter, which test levels/types you will use, environments, data, entry/exit criteria, and who owns what.

Keep it short enough that engineers read it. Tie every major risk to a detection method (unit, API, UI, exploratory, monitoring).

Practice: write a one-page strategy for HelpDesk (auth, create ticket, search, releases).

Example / notes

# Test strategy outline (HelpDesk Lab)
# Goals: prevent ticket-data loss, keep search trustworthy, safe deploys
# Levels: unit (domain) → API (/lab/api/) → UI smoke → exploratory on RCs
# Environments: lab releases 1.0.0 / 1.1.0-rc / 1.1.1
# Exit: P0/P1 pass on active build; residual risks documented

Practice in Lab: /lab/

Test planning and estimation →

Modules in this track

15. QA Foundations — Strategy & Planning
- Writing a test strategy
- Test planning and estimation
16. Test Design Techniques
17. API & Contract Testing
- HTTP API testing fundamentals
- Contract and schema testing
18. Performance Testing Basics
- Performance concepts and SLOs
- Designing a minimal performance check
19. Security Testing Basics
- Auth, sessions, and authorization
- OWASP-minded checks for web apps
20. Accessibility Testing
- Accessible by design checks
- Automated a11y smoke
21. Mobile Testing
- Mobile web quality risks
- Native apps and device farms (overview)
22. CI/CD, Quality Gates & Environments
- Pipelines and quality gates
- Environments and progressive delivery
23. Test Data, Environments & Observability
- Test data management
- Observability for QA
24. Soft Skills — Stakeholders, Mentoring, Metrics
- Stakeholder communication
- Mentoring and quality metrics/OKRs
25. Career & Process — Agile, Compliance, Senior Bar