Test Strategy
Pattern
Venkatesh D Rao
Sr. Consultant
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Setting Context
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Process Based Pattern
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Technology Diverse Pattern
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Business Goal Based Pattern
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Architecture Driven Pattern
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Migration Based Pattern
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Transition Based Pattern
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Multi Rollout Based Pattern
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Setting Context
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Test Strategy
• Strategy:
• Longer Term or Lager Scale Plan of Action
• Specify Actions to address every Contingency
• Ideally should be a well laid out complete plan which can be executed
by anybody
[Reference: Games of Strategy By Avinash Dixit, Susan, David]
• Deriving Test Strategy Patterns – Recurring High Level
Requirements
• Why Patterns ?
• Quick Reference to Solution
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Test Strategy Components
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Patterns
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Pattern Documentation
Name: A short descriptive pattern name
Context: Description of the context; derived from the Example
Problem: The underlying question
Forces: Why it is a problem?
Solution: The basic idea of the solution
Consequences: Outcome of using the pattern
Known Uses: Know applications of the pattern in practice
Related Patterns: Relationship with other patterns
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Name: Process Based Pattern
Context: One of the US based insurance organization faced challenges in
comparing and consistently measuring quality levels across Line Of Business
(LOB) as each LOB followed different SDLC model.
Problem: What is the Testing Strategy to address Quality Assurance (QA)
requirements while migrating multiple programs to common baselined process?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Impacts
Test Methodology

Standardization of Methodology
across LOB
Standardization of QA metric and
report generation

Effective means to address change
management

Process Definition to support BAU
without disruptions

Methodical approach to process
changes (avoid big bang changes)
Test Process
People Skills
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Training to adopt to new process
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Operational Support for ongoing
projects
People enablement to successful
rollout of redefined process
Name: Technology Diverse Pattern
Context: One of the US based Insurance Organization had developed applications
using different technologies for Life Insurance and Non-Life Insurance.
Problem: How to devise test strategy for disparate technology based solutions?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Impacts
People Skills

Build a map of people with specific
technological skills to be put to use at
various stages of test execution
Ensuring availability of people with
right skillsets
Test Process

Process definition to address
technological dependencies
Avoidance of dependency that could
potentially affect test schedule
Test Environment

Well defined test environment
requirements
Define a schedule to indicate at what
stage of execution it should be made
available
Identify required tools and what stage of
execution it will be required
Optimal usage of test environment
and tools


Test Management
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Identification of risks and build contingency
plans
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Well planned execution despite of
having multiple dependencies
Name: Business Goal Based Pattern
Context: A North American Insurance customer initiated a project to re-architect
existing applications with the intent of achieving the marketing requirement to
rollout the products across states in shortened time cycle.
Problem: How to devise a test strategy to meet business driven goals and
objectives wherein meeting ?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Test Process

Scope & Objective


Test Management


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Selection of right process to align to
business goal. For example to
reduced test life cycle consider agile
process
Impacts
Removal of ineffectiveness due to
process misfit. This could enable
meeting of more than business
objective such as:
 Reduced cost
 Speed to market
Design the test process, methodology  Business objective driven
focusing on business objectives
execution
Manage the test scope to ensure
business objectives are not
 Well defined approach to
negatively impacted
meet the business goals and
objectives
Identification of Risks and build
Well planned execution despite of
contingency plans
having multiple dependencies
Build Cost Of Quality Model (COQ) to
track and measure cost of quality
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Name: Architecture Driven Pattern
Context: An Australian Insurance customer looking for re-architecting existing
platform to SOA based architecture
Problem: How to define a Test Strategy to meet the demands of Enterprise wide
Re-Architecting of platforms and applications?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Test Process

QA activities at early stages of Software
Focus on defect prevention rather
Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to ensure on defect detection
design failures are detected much earlier

Well defined quality gates to ensure that
critical defects are fixed

Identify test environment requirements to
execute testing both functional and nonfunctional for the emerging architecture
Define System Integration Test
environment, staging environment,
production environment
Building test methodology to prove the
new architecture meet the intended goals
and objectives
Test Environment

Test Methodology
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
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Impacts
Well defined test environment to
test the solution which is being rearchitected
Effective test coverage and
ensuring quality
Name: Migration Based Test Strategy Pattern
Context: One of the American Insurance Organization defined a strategic roadmap
to consolidate the existing platform on which solution is built and reduce the number
of COTS product used for the existing solution
Problem: What is the best test strategy to support strategic projects and nonstrategic projects simultaneously?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Impacts
Test Management

Dynamic management of resources
Address fluctuations in
resources requirements
Test Environment

Test Environment requirements for
both non-strategic and strategic
projects
Effective management of test
environments across project
tracks

Identify types of testing required at
for different project tracks
Optimizes test execution effort

Well defined scope of testing
Test Methodology
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Name: Transition Based Test Strategy Pattern
Context: Europe based Insurance Organization having multiple development
partners who are also performing testing of the solution which they own. This
resulted in major quality related issues.
Problem: How to ensure successful completion of transition in an effective manner &
perform Independent Verification & Validation?
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Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Impacts
Test Organization
QA governance structure to drive Quality
requirements to be met across projects
owned by different vendors
Effective management of Quality
Assurance
Test Methodology
To drive quality of products developed by 3rd Quality Assurance
party vendors
Test Execution
Fast track test execution by completing the
transition at the earliest
Effectiveness of execution
Defect Management
Perform defect triages to prioritize defect
fixes
Test Process
Focus on aligning the test process to
development life cycle adopted by 3rd party
vendors
Avoids suspensions of test
execution due to pending defect
fixes
Brings process consistency across
development life cycle
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Name: Multi Rollout Based Pattern
Context: One of the Insurance Organization which has presence across
geographies such as Latin American Countries, Asia Pacific, Europe and North
American regions plan to setup centralized QA function to support releases across
geographies
Problem: How to address multiple releases across the geographies?
Test Strategy Levers
What To Address?
Impacts
Test Process
standardize the process across
geographies
Better control Quality Assurance
Test Methodology
standardize the test methodology across Better control over test execution
geographies
Test Environment


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Management of multiple test
environment
Standardization of tools usage
Availability of test environment
for test execution
Test Organization
Resource Management
Define effective operations model
Ensure availability resources on need
basis including people
Better Governance
Test execution
Test Management
While driving test related activities
independently across geographies bring
in centralized control over testing
Consistency and effective
management of testing
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Venkatesh D Rao
Venkatesh.nag@wipro.com
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