Testing Strategy Documentation

🧠 𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Before we talk about coverage, traceability, or even frameworks— We need to talk about the basics: 👉 Is the architecture clear? 👉 Are the interfaces well defined? 👉 Have we challenged the assumptions? Without this, any test plan becomes reactive. We end up validating what we can access— Not what truly matters. 🎯 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀: 🔹 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 If the function’s behavior isn’t well defined, you’re not writing tests—you’re writing assumptions. Design without clarity is like writing unit tests for a function you barely understand. 🔹 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 When architecture is unclear, integration becomes guesswork. Vague interfaces lead to fragile tests and unpredictable outcomes. Integration testing on a broken design is like assembling IKEA furniture with missing instructions—somehow it fits, until it doesn’t. 🔹 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 You can’t qualify what you can’t observe. Instrumentation, logging, and test hooks must be designed—not patched in later. Design without validation in mind is like writing a novel you never plan to read. The structure might exist, but no one will make it to the last page. 🔹 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 This isn’t just about connecting ECUs. It’s about testing real startup behavior, data flow under load, failure handling, timing—in the real world, not just in perfect lab conditions. System testing without observability is like flying a plane blindfolded—you’ll get feedback, just not in time. 🔹 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Even if the system "works," did we build the right thing for the right context? If we misunderstood the use case, validation results become a false sense of confidence. Validating a misunderstood system is like winning the wrong game—you followed the rules, but for the wrong outcome. 🛑 Tools help. Frameworks matter. But they don’t fix: ❌ Vague architecture ❌ Undefined responsibilities ❌ Assumptions no one ever challenged ✅ Shift Left? Absolutely. But that means 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, not just testing earlier. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. This isn’t just for testers—architects, tech leads, system engineers: 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱. 💬 What’s the weakest link you’ve seen in a test strategy? Architecture? Ownership? Tool misuse? Let’s talk. #TestStrategy #DesignReview #SoftwareArchitecture #ShiftLeft #Validation #EmbeddedSystems #AutomotiveSoftware #SystemThinking #EngineeringExcellence

📚 Key Test Documentation Types 1. Test Plan Purpose: Outlines the overall strategy and scope of testing. Includes: Objectives Scope (in-scope and out-of-scope) Resources (testers, tools) Test environment Deliverables Risk and mitigation plan Example: "Regression testing will be performed on modules A and B by using manual TC" 2. Test Strategy Purpose: High-level document describing the overall test approach. Includes: Testing types (manual, automation, performance) Tools and technologies Entry/Exit criteria Defect management process 3. Test Scenario Purpose: Describes a high-level idea of what to test. Example: "Verify that a registered user can log in successfully." 4. Test Case Purpose: Detailed instructions for executing a test. Includes: Test Case ID Description Preconditions Test Steps Expected Results Actual Results Status (Pass/Fail) 5. Traceability Matrix (RTM) Purpose: Ensures every requirement is covered by test cases. Format: Requirement ID Requirement Description Test Case IDs REQ_001 Login functionality TC_001, TC_002 6. Test Data Purpose: Input data used for executing test cases. Example: Username: testuser, Password: Password123 7. Test Summary Report Purpose: Summary of all testing activities and outcomes. Includes: Total test cases executed Passed/Failed count Defects raised/resolved Testing coverage Final recommendation (Go/No-Go) 8. Defect/Bug Report Purpose: Details of defects found during testing. Includes: Bug ID Summary Severity / Priority Steps to Reproduce Status (Open, In Progress, Closed) Screenshots (optional) Here's a set of downloadable, editable templates for essential software testing documentation. These are useful for manual QA, automation testers, or even team leads preparing structured reports. 📄 1. Test Plan Template File Type: Excel / Word Key Sections: Project Overview Test Objectives Scope (In/Out) Resources & Roles Test Environment Schedule & Milestones Risks & Mitigation Entry/Exit Criteria 🔗 Download Test Plan Template (Google Docs) 📄 2. Test Case Template File Type: Excel Columns Included: Test Case ID Module Name Description Preconditions Test Steps Expected Result Actual Result Status (Pass/Fail) Comments 🔗 Download Test Case Template (Google Sheets) 📄 3. Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) File Type: Excel Key Fields: Requirement ID Requirement Description Test Case ID Status (Covered/Not Covered) 🔗 Download RTM Template (Google Sheets) 📄 4. Bug Report Template File Type: Excel Columns: Bug ID Summary Severity Priority Steps to Reproduce Actual vs. Expected Result Status Reported By 🔗 Download Bug Report Template (Google Sheets) 📄 5. Test Summary Report File Type: Word or Excel Includes: Project Name Total Test Cases Execution Status (Pass/Fail) Bug Summary Test Coverage Final Remarks / Sign-off 🔗 Download Test Summary Template (Google Docs) #QA

Tight budgets often force partners to put testing out of scope in D365FO implementation projects and make it the responsibility of the customer. At the same time, customers and their key users are not IT specialists and often don’t know how to do it properly. In many cases it can lead to purely exploratory testing and leaves a lot of untested processes behind. As a result, the questions or bugs are raised in high numbers after go-live and require quick resolution and additional training. Follow these actions to avoid thousands of tickets during hyper care after go-live: 🎩 During the design phase, empower users to log onto the system early and assign a dedicated person as a test manager to coordinate all testing activities. This is very often neglected. You need clear responsibilities and ownership here. 🗺️ Develop a testing strategy with test scope, tools, scenarios, test reporting, test data, test environments, test cycles and timeline for all test types. Thinking about all of these things early in the design phase pays off later very well. 🧩 Align test cycles to Data Migration ETL cycles to test with a fresh set of migrated data 🗝️ Test with security roles defined during the design phase for the user groups, not with an admin role ✅ Use Azure DevOps Test Plans for test management. It only costs a fraction of the D365FO license to use a Basic Azure DevOps license to execute tests and you already have a good structure for test documentation, execution tracking and test reporting. An additional precious benefit 🎁to it is the reusability of these scenarios for regression testing and end user guides. A good test script also unveils the understanding 🔎 of the process and the actual requirement very early. ⚠️ Don’t use Excel spreadsheets for test management. Keep all D365FO requirements and tests in DevOps, to document, search, filter, track and link tests to requirements transparently all in one place. 👩🏻🏫 Teach team members how to use Azure DevOps Test Plans properly, it’s easy to explain and easy to learn. 🤝 Your D365FO partner usually has a set of standard test scenarios that can be adjusted and uploaded to DevOps to help expedite test scenario creation and significantly reduce the time required to write the scenarios.   Are you interested in a free video about Test Management in Azure DevOps for functional testing for D365FO implementations? Send me your question via DM or post a comment below.   Meanwhile enjoy this stunning view from North Stradbrook Island in Queensland, Australia 🐬

Short iteration cycles generally need short test strategies and plans. You want to capture three main things in the strategy: - list the concerns motivating testing - describe the methodology to test those concerns - describe the preparation needed to execute the strategy You want enough of the above to anticipate the work for whatever you are working. If there is a large tooling creation task, or much time needed for data collection and creation, or if environments need preparation, or if you need to build a suite of automated checks, you want to say that. The concerns are going to be driven by the work. The user stories, the system under development will have implications. Very UI driven features are going to have different test problems than backend processing or integration features. Highly sensitive user data is a different problem than games or content driven features. Each of those will have big differences in what concerns come to mind. The concerns describe where you believe risk will arise and will motivate the testing you do. Once you have that much figured out, test planning is analogous to development design. You go into as much detail as needed to know what you are doing. Some testing is going to be best as close to the developer as possible. Some testing is going to either take up time or need resources in a way where it is best if someone else handles that work. With careful design and planning, some testing can happen safely and effectively in production. Take advantage of the short iteration cycle to deploy small changes into production with as little risk as possible. Tie each set of changes to the relevant testing for that change. Changes where concerns are easily covered by development checks can probably go first, letting riskier changes that integrate behaviors come in later, allowing time to test the accumulation of behaviors together. This is where test strategy and development strategy drive each other, adopting a development strategy meant to maximize testing effectiveness and minimize risk. These are tricky and difficult ideas that demand a lot of skill and creativity from the engineers involved. The short iteration test strategy, while smaller and tighter than strategies for longer iteration cycles, is perhaps much more difficult to build. #softwaretesting #softwaredevelopment