Lesson 1 of 6
Policy, strategy, plan
12 min
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Most SAP programs have a document called "Test Strategy". Many of them are 80 pages long, copied from the last program, and read by nobody after the Explore gate. This course is about writing the other kind: a short, specific strategy that the program actually uses to make decisions, backed by phase test plans that tell people what to do next week.
The first step is knowing which document holds which decision. Testing documentation has a hierarchy, and most confusion comes from putting content at the wrong level.
Three levels of testing documentation
The international standard for software test documentation, ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3, describes this hierarchy. At the organizational level it defines a test policy and, in its 2021 edition, organizational test practices (the 2013 edition called this the organizational test strategy). At the project level it defines a test plan, and the test strategy for the project is a part of that plan; level-specific plans can sit beneath it. It also defines test status and test completion reports, and documents for test design and execution. This course uses the standard's concepts, not its templates; buy the standard if you need the full content lists.
What belongs where
| Content | Policy or practices | Program strategy | Phase plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality goals and who may accept risk | Yes | Refer to it | No |
| Standard defect severity model | Practices | Adopt or adapt | No |
| Test levels for this program and their owners | No | Yes | Refer to it |
| Environments, clients and refresh approach | No | Yes | Detail for the cycle |
| Entry and exit criteria | Default set | Per level | Confirmed for the cycle |
| Daily schedule, named testers, test case list | No | No | Yes |
| Sign-off owners and decision forums | Principle | Named roles | Named people |
Placing content at the right level.
A good test for any paragraph: if it would be true for any program in the company, it belongs in the policy or practices. If it is true for this program for its whole life, it belongs in the strategy. If it is true only for one cycle, it belongs in a plan. Contoso Motor Co. has a short IT test policy from its last ERP upgrade, no written practices, and a new S/4HANA program. Priya, the test lead, decides to write the program strategy and include a short "practices" annex (severity model, evidence rules) that the company can later adopt for all programs.
How the strategy fits SAP Activate
SAP Activate places test planning in the Explore phase. SAP's learning content describes the test strategy as the output of the test planning task, covering objectives, scope, test stages and a high-level timeline. That timing is deliberate: Fit-to-Standard has just settled the scope, so the strategy can name the processes and requirements it must prove. Phase plans then follow during Realize, one per cycle or level, and the strategy is reviewed at each quality gate.
- PreparePolicy check and approachConfirm the company policy and practices; agree the testing approach at high level; set up test management.
- ExploreProgram test strategyWrite and approve the strategy once Fit-to-Standard settles scope; review at the Explore gate.
- RealizePhase test plansSIT, data migration and UAT plans per cycle; strategy updated for change requests.
- DeployReadiness and rehearsal plansPlans for cutover rehearsal checks and production verification.
- RunRegression strategyThe strategy becomes the basis for regression testing of upgrades.
What a strategy is for
A strategy exists to support decisions. Before you write a section, ask which decision it supports and who makes it. "Which test levels do we run?" is decided once, by the test lead and program director. "Are we ready to start SIT?" is decided at a gate, by named people, against criteria the strategy set. If a section supports no decision, cut it.
What would you do?
Contoso's partner hands Priya a 90-page "test strategy" from another customer, with daily schedules, tester names and screenshots of a defect tool. What should she do with it?
- Policy says why and what is expected; practices say how the company usually tests; the strategy says how this program tests; plans give cycle detail.
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 describes these documents; in its terms the project test strategy is part of the test plan.
- In SAP Activate, the strategy is written in Explore once scope is settled, and plans follow in Realize.
- Every section should support a named decision; cut what does not.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which document sets the approach for one SAP program for its whole life?
2. Where do named testers and the daily schedule for SIT cycle 2 belong?
3. What did the 2021 edition of ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 call the organizational-level "how we test" document?
4. In which SAP Activate phase is the program test strategy written?