Week 3 of 12
Write the master test strategy
Now that ownership is settled, write the rules down once. A master test strategy is the program-level rulebook: scope, test levels, entry and exit criteria, environments, data, tools, defects and the regression plan after go-live.
The strategy is finalized in SAP Activate’s Explore phase. If you are already in Realize without one, write it this week; every SIT and UAT plan should inherit from it, not reinvent it.
This week: draft the strategy, then get it signed
- Start from the transition scenario: system conversion, new implementation or selective data transition. Each changes what you must prove.
- Define test levels bottom-up (unit, string, SIT, data conversion, UAT, regression, security and roles, performance, cutover) and who owns each.
- Write numeric entry and exit criteria. For SIT, for example: 100% of critical scenarios executed, zero open severity 1 defects, severity 2 only with approved workarounds.
- Get it signed by the program director, test manager and business sponsor. A strategy nobody signed is a suggestion.
Number of the week
65%
of companies in the Horváth study reported severe quality deficiencies in their S/4HANA project.
Source: Horváth study, via CIO.com (2025)Use this week
- SAP Master Test Strategy (Word) →
19 sections, pre-filled with worked examples, structured on SAP Activate and ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3.
- SAP Master Test Plan (Word) →
The what, when and who for each test level, with a risk register and milestones.
Next week: a strategy needs scope. We build the business process library that tells you what to test.
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