Testing needs to be business driven and customer focused. Generally testers may not accept the fact that their test efforts are not really driven by what is important to the business or customer. It is fairly commonplace to have quality criterion defined only by the testing group without having consulted stakeholders or trying to figure out if the criteria defined matches what the business or customers think quality should be. The customer or business must decide and define the scope of the term quality in the context of what is being delivered and testing must focus on this definition.
Deciding on what needs to be tested, testing prioritization, testing risks management – needs inputs from the customer or their representatives. It should not be the case that the testing group alone decides on what to test, scope and extent of testing, areas to be tested more/less, etc. In the agile world, the ability of testing as a function to adapt to delivering what the business needs is critical for the group to add significant value. Test planning and development should not be limited to the testing team and should involve other stakeholders to understand what is important to the business as opposed to what the group thinks might be important.
Deciding on what needs to be tested, testing prioritization, testing risks management – needs inputs from the customer or their representatives. It should not be the case that the testing group alone decides on what to test, scope and extent of testing, areas to be tested more/less, etc. In the agile world, the ability of testing as a function to adapt to delivering what the business needs is critical for the group to add significant value. Test planning and development should not be limited to the testing team and should involve other stakeholders to understand what is important to the business as opposed to what the group thinks might be important.
