context-driven-testing

When to Use

• Making testing decisions for new project
• Questioning "that's how it's done" dogma
• Adapting approach to specific constraints
• Exploratory testing sessions

Seven Context-Driven Principles

1. Value of any practice depends on its context
2. Good practices in context, no universal best practices
3. People working together are most important
4. Projects unfold in unpredictable ways
5. Product is a solution - if problem not solved, product fails
6. Good testing is challenging intellectual work
7. Judgment and skill determine right things at right times

Context Factors

| Factor | Questions |

|--------|-----------|

| Project | Business goal? User needs? Failure impact? |

| Constraints | Timeline? Budget? Team skills? Legacy? |

| Risk | Safety-critical? Regulated? High volume? |

| Technical | Stack quirks? Integrations? Observability? |

RST Heuristics

| Heuristic | Application |

|-----------|-------------|

| SFDIPOT | Structure, Function, Data, Interfaces, Platform, Operations, Time |

| Oracles | Consistency with history, similar products, expectations, docs |

| Tours | Business District, Historical, Bad Neighborhood, Tourist, Museum |

---

Example: Test Automation Level

Startup Context:

• Small team, rapid changes, unclear product-market fit
• Decision: Light automation on critical paths, heavy exploratory
• Rationale: Requirements change too fast for extensive automation

Enterprise Context:

• Stable features, regulatory requirements, large team
• Decision: Comprehensive automated regression suite
• Rationale: Stability allows automation investment to pay off

Example: Documentation

Regulated (FDA/medical):

• Decision: Detailed test protocols, traceability matrices
• Rationale: Regulatory compliance isn't optional

Fast-paced startup:

• Decision: Lightweight session notes, risk logs
• Rationale: Bureaucracy slows more than it helps

---

| Checking | Testing (Investigation) |

|----------|------------------------|

| Did API return 200? | Does API meet user needs? |

| Does button work? | What happens under load? |

| Match the spec? | Does it solve the problem? |

---

• Follow process "because that's how it's done"
• Can't explain why you're doing something
• Measure test cases executed, not problems found
• Test plan could apply to any project
• Stop thinking once you have a script

---

```typescript

// Agent analyzes context and recommends approach

const context = await Task("Analyze Context", {

project: 'e-commerce-platform',

stage: 'startup',

constraints: ['timeline: tight', 'budget: limited'],

risks: ['payment-security', 'high-volume']

}, "qe-fleet-commander");

// Context-aware agent selection

// - qe-security-scanner (critical risk)

// - qe-performance-tester (high volume)

// - Skip: qe-visual-tester (low priority in startup context)

// Adaptive testing strategy

await Task("Generate Tests", {

context: 'startup',

focus: 'critical-paths-only',

depth: 'smoke-tests',

automation: 'minimal'

}, "qe-test-generator");

```

---

Memory Namespace

```

aqe/context-driven/

├── context-analysis/* - Project context snapshots

├── decisions/* - Testing decisions with rationale

├── discoveries/* - What was learned during testing

└── adaptations/* - How approach changed over time

```

Fleet Coordination

```typescript

const contextFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({

strategy: 'context-driven',

context: {

type: 'greenfield-saas',

stage: 'growth',

compliance: 'gdpr-only'

},

agents: ['qe-test-generator', 'qe-security-scanner', 'qe-performance-tester'],

exclude: ['qe-visual-tester', 'qe-requirements-validator'] // Not priority

});

```

---

1. Start with risk assessment - List features, ask: How likely to fail? How bad? How hard to test?
2. Time-box exploration - 2 hours checkout, 30 min error handling, 15 min per browser
3. Document discoveries - Not "Enter invalid email, verify error" but "Payment API returns 500 instead of 400, no user-visible error. Bug filed."
4. Talk to humans - Developers, users, support, product
5. Pair with others - Different perspectives = different bugs

---

• [agentic-quality-engineering](../agentic-quality-engineering/) - Context-aware agent selection
• [holistic-testing-pact](../holistic-testing-pact/) - Adapt holistic model to context
• [risk-based-testing](../risk-based-testing/) - Context affects risk assessment
• [exploratory-testing-advanced](../exploratory-testing-advanced/) - RST techniques

---

Context drives decisions. No universal best practices. Skilled testers make informed decisions based on specific goals, constraints, and risks.

You're not a test script executor. You're a skilled investigator helping teams build better products.

With Agents: Agents analyze context, adapt strategies, and learn what works in your situation. Use agents to scale context-driven thinking while maintaining human judgment for critical decisions.