Stakeholders are looking for testers to provide answers to additional questions such as:

• Does the product meet our quality expectations?
• Is the application ready for users?
• What can we expect when 2,000 people hit the site?
• What are we risking if we release now?

Meeting the Demands One way for testers to meet the demands of rapid application implementation is to use a risk-based approach to defining requirements and strategy. Such an approach allows you to assess the risks of potential problems in the product compared to the quality expectations that a stakeholder has. A sound risk-based test strategy can increase the probability that:

• The most important problems are found
• Problems are detected early
• Problems with the most potential rework are found first
• Requirements with the most impact to users are tested first
• Accurate information on product quality can be provided

The proposed risk strategy for testing moves us from the informal approach experienced testers often use to a more formal and systematic way of assessing risk that allows you to base your test strategy on the assessment as well as address the quality concerns of the stakeholder.

With the rapid pace of application development, testing has become a challenging proposition. Trying to meet tight deadlines and deliver products that meet customer requirements is the greatest challenge testers face today. This presentation discusses a risk assessment approach that is used to assess risks associated with product testing. The assessment approach provides an alternative to “guesses” about what should be tested, and helps test managers determine where they should concentrate their efforts.

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