Companies often get caught in a costly cycle. They rush to get a testing tool in place because it will “solve most of their manual testing problems.” Then spend a hard 6-12 months implementing a solution which isn’t quite fitting their needs. And it’s not doing everything the salesman said it could. As the time to renew licenses approaches your faced with a hard decision: replace this tool with another (potentially repeating the difficult implementation process for a second time next year) OR grind it out and adjust your processes to make the tool fit. Neither path is a good one. A more important question to ask is “How did you get yourself into this difficult position to begin with?” As I talk to more and more organizations in this difficult position, I see a pattern emerging. None of them have an over-arching Test Strategy in place. The tool they chose isn’t solving “most of their manual testing problems” because they have not taken the time to thoroughly identify what all those problems are, they have not taken the time to thoroughly identify where they think they want to be in 2 or 5 years, and they have not taken the time to think through how Tool A or B can help them through their journey from current to future state. A well put-together Test Strategy can help you guide these treacherous waters. In this presentation Mr. Eakin will walk your through the 5 W’s of testing: What? Where? When? Who? And HoW? What tests are needed in your full tech stack? Where (which environments) will these test be executed in? When will these tests be executed? Who will create, monitor and maintain the tests? After you have asked and answered the first 4 W’s, you are now ready to ask and answer the last: hoW (using which tools) will these tests be executed? With a Test Strategy in hand, you will be ready to overcome any obstacle thrown at your team and do it without missing a beat. It will become your best friend.