TEST STRATEGY:
Before starting a testing activities the team lead will
have to think a lot and arrive at a strategy.This will
describe the approch,which is to be adopted for carring out
test activities including the test planing activities.This
is a formal document and the very first document regarding
the testing area and is prepared at a very early stage in
SDLC.This document should give the overall scope of project
at a high leavel.
TEST PLANS:
these are prepared by experienced people only.In all test
plans the ENTRY -TASK -VALIDATION -EXIT criteria are t0 be
mentioned.ENTRY means the entry point to that phase. TASK
means activities that is performed.VALIDATION is the way in
which the progress and correctness and compliance are
verified that phase.EXIT tells the completion criteria of
that phase ofter the validation is done.
Test Strategy: This document is a organizational level
document and is prepared by the PM. This document contains
the details about the whole testing approach, methodologies
etc.
Test Plan: This document is prepated by the Test Lead. It
consists of the testing details i.e.
who is going to test
what would be environment
what is in scope of testing
delivery dates
risks and contingencies etc.
Who prepares what is very least bothered here, it depends
on the experience of the resource and organization
structure.
Coming to the questions asked....
The basic fundamental is
Test Plan - What to test? (resource, schedule, environment
etc)
Test Strategy - How to test? (methodologies, design
techniques etc)
Test Strategy is part of Test Plan (Master Test Plan)
Test Plan contains Scope, People (Trining, expereince),
Incidents (which reports, when), Criteria (Entry Exit,
Resumption), Risks and Assumptions, Environment,What not to
test, and Test Strategy for main modules/functionalities or
links to that documents.
Now to the question who prepares, In my orgnisation, Test
Stategy is prepared by TLeads, and even Sr QE who has good
exp in that functionality.
In other compnay it might be different.
Test Strategy is a formal document that is to be prepared
at the early stage i.e once SRD and MPP is baselined.
Test Strategy tells about the overall plans for that
release.To be more clear it tells about the scope of
testing,resources involved,Entry and Exit
Criteria,Risks,Assumptions,Environment used.