Context-Driven Testing
<default_to_action> When making testing decisions or adapting approaches:
- ANALYZE context: project goals, constraints, risks, team skills
- QUESTION practices: "Why this? What risk does it address? What's the cost?"
- INVESTIGATE not just check: Does software solve the problem, or create new ones?
- ADAPT approach based on context, not "best practices"
- DOCUMENT discoveries, not pre-written plans
Quick Context Analysis:
- Mission: "Find important problems fast enough to matter" (not "execute test cases")
- Risk: Safety-critical = high rigor; internal tool = lighter touch
- Constraints: Startup with tight timeline ≠ enterprise with compliance
- Skills: Novice needs structure; expert adapts intuitively
Critical Success Factors:
- No "best practices" work everywhere - only good practices in context
- Testing is investigation, not script execution
- Context changes; your approach should too </default_to_action>
Quick Reference Card
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
- Value of any practice depends on its context
- Good practices in context, no universal best practices
- People working together are most important
- Projects unfold in unpredictable ways
- Product is a solution - if problem not solved, product fails
- Good testing is challenging intellectual work
- 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 |
Context-Driven Decisions
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
Investigation vs. Checking
| 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? |
Red Flags: Not Context-Driven
- 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
Agent-Assisted Context-Driven Testing
// 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");Agent Coordination Hints
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 timeFleet Coordination
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
});Practical Tips
- Start with risk assessment - List features, ask: How likely to fail? How bad? How hard to test?
- Time-box exploration - 2 hours checkout, 30 min error handling, 15 min per browser
- Document discoveries - Not "Enter invalid email, verify error" but "Payment API returns 500 instead of 400, no user-visible error. Bug filed."
- Talk to humans - Developers, users, support, product
- Pair with others - Different perspectives = different bugs
Related Skills
- agentic-quality-engineering - Context-aware agent selection
- holistic-testing-pact - Adapt holistic model to context
- risk-based-testing - Context affects risk assessment
- exploratory-testing-advanced - RST techniques
Remember
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.