What is Context Driven Testing

https://context-driven-testing.com/

Context Driven Testing is a mindset shift (or School of testing) developed by Cem Kaner, James Bach & Bret Pettichord. Details about it can be found in their famous book: Lessons Learned in Software Testing.

There are 7 basic principles to it. The following are directly picked from their book:

#1) The value of any practice depends on its context.

#2) There are good practices in context, but there are no best practices.

#3) People, working together, are the most important part of any project’s context.

#4) Projects unfold over time in ways that are often not predictable.

#5) The product is a solution. If the problem isn’t solved, the product doesn’t work.

#6) Good software testing is a challenging intellectual process.

#7) Only through judgment and skill, exercised cooperatively throughout the entire project, are we able to do the right things at the right times to effectively test our products.

Context-driven testers choose their testing objectives, techniques, and deliverables (including test documentation) by looking first to the details of the specific situation, including the desires of the stakeholders who commissioned the testing. The essence of context-driven testing is project-appropriate application of skill and judgment. The Context-Driven School of testing places this approach to testing within a humanistic social and ethical framework.

Ultimately, context-driven testing is about doing the best we can with what we get. Rather than trying to apply “best practices,” we accept that very different practices (even different definitions of common testing terms) will work best under different circumstances.