3.9 KiB
3.9 KiB
Test Priorities Matrix
Guide for prioritizing test scenarios based on risk, criticality, and business impact.
Priority Levels
P0 - Critical (Must Test)
Criteria:
- Revenue-impacting functionality
- Security-critical paths
- Data integrity operations
- Regulatory compliance requirements
- Previously broken functionality (regression prevention)
Examples:
- Payment processing
- Authentication/authorization
- User data creation/deletion
- Financial calculations
- GDPR/privacy compliance
Testing Requirements:
- Comprehensive coverage at all levels
- Both happy and unhappy paths
- Edge cases and error scenarios
- Performance under load
P1 - High (Should Test)
Criteria:
- Core user journeys
- Frequently used features
- Features with complex logic
- Integration points between systems
- Features affecting user experience
Examples:
- User registration flow
- Search functionality
- Data import/export
- Notification systems
- Dashboard displays
Testing Requirements:
- Primary happy paths required
- Key error scenarios
- Critical edge cases
- Basic performance validation
P2 - Medium (Nice to Test)
Criteria:
- Secondary features
- Admin functionality
- Reporting features
- Configuration options
- UI polish and aesthetics
Examples:
- Admin settings panels
- Report generation
- Theme customization
- Help documentation
- Analytics tracking
Testing Requirements:
- Happy path coverage
- Basic error handling
- Can defer edge cases
P3 - Low (Test if Time Permits)
Criteria:
- Rarely used features
- Nice-to-have functionality
- Cosmetic issues
- Non-critical optimizations
Examples:
- Advanced preferences
- Legacy feature support
- Experimental features
- Debug utilities
Testing Requirements:
- Smoke tests only
- Can rely on manual testing
- Document known limitations
Risk-Based Priority Adjustments
Increase Priority When:
- High user impact (affects >50% of users)
- High financial impact (>$10K potential loss)
- Security vulnerability potential
- Compliance/legal requirements
- Customer-reported issues
- Complex implementation (>500 LOC)
- Multiple system dependencies
Decrease Priority When:
- Feature flag protected
- Gradual rollout planned
- Strong monitoring in place
- Easy rollback capability
- Low usage metrics
- Simple implementation
- Well-isolated component
Test Coverage by Priority
| Priority | Unit Coverage | Integration Coverage | E2E Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | >90% | >80% | All critical paths |
| P1 | >80% | >60% | Main happy paths |
| P2 | >60% | >40% | Smoke tests |
| P3 | Best effort | Best effort | Manual only |
Priority Assignment Rules
- Start with business impact - What happens if this fails?
- Consider probability - How likely is failure?
- Factor in detectability - Would we know if it failed?
- Account for recoverability - Can we fix it quickly?
Priority Decision Tree
Is it revenue-critical?
├─ YES → P0
└─ NO → Does it affect core user journey?
├─ YES → Is it high-risk?
│ ├─ YES → P0
│ └─ NO → P1
└─ NO → Is it frequently used?
├─ YES → P1
└─ NO → Is it customer-facing?
├─ YES → P2
└─ NO → P3
Test Execution Order
- Execute P0 tests first (fail fast on critical issues)
- Execute P1 tests second (core functionality)
- Execute P2 tests if time permits
- P3 tests only in full regression cycles
Continuous Adjustment
Review and adjust priorities based on:
- Production incident patterns
- User feedback and complaints
- Usage analytics
- Test failure history
- Business priority changes