Manuals / Test Planning & Strategy / Ch 3

A · StrategyIntermediate35 min read

3. Strategy: levels & types

Test Planning & Strategy · 36 pages source format

Unit, integration, API, UI, exploratory, a11y, security, performance — choose the cheapest level that finds the risk.

What you'll learn

  • Test pyramid judgment
  • Shift-left/right
  • Who owns what

Level map

For your feature, assign risks to levels. Avoid “everything in E2E.”

  • Unit — logic & pure functions
  • API/contract — integrations
  • UI E2E — critical journeys only
  • Exploratory — unknowns & UX
  • Prod checks — monitoring / synthetics

Do this now

Draw a simple pyramid/map with example tests at each level.

Clear?

Checklist