qa-automation-strategylisted

# QA Automation Strategy Treat the automation suite as production software: it needs design, ownership, versioning, feedback, maintenance and observable failure modes. Automate repeatable checks while reserving exploratory, usability and judgment-heavy work for people. ## Workflow 1. Read requirements, use cases, risks, architecture and existing tests. Ask for missing business invariants or classify them as assumptions. 2. Define the SUT, scope, exclusions, quality risks and acceptance criteria. Prefer observable behavior over implementation details. 3. Choose a proportionate mix of unit, component, contract, integration, system/E2E, performance, resilience and security tests. Use a test pyramid as a heuristic, not a quota. 4. Design deterministic fixtures, isolated data, test vectors, environment controls and cleanup. Never use unmasked production data by default. 5. Assign each test a stable `TC-*` ID and connect it to requirements, risks and expected evidence. 6. Define fast feedback gates and slower suites, quarantine policy, flaky-test ownership and reporting. 7. Validate with representative positive, negative, boundary, authorization and failure cases. ## Master Test Plan template ```markdown # Master Test Plan: <system/release> ## Purpose, SUT and audience ## Scope and exclusions ## Risks and criticality ## Quality attributes and acceptance criteria ## Test levels and responsibilities ## Test IDs, fixtures and data classification ## Environments and dependencies #