"I’d like some advice around writing an end-to-end test plan on a product that isn’t remotely finished and where boundaries keep moving. We deliver in 2 weeks."

A friend of mine just asked me this question. It's a situation that I've been in a few times before. It can be quite stressful when you're in a situation like this. Particularly if you're new and still learning about the business, the people and the technology!

I like to break things down and let each step build upon the next!!

Clarify the situation

The answers to these questions will help you understand the mission:

• What problem does our product/service solve?

• How would you describe the people who are trying to solve that problem?

• How does testing help?

• Who is building the solution?

• What skills do they have?

• What strengths do they have?

• What weaknesses do they have?

• What's our biggest challenge from your perspective?

• What are people most worried about regarding this product or service?

Explain how it will be dealt with

The answers to these questions will help you describe your strategy:

• What principles will we use to guide us through the situation?

• What's the biggest risk that threatens the success of the delivery?

• What options do we have based on our context?

• Of those options, which ones should we focus on exploiting the most?

  • And what makes that a good decision?

• What information will testing reveal?

• How do we intend to get that information?

• What information will we ignore at first (or completely!)?

• How do we intend to overcome our biggest obstacles? 

Describe what actions will be taken

The answers to these questions will form your test plan:

• Which parts of the product or service are the highest priority?

• Which testing activities are the highest priority?

• Which tools will we use to carry out the testing activities?

If you're in this situation, too, I hope this helps!