Risk-Based Testing
// Definition
Prioritising tests by the likelihood and impact of failure — the highest-risk areas get the most coverage, low-risk areas get less. The honest answer to 'we can't test everything before the release date'.
// Related terms
Test Strategy
The high-level, organisation-wide approach to testing — what gets tested, by whom, with what tools, at what stage. Broader and more permanent than a test plan.
Test Plan
A document describing the scope, approach, schedule, resources, and deliverables for testing a release or feature. Narrower and more time-bound than a test strategy.
Severity vs Priority
Severity describes how broken the system is (set by QA, technical impact). Priority describes how urgently it should be fixed (set by Product, business impact). The two are independent — a typo can be Trivial / P0.
Learn more · Manual Software Testing
Chapter 1 · Lesson 3: Risk-Based Testing — Where to Focus Your Effort