Test Strategy
A test strategy is the high-level approach to testing across a whole project or organization — which test levels and types matter most, how much gets automated vs. tested manually, what tools and environments are standard, and how risk gets prioritized. It sits above individual test plans, which apply that strategy to a specific release or feature.
Where a test plan answers "what are we testing this cycle," a test strategy answers a bigger question: "how does this team approach testing in general." It's typically written once, and revisited periodically, rather than per-release — covering things like the target shape of the test automation pyramid, which environments exist and what they're for, and what risk-based criteria decide how much testing a given change needs.
A good test strategy is opinionated enough to actually guide decisions — "we automate all API-level tests and reserve manual testing for exploratory sessions on new features" is a strategy; "we test thoroughly" is not. Teams without an explicit strategy tend to make these calls inconsistently, project by project, which is usually where testing effort ends up either wasted on low-risk areas or missing from high-risk ones.
