Context

Context in software testing is hard to define as it is influenced by so many different factors. The three bedrocks of time, cost and quality can all make huge differences to a projects context and therefore the testing too. While it can be difficult to define generally, understanding the context your testing will take place in can be very beneficial in supporting quality testing. Whether there are time constraints, regulation or compliance challenges or high levels of complexity. Or indeed a million and one other things that can influence it. Context will help you discover risks, empathise with users and help you prioritise testing efforts. 

Context is in some ways like a sea. It ebbs, flows and its tides shift as things from small pebbles to the moon influence and affect it. Context can be shifted or changed by new information or new discoveries. Every project, no matter how similar to another, has its own unique set of circumstances, constraints and objectives.