Model based strategies develop models of how the system should behave or function.
Scenario Based Strategy
With a scenario based strategy, tester tests according to real world scenarios which should span sufficiently the system's functionality.
Use Case Based Strategy
In the object-oriented world, a close relative to the scenario based strategy is the use case based strategy, where tester relies on a type of object-oriented design documents known as use cases. These use cases are models of how users, customers and other stakeholders supposed to use the system and how it should work under those conditions. Besides, these use cases can be translated into test cases.
Domain Based Strategy
With a domain based strategy, tester analyzes different domains of input data accepted by the system, data processing performed by the system and output data produced by the system. Domains are classifications based on similarities identified in inputs, processing or outputs. Based on these domains, the best test cases in each domain could be picked according to the likelihood of bugs, prevalent usage, deployed environments or even all three of these factors.
With a model based strategy, tests are designed, developed and executed to cover models that has been built. These strategies are useful to the extent that essential aspects of the system were captured in the model. Of course, these strategies reply on the ability of tester to develop good models. These strategies would break down when the models cannot or the tester does not capture all of the essential or potentially problematic aspects of the system.
Sourced from Surveying Test Strategies: A Guide to Smart Selection and Blending by Rex Black, Testing Experience Issue 2-2008. Slight modification has been made to the original text.
