A test policy, aligned with the business (quality) policy, is defined and agreed by the stakeholders.
This Specific Goal looks to ensure that test goals are defined, based on business needs, and that a policy based on those goals is defined and distributed to stakeholders.
First you need to understand the business context and the requirements of quality (and therefore testing) within the organisation. Once understood (and clarified, if necessary) a clear set of organisational goals of testing can be defined. The goals may be generic – for example, ‘prevent defects in production’.
From these agreed organisational goals, a test policy is defined. This means documenting in clear, unambiguous terms what will be undertaken to achieve the goals, including:
The goals reflect the business needs and the policy defines what must be undertaken to achieve the goals. Both are at a high level.
The Model also looks to ensure the goals and policy are publicised, available and referenced by all stakeholders. ‘Stakeholder’ means any resource in the organisation.