The purpose of the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 series of software testing standards is to define an internationally-agreed set of standards for software testing that can be used by any organization when performing any form of software testing. ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-2:2013 comprises test process descriptions that define the software testing processes at the organizational level, test management level and dynamic test levels. It supports dynamic testing, functional and non-functional testing, manual and automated testing, and scripted and unscripted testing. The processes defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-2:2013 can be used in conjuntion with any software development lifecycle model.

Since testing is a key approach to risk-mitigation in software development, ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-2:2013 follows a risk-based approach to testing. Risk-based testing is a common industry approach to strategizing and managing testing. Risk-based testing allows testing to be prioritzed and focused on the most important features and functions.