Regression Testing ? Questions to ask before proceeding

There are numerous articles about regression testing available. However, most of them do not address essential points about regression testing. Here is my attempt to address that gap by asking few questions.

+ What is regression testing?

+ Why do we require regression testing?

+ What resources do we need?

+ How to justify the cost of regression testing?

+ What to test as a part of regression testing?

+ Do we require separate test plan for regression testing?

+ Does our regression test suite really address changes gone into the product?

+ How are we going to track defects identified out of regression testing?

+ Are performance tests are part of regression test suite?

+ What is the cycle of execution for regression test suite? And when do we start performing regression testing?

+ Are there any customizations possible to the regression test suite? If yes, how do you plan/document those customizations?

+ Have we certified the regression test suite before proceeding?

+ Who is going to certify the test suite for your product? Have we identified all stakeholders?

+ Where are we going to store results of regression test runs (in case your product has different releases)?