Testing in the Agile World (Part 3)

Continuing from the previous post

 

Testing in agile is not something that happens at “the end” of the development or implementation phase. Testing happens as development happens. Incremental testing is the norm and increments of functionality that gets developed is tested and issues reported immediately. The short & quick feedback loop helps deliver better quality code and reduce cost of fixing defects much later when the cost of fixing them is higher. Also, the ability to have working and demonstrable piece of software at the end of each sprint is a huge benefit – customers and product owners can quickly review and “play around” with the developed artefact and provide feedback quickly. This helps ensure that the agile team is developing what the customer needs and also keeps the customer appraised of the team's progress in real time.

An important aspect of agile development is the ability to “release” after each iteration or sprint. A working copy of the product is expected to be ready for “release” at the end of each iteration. This ability to release frequently is important. It may be the case that the team may not wish to actually release after each iteration but having the capability and working towards delivering working software by the end of each iteration is key. Customers may choose to pick up a deliverable after an iteration (could be every few days or few weeks) and either review that the development is on track or even choose to deploy in increments. The agile team can get regular updates on their development and incorporate into their efforts quickly rather than wait for the complete product to be developed and then released to customers.

Customers get a better say in how development happens. The product owner can make decisions to even stop further development on some areas or suggest changes where needed. The focus on getting working software out at the end of each iteration also brings together the various functions together as a close knit team – everything from development to installation, documentation and testing needs to be taken care of rather than leave any item for later in the release. Issues are identified sooner and as stated earlier, the short feedback loop helps incrementally deliver better quality software faster.

Agile development also involves lesser documentation than traditional models of development. Agile methods focus on face-to-face interactions and meetings to keep the communication channels open and clear. In the Scrum methodology which we follow, daily stand-up meetings are conducted where all members of the agile team share their status updates, plans and impediments encountered. In addition, planning and retrospective meetings are held at the start and end of each sprint. Testers work along with their counter-part developers and help to regularly test every testable bit of work product providing regular feedback to ensure a better quality feature goes in. Communication on agile teams tend to be quick and direct, with agile methodologies favouring co-located teams and human interactions. It gets to be far more effective and easier to pop-in to your neighbouring cubicle and get something clarified rather than start an email thread and await responses.

Agile development requires a customer representative to be part of the team. This gets better than having to rely on a requirements document. You can always ask the representative for clarifications directly and get first hand feedback. Requirements are prioritized based on what is most important to the customer and listed in what is normally known as the backlog for the product. The agile team goes through the backlog list in order and picks up the items that they can commit to delivering within the iteration.

POST BY John Morrison. FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.techmanageronline.com/2009/11/testing-in-agile-world-part-3.html