Testing in the Agile World (Final Part - 4)

Continuing from the previous post

Testing in the agile world, needs to adapt to change. The concurrency and shorter cycles introduced by agile development require not just testers but even their tools and processes to be adaptive too. Testers need to have a big-picture view and keep the customer's perspective in mind at all times. The tester mindset has to move from being considered as “custodians” or even “gatekeepers” of quality to being a participant in a larger group involved in defining and maintaining quality. Agile values the concept of a ”whole team” with everyone on the team being responsible for quality. Here, developers and testers are not pitted against each other unlike some of the other models; on the contrary these functions work together as partners to deliver quality artifacts.

The way in which tests get developed would need to change: from developing tests in isolation and based on documents such as requirements specifications, design, etc. to developing tests along-side code development, asking relevant questions, gaining quick understanding, refining tests on the go – also being able to quickly automate tests, test partial implementations as opposed to waiting for a completed artefact or feature - all are skills that are very much needed in the agile world. Testers do not necessarily get involved only when a feature is complete. Being able to pick up and test unfinished and in-process pieces while providing quick and useful feedback is important.

Testers should regularly communicate closely with customers or their representatives to both appraise them on the status of testing as well as obtain valuable feedback into the test activity.

Traditional models sometimes had formal QA teams that recommended processes and practices in a preventive way while the QC or testing group tested the finished product. In the agile world, teams are generally not keen on following much laid down processes although they do emphasize significantly on testing and its importance in product development.

In addition to the above, here are some more pointers for testers to add greater value in an agile world.

• Performing incremental tests on work products as they are being produced. This does not in any way mean that testers perform unit testing nor that testers duplicate the unit test efforts that developers do. Testers should bring their expertise to play and develop and execute business focussed tests that could be exploratory in nature and augment the unit test efforts
• Testers in the agile world need to be familiar with the tools of the trade. Being able to go beyond their areas of specialization is expected. Testers should be comfortable with the development environment and handle tasks such as checking out source code from the repository, use the version control system, build system, use an IDE, know the language and be familiar with technologies used in developing the product, be aware of the frameworks used and so on. Testers on agile teams cannot afford to remain detached from the tools and technologies involved in producing software
• Tester need to be able to work on limited requirements specifications and communicate effectively with product owners / customers to better understand the requirements and clarify assumptions. The ability to integrate and work well together with a cross-functional team is a required skill in the agile world
• Testing in the agile world is not merely about doing exploratory manual tests. Testers perform various test types that would be performed in a traditional model, albeit based on the importance and requirement as assessed by the needs of the customer. Also, test automation is an important activity that happens in addition to manual test efforts
• Testers should focus on tests that tend to integrate different features and operations. Maintaining a solutions approach to testing helps identify any issues which may not be captured by way of feature or unit focused test efforts

Quality in an Agile world is the responsibility of the entire team. Agile testers need to learn and apply agile principles to enable the whole team to produce a quality product. Agile testing requires testers to be  pro-active, creative, willing to take up different tasks, quick learners and adaptable to change, in short – be Agile !

 

POST BY John Morrison. FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.techmanageronline.com/2009/12/testing-in-agile-world-final-part-4.html