Scrum teams are composed many different roles. Some of these roles are core to the Scrum project itself, while others are considered non-core. The non-core roles have some sort of bearing on the project, but typically from an external perspective.
One vital role is that of the tester. As the term implies, a tester runs tests on the product, to ensure that it operates as intended. At a glance, this may not seem to require much interaction with other roles of the Scrum Process. However, testers have a large influence on many facets of the Scrum process, and interact in some way with nearly every role, both core and non-core.
Core Roles of a Scrum Project
For any Scrum project, there are certain core roles that work directly with the product. These roles are the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Scrum Team or Development Team. For their responsibilities on a project, testers will interact with these roles in a variety of ways.
Product Owner
The Product Owner is responsible for the long term success of a project. They determine what feature enter the backlog for eventual development, and what features are rejected. The interaction between Product Owner and tester is less direct, but important nonetheless.
Testers can work with the Product Owner to understand their vision for the product, and how it should behave. There may be some ideas that were never recorded in official design documents, but can affect how a product or feature should be tested. By consulting with the Product Owner and understanding the feature better, testers can in turn write better test plans. This generates a more robust product, one that is more in line with what the Product Owner envisioned.
Even beyond the phase of writing test plans, testers can approach the Product Owner with design questions and requests for clarification. The Product Owner is the voice of the customer, and serves as the authority for how a feature should behave. Because of this, they are most equipped to make a decision if there is ambiguity in a feature.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: