Backlog Development
The product owner is responsible for taking the product vision and dissecting it into workable features. These workable features are then prioritised according to value. According to Jeff Sutherland – co-creator of the Scrum framework for Agile – business value is defined by 3 dimensions:
- What the customer wants
- What can be sustain-ably delivered and
- What the team is excited about delivering
The last metric is one that is commonly overlooked and should play a large part in selecting the scrum team members, particularly those with testing skills and responsibilities. In traditional project management, testers are viewed as strict gate-keepers with little knowledge of the actual product, and little enthusiasm for the product. While this may not always be accurate, finding scrum team members who are invested in delivering high value products for the customers within each sprint is of paramount importance.
The features in the product backlog may require specific technical skills that test team members must have. Testers should have a wide array of testing skills – developing test plans, executing and clearly identifying defects, and good communication skills for quickly providing feedback to the developers. Having specialised testing skills is important in the formation of a scrum team.
Having a diversity in testing experience is beneficial for the scrum team. Testers with experience can quickly identify blockers that will impact the prioritisation of features. Experienced testers will also have other skills such as analysis or development. These are invaluable in terms of having a better understanding of the product delivery techniques and being in a position to assist other scrum team members. Likewise, having less experienced testers on the team will enable mentor engagement and active participation in sprint delivery thus expanding their skills during the life of product delivery and for future initiatives.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: