“Working software over comprehensive documentation”
Project charters, software requirements specifications, user manuals, and test analysis reports are just some of the types of documents required in the different phases of a traditional project. These are needed to comply with standards as well as to serve as thorough guides for users and project teams who will take over the maintenance of the system. However, large upfront specifications may also end up detailing features that might not be brought to development later on, wasting time and effort.
Agile focuses on building the product right over specifying how it would be exactly made. For testers, this means focusing more on actually testing the product and exploring various scenarios, rather than spending time to detail test cases. This does not mean that Agile foregoes documentation altogether. Instead, it keeps it to a bare minimum and encourages Agile teams to have “just enough” documentation for them to work with. For example, writing down user stories in the backlog and listing the acceptance criteria is a form of documentation, and these will guide the teams into developing the product increment for the Sprint.
The key here for testers is to find a good balance between testing and documenting, and they need to explore techniques that will work for them to achieve that. Some testers can opt for checklists, while some can use one-liner test scenarios that are easy to understand by everyone. Some even hold bug bashes and testing workshops with the team and select customers, to be able to have as much coverage as possible.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course:
Course Contents
Section 1: Agile Project Management
Section 2: Using the Agile Manifesto to Deliver Change
Section 3: The 12 Agile Principles
Section 4: The Agile Fundamentals
Section 5: The Declaration of Interdependence
Section 6: Agile Development Frameworks
Section 7: Introduction to Scrum
Section 8: Scrum Projects
Section 9: Scrum Project Roles
Section 10: Meet the Scrum Team
Section 11: Building the Scrum Team
Section 12: Scrum in Projects, Programs & Portfolios
Section 13: How to Manage an Agile Project
Section 14: Leadership Styles
Section 15: The Agile Project Life-cycle
Section 16: Business Justification with Agile
Section 17: Calculating the Benefits With Agile
Section 18: Quality in Agile
Section 19: Acceptance Criteria and the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 20: Quality Management in Scrum
Section 21: Change in Scrum
Section 22: Integrating Change in Scrum
Section 23: Managing Change in Scrum
Section 24: Risk in Scrum
Section 25: Risk Assessment Techniques
Section 26: Initiating an Agile Project
Section 27: Forming the Scrum Team
Section 28: Epics and Personas
Section 29: Creating the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 30: Conduct Release Planning
Section 31: The Project Business Case
Section 32: Planning in Scrum
Section 33: Scrum Boards
Section 34: Sprint Planning
Section 35: User Stories
Section 36: User Stories and Tasks
Section 37: The Sprint Backlog
Section 38: Implementation of Scrum
Section 39: The Daily Scrum
Section 40: The Product Backlog
Section 41: Scrum Charts
Section 42: Review and Retrospective
Section 43: Scrum of Scrums
Section 44: Validating a Sprint
Section 45: Retrospective Sprint
Section 46: Releasing the Product
Section 47: Project Retrospective
Section 48: The Communication Plan
Section 49: Formal Business Sign-off
Section 50: Scaling Scrum
Section 51: Stakeholders
Section 52: Programs and Portfolios