Agile Fundamentals for Testers Part 2

Being an Agile tester means being able to test effectively and mitigate risks despite the rapid development of software. Testing tasks will generally remain the same: plan the tests, execute the tests, and work with the team in defect resolution. The main differences would be the iterative nature of Agile, the shorter time frames, and the quickly changing requirements, especially when customers are re-strategizing for their target markets. If you are accustomed to traditional project management and software development, you will simply have to evolve the way you work and adapt it to the pace of Agile development.

Because Agile development entails building iteratively, one thing that testers could do differently is to focus on preventing bugs and get involved early in the design process. Work with the Product Owner, the UX consultant, and the developers when deciding how to build the product. Communicate test plans and provide insights on possible test scenarios and user flows to help ensure that the feature will be developed well. Agile testers should help build and guide the team on the acceptance criteria of user stories as well as the Definition of Done.

Another aspect of development that testers should start leveraging on are the technologies and APIs that are being used in development or could assist in testing the product more effectively. On top of testing the UI of the application, being able to do API testing can also help uncover bugs that could potentially be critical. Automating tests like functionality and performance will also allow for more coverage within a shorter period of time. It is also beneficial to have the tools that could lessen the load of a tester such as test management software and test run recording tools.

Testing is everyone’s job in Agile projects. The team needs to ensure that they are building quality code by using unit tests and component tests. They also need to validate the user requirements through user flow and prototype testing. Activities such as usability, exploratory, and user acceptance testing (along with stakeholders, if possible) would help supplement the previous two quality checks and further everyone’s confidence in the product. Lastly, tool usage to check aspects like security, infrastructure, and scalability will add to better quality assurance of the product.

Testing is all about minimising risks and making sure that the customers and users don’t run into severe problems when using the product. Knowing the Agile fundamentals and what testing in Agile entails will help testers do their work more effectively and be able build a quality product together with the Agile team.

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