Creating the Project Deliverables for Testers Part 2

As with the product backlog, the release plan could also be updated with high-level issues that had been encountered in previous releases. The testers should work with the Product Owner to ensure that these issues, if not planned for fixing in the current Sprint, are included in the release plan.

Sprint Backlog

Because an Agile project would consist of Sprints that would make up a release, each Sprint would have its own goal and backlog for the team to work on. The Sprint backlog lists the user stories, issues, and tasks scoped for completion within the Sprint. As with the Product Backlog, the Sprint Backlog is also prioritised and estimated to help ensure that the team will be able to focus on the more valuable items first and take in work that fits their capacity.

During Sprint Planning, everyone on the team – including testers – should give estimates on the user stories and bugs that are scoped for fixing within the Sprint. This is the best place for negotiating the scope and clarifying the acceptance criteria to ensure that the team will be able to accommodate the work within their capacity. Testers should ensure that when they are giving estimates, they take into consideration their testing tasks such as data creation, test design, and bug fixing. If they haven’t discussed during some of the bugs or user stories in Product Backlog Refinement, they could use this time to provide feedback on them.

Throughout the Sprint, the tester should update it with ticket statuses and add tickets for bugs found during testing. They should also help with ensuring that backlog items meet the Definition of Done before they close or mark them as “Done.”

Product Increment

Each Sprint aims to deliver a potentially releasable set of features called a product increment. It is the sum of all backlog items completed with the Sprint and the value of all other previous increments. When the Sprint is over, the product increment should meet the team’s Definition of Done, and should be usable for its target market and users. Testers help ensure that the product increment is releasable by performing their testing tasks throughout the Sprint.

Enterprise Deliverables

The above are the minimum deliverables that an Agile team would come up with in their project. However, the team must also take into consideration the organisation they are working for. Are there standards to comply with? Are there specific templates to be used? It is important that the Agile team ensures to help their company meet quality standards by agreeing on enterprise deliverables for the project.

Some of the deliverables that the agile team must provide  include:

• Source code
• Release notes
• User documentation
• Installation scripts

For testers, some of the enterprise deliverables they may have to work on would include:

• Regression test suite
• User acceptance test plan
• Defect reports

These documents should also be maintained as part of knowledge management within the organisation. Agile project deliverables do not have to be complex, and should be as simple and concise as possible. By collaborating with the Product Owner and other team members, these deliverables will help in project tracking as well as metrics assessment.

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Our Book Recommendations

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