Saturday 18 September 2021

REASONS TO ADOPT AGILE METHODOLOGY


As technology advances, more companies in the USA realize that there's a better way to work. You have to turn to Agile testing, and main frame jobs like Scrum to adapt and evolve quickly. Maybe that's why recent reports show that agile roles like Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Agile Coach etc are in high demand.

According to a job board, Scrum Master certifications, especially the gold standard Certified ScrumMaster®, were the 9th most-requested certification in 2020. CSM was the only agile certification to make to the Top 20. CSM® even beat out the PMP, the only other certification in the product and project management space to make the Top 20. It made it to number 13.


Scrum Alliance Chief Product Owner, Howard Sublett was not surprised to see Scrum Master certification at the top of list. He remembered that CSM set the gold standard for Scrum certification back in 2001. When he  searched CSM on a job board, it returned over 10,000 current job listings.

Certified ScrumMasters acknowledge. In a recent survey, majority of CSMs said they'd recommend the certification to a friend. More than 70% said they took the course to career progress. Certified ScrumMaster is the certification to earn if you want to help coach teams be more adept at responding to change and adapting to complex and ever changing needs.

What is an Agile Testing?

Agile testing is software testing. It includes the best practices of Agile development. It consists of an incremental approach to testing. Features are tested as they are developed.

 

Agile Testing methodology is continuous. It is not sequential. As we have seen,it is a testing practice with the rules and principles of agile software development. It differs from the Waterfall method, Agile Testing can begin at the start of the project.You can do continuous integration between development and testing, later.

 

The Agile methodology involves testing early in the software development lifecycle. It demands top customer involvement and testing code as it becomes available. The code should be stable enough to get itself to system testing. You can do extensive regression testing to make sure that the bugs are fixed and tested.

 

Agile test strategy supports DevOps.Continuous testing is prime to product quality.

 

In Agile methodology, testing should happen early. It happens as features are added.

 

Tests are prioritized like user stories. Testers aim to do as many tests as they can in an iteration. Automated testing tools are available to testers to ward off the backlog.

 

For Agile testers and developers, communication and collaboration are of prime importance.

 

As a developer, you have to use Agile testing methods like TDD (test-driven development) to write the test first. Then you write a code that the test will verify. Developers and testers should collaborate before user stories are set. Agile testers should start testing as developers write code.



In Agile methodology, the definition of done is a shared, standardized understanding among the team that a particular user story has been completed. The acceptance criteria in a user story are what will help drive the definition of done. If the user story passes the acceptance criteria, it is considered done.

 

The testers and developers know what has been tested. They know the defects still need to be resolved.

 

When you create a user story, you need to define the acceptance criteria. Then test and validate them, irrespective of which methodology, Scrum, XP, or Kanban, you use.

 

Test Strategy

 

A well-documented test plan is not available in Agile development. Agile testers need to be flexible. They should be ready to respond to changes in requirements.

 

There needs to be a test strategy rather than a plan.

 

You may outline the strategy in a document, create a test matrix, or use a Kanban board.  

Your strategy should include:

  • Purpose

  • Objectives

  • Scope

  • Methods

 Test strategy is easy when you use the right  tools such as Helix ALM.

Here’s how you create an Agile test strategy in Helix AL:

 

Testing Methods 

 

1. Test-Driven

 

Test-driven development (TDD) begins when you discuss what you want to test and create a user story. You start by writing a unit test. Then you write the user story. You write the code until the unit test passes.

 

TDD is typically used on unit and component tests. It makes sure the features are working as they ought to be.

 

2. Acceptance Test-Driven

 

Acceptance test-driven development (ATDD) begins with customer input on functionality. It begins by discussing the use of the product. You write a user acceptance test (UAT). Then you write the code until it passes the test.

 

It is used for acceptance tests. It verifies that the product does its job as users would expect.

 

3. Behavior Driven

 

In behavior-driven development (BDD), the purpose of development is tied to a business outcome. You’ll have a user story, which needs to answer why the feature is developed. Tests are included in user stories as scenarios or specifications.

 

It is also used for acceptance tests. It verifies that the product functions are necessary for the desired business outcome.

 

4. Exploratory

 

Exploratory testing allows testers to follow their intuition. It’s manual. You record what you’re doing and save it as a test. You figure out what exactly it is that you’re testing as you proceed.

 

It is used to find hidden risks within a product, like bugs missed in functional tests in TDD.

 

5. Session Based

 

It is similar to exploratory. There’s  little more structure. Instead of figuring out what you taste as you proceed, you start with a mission in mind. It is used to find hidden bugs.

 

Test Plan

 

The Agile test plan includes the types of testing done in that iteration. They are test data requirements, infrastructure, test environment, and test results. Unlike the waterfall model, a test plan is written.It is updated for every release in the Agile model. Typical test plans in Agile include:


         Testing Scope

  • New functionalities being tested

  • Level or Types of testing based on features

  • Load and Performance Testing

  • Infrastructure Consideration

  • Mitigation or Risks Plan

  • Resourcing

  • Deliverables and Milestones

 Benefits 

 

There are five benefits of Agile Test Methodology

 

1. Agile testing improves product quality. It enables development teams to release software in shorter cycles. Effective test case management will help you.

2. Find and fix errors faster. Lowers the risk of finding a bug at the end.

3. Makes customers happy by delivering regular releases.

4. Managing the scope of each release helps prioritize features for each iteration. You can deliver the most important ones first.

5. The future of development is Agile.

 


 

© Ramachandran 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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