How to Maximize the Benefits of Agile Testing

For years, good testers were urging their Project Managers to build plans that allowed them to test early and test often. Agile delivery forces that model and so problems can be found and remedied quicker, moving the project to faster completion. Involving testers in the entire project leads to a new level of synergy that can deliver software products with a high level of quality.

The function of a software tester in an Agile environment goes beyond "simply testing" and logging the bugs. It is more about acting as part of a development team and working closely with the product owner. The tester deals with everyone in the team in order to enhance and increase the quality of the product as early as possible.

Here are 5 important tips you should keep in mind while testing in an Agile environment.

Fully Understand the Architecture of the Product

Simply put, this means understanding exactly how information flows in an application. This allows us to test the effect of sub-system component failures. As a result, when issues are found, an Agile tester will have the ability to help developers fix the issues quickly and completely.

Increased & Better Communications

Testers are critical team members. A tester interacts with teammates a great deal more in an Agile environment. Good Agile testers are extremely communicative within the team and have to engage as much as possible with the rest of the team to keep them notified of good practice and of any bugs that are found. It's constantly essential to talk with PO's to deal with any misunderstandings on new stories and never leave concerns unanswered. The acceptance criteria need to be clear and complete in order to guarantee the feature or user story delivers what is wanted. Likewise, talking with developers is essential when it concerns improving the testability of any feature, particularly those where testing is automated.

Implement Automation for Regression Testing

Use automation tools for regression testing in Agile. The reason it's so crucial to automate tests is that the iterative nature of Agile development means we need to execute the regressions tests tens, if not hundreds, of times. The number of system test cases will continue to rise with each sprint and manual testing alone makes it hard for testers to keep up with the cadence of the team.

Manual testers can put their energy into testing new features areas of functionality where a human touch is essential. It is entirely necessary to complete a cost benefit analysis to determine if a test or set of tests is worth automating, but if it is, automate well and automate early to get the most benefit. Using a platform like Odin’s Axe will ensure automation is efficient and robust.

Smart Use of Browser Tools when Testing

In addition to application logs, the browser-based tools are extremely crucial for SDETs, developers and Agile testers to be able to identify and fix flaws rapidly. Two examples of user-friendly web browser tools are Firebug in Firefox and Developer Tools in Chrome. Tools such as these give value in the form of metrics, mistakes, analysis, JavaScript consoles, and debuggers. These are just basic ones, built right into your browser. However, there is an extensive list of such tools. 

Look at Each Step from the Customer's Perspective

Understanding the business and typical user behaviour allows testing to be end user focussed - despite the fact that an end user might use the product in a manner which you never thought practical, wise and even sane. Testing from the consumer viewpoint goes a step further to state that the condition or usability of the product for use by the end user is the primary requirement of quality. As without consumers, there is no product. Good Agile testers maintain deal with QA from the users’ perspective.

Software testing can be very successful in an Agile environment and far more efficient than in a conventional waterfall method. This leads to high quality products – which everyone wants.

Besides, increased and improved teamwork simply makes everyone's job more enjoyable.

For help with testing within Agile projects, contact nFocus Testing.