The Success of Agile Testing

In the early days of Agile, there was a lot of talk that testers were surplus to requirements. Since those early days, most agree the benefits of having a tester on board are enormous. Here's a few tips on how to make agile testing a success:

Check Early – To get the most out of agile, you have to check early. This means getting features to the tester as early as possible. The longer defects wait in the code, the harder and more costly they will be to remove.

Regression – The key to agile is iteration. However, this does increase the risk of introducing defects to existing features. With this in mind it is essential to keep regression scripts up-to-date. Run extensive regression testing to make sure you don't miss bugs during the ongoing testing method.

Test from an End User Point of View – It’s critical that testers and developers know how the end user plans to use the product. This means having quality stories with customer relevant material, and then sharing those stories with all parties involved.

Communicate – Having good communication is essential for a successful agile team. All involved should work closely together to get the most from testing.

Automate – Only automate features that will give you financial pay back. Repeatedly testing the same case over and over is a waste resources. Locating new defects is far more valuable for any tester.

These are a few tips to get the most from testing in an agile development environment. Three cheers for the tester. Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray

Ray