The Scrum Master Tester

I've read countless articles about the changing role of the tester within an agile environment. Most suggest the analytical skills of a tester should be used more to help define user story requirements. I've even read elsewhere that testers should become more technical and fix defects as and when they find them!

However, there are some hidden qualities testers posses that agile development can utilise and benefit from even more. Let me explain...

Most roles within scrum are clearly defined: product owners, developers and even testers etc..., but what about the role of scrum master?

Without a dedicated project manager stepping into the realm (especially in small teams), this appears to a bit part role that is passed around like 'pass the parcel' hoping to find the most suitable team member fit for the job. The role itself ends up being a hybrid position split between normal day to day and scrum master duties. If this is the case, I believe the tester is most obvious choice.

 In a recent management profile assessment at my place of work, not surprisingly the results showed that 4 out of 5 testers work preferences were that of a Thruster-Organizer (someone who organizes and implements, quick to decide, results-oriented, sets up systems and analytical). These preferences/qualities make testers the ideal candidates for the position.

The advantage of a test focused scrum master is their drive to ensure development tasks are completed with enough time to test during the sprint. All too often, testing is squeezed in at the end and sometimes carried over to the next sprint (which contradicts the definition of 'done'). The tester can easily identify these sprint risks and as the scrum master take the appropriate actions.

As a tester currently holding this hybrid position, I can tell you at first it was not easy. I felt like I'd bitten off more than I could chew and I admit sometimes there were conflicts of interest regarding QA versus delivery. However, once settled I started to realise, no longer was I the last one to know and no longer was the code thrown over the fence. Now I am the first to know and the code is delivered on time without any surprises.

We all know Agile leans towards test driven development and what improvements this can make to the quality process. So imagine going one step further and having a test driven sprint and you start to get the picture!

And to think, some say there's no place for a tester in Agile.