Introduction to Agile Testing
Agile testing is a software testing process. It follows the principle of Agile software development. It is a connected development methodology as development and testing activities run parallel here. The development is aligned with the changing requirements of the customers. Agile testing is a continuous process. All the members of the project are involved in this. Testing is not a separate phase, rather it is done together with coding, as a result, the end product is of high quality, meeting the customer requirements. The testing begins at the start of the project and there is an alliance between testing and development. The main objective of the agile team is to achieve quality. The time frames of agile testing are short (1 to 4 weeks) and named Iterations. Testing is done in parallel to the development of an iterative model.
Principles of Agile Testing
1. Continuous: It provides feedback on a continuous basis, on an ongoing basis, so the products meet the needs of the business.
2. Teamwork: In other software, the test team is responsible for testing but in agile testing, along with the test team, the developers and the business analysts are equally involved in the testing.
3. Time of Feedback Response: Since the business team is involved in agile testing, the feedback is fast and continuous and so the time of feedback response is very short.
4. Clean and Simplified Code: The defects found by the agile team are corrected within the same iteration and thus the code is kept clean and simplified.
5. Undertaking Tests: Here testing is done at the time of implementation whereas in other processes testing is performed after implementation.
6. Lightweight Documents: Agile testers use reusable checklists to decide on tests to be taken. The documents can be used for several purposes and the tools used are also light.
7. Test-Driven Development: Here development is driven by testing. Test cases are written according to the requirements, so this approach is called Test Driven Development (TDD). In the Waterfall testing software, testing is done in the last phase.
Values of Agile Testing
- Individuals and communication are chosen over strict processes and tools. Procedures and tools are not neglected in agile testing, instead, it is built upon reasonable, strong processes and tools and these tools are leveraged also. The rule here is that testers drive the tools and the output depends upon the testers and not the other way round.
- The choice made in agile testing is functional and usable software over unusable and comprehensive documentation. The main goal here is the actual testing rather than elaborate documents whose only objective is pointing towards the goal. The documents are definitely present if a member decides to leave.
- Customer participation is the secret here. The client is always kept involved and is in touch with the progress of the project. It means that the client needs to have regular meetings throughout the project rather than have the project being directly delivered once it is completed. This sure is extra work but it is definitely better than working in the wrong direction.
Any required changes are accepted and implemented. Though the project follows a plan it is readily altered whenever the situation changes. So one does not have to wait until the end to find out about the changed scenario and have the project dismissed because of the changed requirement.
Agile Testing Methods
There are various agile testing methods like:
1. Behavior Driven Development (BDD)
Behavior-driven development improves communication so that all the members understand each feature before the process starts. Developers, analysts, and testers are in continuous communication.
2. Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD)
The main object here is to involve all the team members, i.e. customer, tester, and developer as all three have different perspectives. The customer focuses on the problem to be solved, the developer focuses on how it will be solved and the tester’s objective is to see what could go wrong. These are called Acceptance tests where perspectives of all three are incorporated, describing how the system will function.
3. Exploratory Testing.
In such testing, the test design and its execution go hand in hand. Emphasis is given on working software over documentation. Individuals and communication are more important than processes and tools. Exploratory tests are more adaptable to changes. The test plans are designed and executed according to the findings of the testers.
Test Plan
In agile testing, a test plan is written and updated each time. It includes:
- Scope of testing
- New functionalities that are being tested
- Level or types of testing
- Performance and load testing
- Considering the infrastructure
- Relief plan
- Planning resources
- Deliverables and milestones
Phases of Agile Testing Lifecycle
There are 5 phases of the Agile Testing Lifecycle:
- Impact assessment means gathering inputs from stakeholders and users which will act as feedback for the next development cycle.
- Agile test planning where all the stakeholders come together to plan the testing process, meetings, and deliverables.
- Release readiness, a stage where it is decided whether the features that have been developed are ready to go live or not.
- Daily scrums which include an everyday standing morning meeting to catch up on the status of the testing and set up goals for the day.
- Agility review where weekly review meetings with stakeholders are held to check up on the progress.
Benefits of Agile Testing
Agile testing has its own benefits. It is both time and money-saving software as it reduces documentation and is very flexible and adaptable to the continuous changes in the business. Regular feedback is received from the actual use so that when it reaches the final stage there is the least possibility of the user not being aware of the process.
Agile testing is the perfect software for early detection of defects and as the problems are fixed early, the cost of fixing is also reduced. The final product is customer-centric and of high quality. Continuous communication between the teams makes agile testing a success.
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