Traditional methods for test management have always taken a long time to release the products. They were hectic and were full of risks.
Some issues that might cause software testing to become a bottleneck in the development pipeline and ultimately impede the overall growth of the organization are rigidity, delayed upgrades, and slow time-to-market.
Nowadays complex softwares is in demand and they have rapidly changing requirements as well. To cope up with all these issues, agile methodologies can be your right hand to have successful project management.
Lets know more about the agile methodologies to change the game of your test management.
What is Agile?
Agile is a project management methodology that emphasizes incremental and iterative phases toward project completion.
The incremental portions of a project are completed in short development cycles. The strategy promotes speedy delivery, adaptability, and cooperation above top-down management and rigid planning.
The Agile approach provides constant feedback, enabling team members to respond to difficulties as they emerge and stakeholders to communicate consistently.
Though the Agile approach was originally developed for software development, it is now extensively employed across a variety of project types and organizational management.
Compare this to any typical project management method. Traditional project management follows a straight progression from planning to designing, implementing, and closing.
What is Agile Methodology?
Agile is a way of thinking about how projects are completed rather than a methodology in and of itself. Agile methodology fails to define which methods and tools should be used, hence it is not regarded as a methodology.
But agile is a catch-all word for a variety of management approaches. Extreme Programming (XP), Scrum, and Kanban are regarded as distinct Agile approaches.
Agile Frameworks
Scrum is the most used framework of agile, but there are many others in use now. Here are the most commonly used agile frameworks;
- Scrum
- Extreme Programming (XP)
- Dynamic System Development Method (DDSM)
- Feature-driven development (FDD)
- Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
- The Crystal Method
- Lean Software Development (LSD)
- Disciplined Agile (DA
- Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
- Rapid application development (RAD)
Principles of Agile Test Management
Agile testing is guided by eight fundamental principles:
Continuous testing:
To ensure that the product is always improving, agile teams run tests on a regular basis. Testing and development work hand in hand.
Constant feedback:
Team members receive constant feedback from testers. Rather than requirements, members frequently get comments on quality.
testing the program with the entire team—developers, business analysts, and testers included.
Fast feedback:
continual feedback shortens the time it takes to receive input on development activities, and the business team is involved in every iteration.
High-quality software:
Teams test the program to make sure the code is clear and concise. Software vulnerabilities and problems can be quickly found and repaired in the same cycle as they evolve with regular testing.
Less Documentation
Teams employ reusable checklists, so there is less paperwork. Agile development prioritizes the demands of the client over thorough, recorded criteria and guidelines.
Test-driven
Unlike with traditional testing methods, which evaluate the product after it has been implemented, test-driven methods evaluate the product while it is being implemented.
Customer Satisfaction
During product development, customers are exposed to the product. With the advancement of development, they might modify and update requirements. Tests can be changed to reflect new specifications.
Now you must be wondering about the challenges that development and QA testing teams usually face during project management that can be resolved with the help of agile methodologies.
Challenges in Test Management
There are different challenges faced by the teams during testing and project management. Here are those challenges;
- Inadequate Coverage
- Changing Requirements
- Slow Feedback Mechanism
- Improper Planning for Cross Browser Testing
- Failure to Integrate Automation
Agile Test Management– Solution To Test Management Challenges
Agile testing can help get over the traditional testing challenges. For that it is divided into four quadrants. Here are those for quadrants
| Quadrant 1 | Quadrant 2 | Quadrant 3 | Quadrant 4 |
| This quadrant, referred to as technology-facing, focuses on tests used to check code and provide technical support to the team. Unit tests, component tests, API tests, and web services testing are all intended to improve the product. In terms of testing practices, this quadrant is most closely related to continuous integration and automated testing. | The second area of focus is on tests that are directed towards the business, like narrative tests, prototypes, simulations, and functional testing, which make sure the product satisfies requirements and business goals. It generally accepts both human and automated testing procedures. | Another commercial sector, supports tests that aid in evaluating the product and identifying its shortcomings. These consist of acceptability testing, alpha/beta testing, exploratory testing, and usability testing. Manual testing is the method employed in Q3. | Tests that use technology and are intended to assess the product are included in the fourth quadrant. The majority of the time, automated tests are used to make sure the product meets non-functional requirements and works as intended. These tests include load, stress, efficiency, scalability, reliability, compatibility, connectivity, recovery, and security testing. |
Common Methodologies for Agile Test Management
Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing entails learning, discovering, and exploring, as the name suggests. In order to identify any edge cases and determine what needs to be modified, testers investigate the program.
To determine what has to be updated and fixed, they put themselves into the shoes of the people who will use the program.
The process of exploratory testing is cyclical, beginning with test design and continuing through test execution, analysis, and learning before repeating the cycle once more.
No preset set of instructions or scripts exist. To investigate and upgrade the product, the agile tester depends on their abilities.
Test-Driven Development for Acceptance
Collaborative testing which brings along team members with different perspectives is known as acceptance-driven development. Create acceptance tests that accurately reflect the viewpoint of the user, developers, testers, and customers working together.
They can learn more about the expectations of customers and how the product will be utilized as a result. It’s the most effective approach to guarantee that all team members have a common grasp of the actual project they’re working on.
Behavior-Driven Development
(TDD) and (ATDD) are processes that are improved upon by behavior-driven development. By taking these five fundamental actions, it enhances TDD and ATDD:
- Start with user stories.
- Make your BDD situation automatic.
- Put the features into practice.
- To demonstrate that the feature is finished, execute the automated BDD scenarios.
- Repeat.
Integration Testing
A software project typically consists of multiple software modules written by various developers. Despite the fact that each program module is tested, errors may still occur due to insufficient handling of exceptions or developer errors.
The process of integrating and testing these separate components together is known as integration testing. This kind of testing seeks to identify mistakes in the way integrated modules interact with one another.
Utilizing Test Management Tools
Agile testing brings on the use of test management tools like Kualitee, testFlo etc. These tools are helpful in streamlining the processes like project management and defect management of the product during the developmental cycle. These tools help teams to achieve greater flexibility and better execution.
Benefits of Agile Methodologies in Test Management
Using agile methodologies for the test management has the following benefits;
Pay Attention to Customer Value
Agile prioritizes meeting the needs and preferences of its consumers in order to deliver value. By breaking work down into tiny, manageable tasks, agile ensures that the most critical features are generated first and because iterative improvements are motivated by customer input.
Enhanced Motivation and Team Morale
Agile allows teams to take ownership of their work and make decisions collectively. When team members have this authority alongside a focus on adding value and continuous improvement, they feel inspired, proud, and owned.
Collaboration Among Stakeholders:
Agile development methodology fosters close collaboration among product managers, developers, and additional stakeholders throughout the entire process.
This relationship fosters improved communication, a shared knowledge of the goals, and continuous feedback, which results in higher-quality output and increased stakeholder satisfaction.
Early and Constant Delivery:
Agile promotes small, incremental product releases. This enables early feedback and verification for stakeholders and provides early access to visible progress.
Continuous delivery lowers risks by identifying issues early and taking corrective action.
Bottom Line!
Traditional testing has led to many challenges for testers. Transforming the whole testing process and taking steps towards agile methodology can be a great decision for testers. Agile testing methodologies and tools have made the testing processes smooth and easier.
So go for agile testing methodologies and have smooth testing.
