Principles of Agile software testing
To accommodate the pace of Agile development, QA staff must adopt a different approach to testing. The characteristics of Agile software development include:
- Continuous testing. Agile software testing takes place throughout the development lifecycle, rather than at the end of it.
- A team effort. In Agile methodology, testing is no longer the sole responsibility of a testing team. Rather, multiple parties are involved in testing – including developers and business analysts who have the clearest understanding of business requirements.
- Ongoing feedback. As a result of continuous testing, developers receive feedback continuously throughout the development lifecycle. Because the business team is involved in testing for each iteration rather than providing feedback in the user acceptance phase, developers get feedback on requirements far earlier in the process. As a result, they can address defects and performance issues earlier when it is easier and more cost-efficient to fix things.
- Cleaner code. By fixing defects within a single iteration, developers can keep the code base cleaner and simplified.
- Greater collaboration. Agile testers are in constant communication with developers as well as customers as they focus on helping to create the best possible product that meets the customer’s needs.