A Comprehensive Agile Testing Methodology for Effective Software Development

Software testing plays a crucial role in the agile software development environment. Agile testers act as a bridge between product owners/stakeholders and developers and thus work collaboratively. Through this, an ongoing feedback loop is formed, which improves the quality of a software product or application methodically and consistently. This article will teach you the strategic importance of agile testing methodology in a software development environment.

What Is an Agile Testing Methodology?

It is a software testing process that works on the principles laid down by agile software development. The iterative development methodology aligns with the agile testing methodology, where the customer requirements are focused on and worked accordingly. Agile testing methodologies adopt a continual approach. The testing is initiated in the initial stages of the project development. There is continual interaction between the product owner, developers, testers, and other key members to ensure a good quality software product or application is being built.

Principles of Agile Methodology

1. The whole team is involved in testing: When the agile methodology is used for testing, the entire team, along with business analysts/product owners, is involved in testing the application. 

2. Adopting a continuous feedback approach: The product feedback is provided by agile testing on an ongoing basis to make sure that the product is built according to the business needs

3. The value of continuous testing: Agile teams are entitled to test continuously to make sure that the product is being refined and is eventually evolving into a good quality product

4. Code is simplified: The agile team identifies the defects, and these defects are fixed within the same iteration so that the code can be kept simple and clean

5. The relevance of test-driven environment: When the agile methodology is used in testing, it is conducted at the time of implementation. In the traditional software testing process, the testing is conducted after implementation.

6. The feedback response time is shortened: As continuous feedback is provided with each iteration in agile methodology for testing, the feedback response time is shortened. 

7. Less documentation is required: A reusable checklist is used by agile teams, and hence less documentation is required.

Agile Testing Methods

Following are the three required agile testing methods:

1. Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD): In this method, team members such as the tester, developer, and customer with different opinions are involved. Acceptance tests are formulated by conducting meetings to incorporate the developers’, testers’, and customers’ perspectives. The customer wants to know whether the testing approach can solve the problem. The developer is focused on ensuring specific ways to solve the problem, and the tester is focused on identifying possible errors and defects and rectifying them.

The user’s point of view plays a crucial role in acceptance tests as it gives a specific idea of how a particular product or application will function. The system functions are also verified as it supposed to be.

2. Behavior Driven Development (BDD): This agile testing method ensures that proper communication occurs among project stakeholders so that each feature is adequately understood before the development process begins. There is continual communication between business analysts, testers, and developers.

The examples in BDD are called ‘scenarios’ and are written in a specific format known as Gherkin’s Given/When/Then syntax. How a feature should behave in different situations is explained by scenarios, also considering the various input parameters. These are called “Executable specifications” as they consist of inputs and specifications to the automated tests.

3. Exploratory testing: In this method, the test execution phase and test design are carried out simultaneously. It focuses on the working of the software. Rather than tools and processes, interactions and individuals are considered to be more critical. Customer collaboration is given more importance than contract negotiation. The application is explored to identify the application’s functionality. Based on the findings, the testers will learn the application, and the test plans will be designed and executed accordingly. 

The Constructive Impact of Using Agile Methodologies for Testing

Conducting software testing methodologies in agile is where software testing is embedded in the development process. Software developers are trained so that tests can be written alongside or before the code they write. Each program’s subsystem is encapsulated into a set of unit tests to ensure that it performs as per the required expectations. Through this, the problems can be identified and isolated over a while.

As small incremental pieces of functionality are completed, testers can perform tests. Closer collaboration and shorter feedback loops help in identifying the issues at a faster pace. Through this, problems can be easily fixed by developers. Additional training can be imparted to testers working in an agile environment to effectively write and execute automated tests against the application programming interfaces and user interface.

The agile methodology for testing has gained prominence among most organizations. Developers and testers collaborate and work together right from the early stages of software development to build a better quality software product. Test automation in agile is another essential spectrum for improved productivity. 

Essential Tips That Can Optimize the Performance of Agile Testing Methodology in a Software Development Environment

1. Embrace changes: Agile focuses on accepting changes as and when required. Team members working in an agile environment should be flexible enough to adopt changes.

2. Leverage the whole team to get involved in agile testing: End-to-end test automation plays a crucial role in agile testing. Testers collaborate with other team specialists, customer teams, and programmers for testing tasks and other testing-related tasks such as designing for testability and building infrastructure, etc. 

3. Stakeholders to be involved: The agile testing team should create high-level test scenarios to develop the best quality product. Testers, programmers, business development professionals, and product owners also provide input.       

4. Daily strategic meetings are encouraged: Teams involved in daily discussions will help ensure that the goals are progressively met, priorities become transparent, and alignment is improved. Teamwork is generally leveraged through a concept called ‘Scrum,’ an agile test framework.

If you are looking forward to implementing agile testing for your specific project, get connected with a globally renowned software testing services company that will provide you with a structured and proven testing strategy that aligns with your project-specific requirements.