8.3.1 - Activity Description
Enroll to start learning
Youβve not yet enrolled in this course. Please enroll for free to listen to audio lessons, classroom podcasts and take practice test.
Interactive Audio Lesson
Listen to a student-teacher conversation explaining the topic in a relatable way.
Key Principles of Agile Testing
π Unlock Audio Lesson
Sign up and enroll to listen to this audio lesson
Let's start with the key principles of Agile Testing. The first principle is that testing is early and continuous. Can anyone explain what this means?
It means that we don't wait until the software is fully developed to start testing.
Exactly! By testing early, we can find issues sooner. What about the next principleβcollaborative work between QA and developers?
It means they work together throughout the entire development process instead of in separate phases.
Correct! Collaboration ensures that everyone is aligned on quality. Remember the acronym 'EARLY' to recall these principles: E for early testing, A for automation, R for responsibility shared, L for less documentation focused on working software, Y for yes to collaboration.
That's a good way to remember it!
Letβs summarizeβAgile Testing emphasizes early detection, collaboration, and shared responsibilities in delivering quality.
QA Roles in Scrum Ceremonies
π Unlock Audio Lesson
Sign up and enroll to listen to this audio lesson
Now, moving on to QA's role in Scrum ceremonies. What do you think QA does during Sprint Planning?
QA reviews user stories and helps clarify acceptance criteria, right?
Exactly! They ensure stories are testable. Can anyone tell me about the Daily Stand-ups?
QA shares their progress and any blockers they're facing.
Correct! This ensures everyone is on the same page. How about Backlog Grooming?
QA analyzes stories to find edge cases and suggest test cases?
That's right! QA plays a critical role in preparing the backlog for testing. In summary, during each Scrum ceremony, QA ensures clarity, progress tracking, and risk management.
Sprint Testing Activities
π Unlock Audio Lesson
Sign up and enroll to listen to this audio lesson
Let's discuss Sprint Testing Activities. What does planning entail for QA?
QA plans the test cases based on the complexities of the user stories.
Exactly! They design functional, boundary, and negative test cases. How about during test execution?
QA starts testing as soon as a story is ready, right?
Correct! They log bugs in real-time. Remember, to keep track of regression testing, they identify impacted areas. Letβs recap: QA is involved in planning, execution, and thorough reporting.
Continuous Feedback & Automation
π Unlock Audio Lesson
Sign up and enroll to listen to this audio lesson
Next, we need to understand Continuous Feedback and Automation. Why is frequent feedback crucial?
It helps the development team make changes quickly based on QA's input.
Exactly! This leads to improved quality. Can anyone discuss the role of CI/CD in this process?
CI/CD allows developers to run tests automatically on every code push.
Correct! Automation supports regression and smoke tests as well. To summarize: Continuous feedback loops boost efficiency and quality in Agile.
Exploratory Testing
π Unlock Audio Lesson
Sign up and enroll to listen to this audio lesson
Lastly, letβs talk about Exploratory Testing. What makes this technique valuable in Agile?
It uncovers bugs that scripts might miss, especially in frequent builds.
Correct! It also helps identify usability issues. Whatβs one strategy to use during exploratory testing?
Using charter-based sessions, like exploring a checkout flow.
Great point! And remember, combining exploratory testing with scripted tests enhances overall quality. Letβs recap: Exploratory testing enhances QAβs ability to find critical usability issues quickly.
Introduction & Overview
Read summaries of the section's main ideas at different levels of detail.
Quick Overview
Standard
Agile testing involves continuous and early testing with QA engagement from the start of each sprint. The QA role collaborates closely with developers and focuses on automation, feedback, and shared responsibility to ensure quality throughout the development process.
Detailed
Activity Description
In Agile methodologies, testing is not a distinct phase at the end of development; rather, it is an integral part of every sprint. Quality Assurance (QA) practitioners are involved from the inception of the development process, participating in all key Scrum ceremonies and ensuring that quality remains a priority throughout. The fundamental principles include:
Key Principles of Agile Testing:
- Early and Continuous Testing: Testing is embedded within all development phases.
- Collaboration with Developers: QA works side-by-side with developers, promoting a shared ownership of quality.
- Focus on Automation: Developers and testers leverage automation to increase efficiency and speed in running tests.
- Emphasis on Working Software: Agile values working software over extensive documentation, ensuring that results provide functional quality.
- Shared Responsibility: Quality is a team responsibility, requiring all team members to contribute towards achieving high standards.
QA Role in Scrum Ceremonies
- Sprint Planning: QA clarifies user stories, estimates testing effort, and identifies risks.
- Daily Stand-ups: QA reports progress and blockers, ensuring the test readiness aligns with development pace.
- Backlog Grooming: QA identifies edge cases and suggests test cases based on analysis.
- Sprint Review: QA validates features before the demo, contributing to product quality feedback.
- Sprint Retrospective: QA provides insights for process improvement.
Sprint Testing Activities
QA tests stories in parallel with development, performing various activities such as test planning, design, execution, reporting, regression testing, and closure activities.
Continuous Feedback & Automation
Frequent feedback is crucial in Agile. CI/CD practices allow QA to run tests promptly with automation. The goal is to ensure that testing is part of the definition of done for each story.
Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing is a crucial part of the QA process in Agile, aiding in uncovering potential bugs that scripted tests may miss. QA testers have the freedom to explore the application dynamically while documenting their findings, ensuring usability and functionality is at the forefront of quality assurance.
In summary, the QA role in Agile is transformative, emphasizing collaboration and proactive engagement in refining both products and processes.
Audio Book
Dive deep into the subject with an immersive audiobook experience.
Test Planning
Chapter 1 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Test Based on sprint backlog and story complexity
Detailed Explanation
In test planning, testers should develop their testing strategies based on the sprint backlog and the complexity of the stories. This means that before any testing begins, the team must understand what stories they need to test, what the requirements are, and how complicated the tasks may be. This ensures that they can allocate resources and time effectively to address the needs of each story in the sprint.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine planning a road trip. Before you start, you look at the route (sprint backlog) and consider the distance and terrain (story complexity). You decide how much fuel (resources) you need and which car (start testing) is best suited for the journey based on these factors.
Test Case Design
Chapter 2 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Test Case Functional + boundary + negative test cases
Detailed Explanation
During the design of test cases, QA must create a mixture of functional tests, boundary tests, and negative tests. Functional tests check if the software behaves as expected under normal circumstances. Boundary tests examine the limits of the input domain, and negative tests ensure that the software handles incorrect inputs gracefully. This diverse testing strategy ensures robust software by covering various scenarios.
Examples & Analogies
Think of a vending machine. A functional test would check whether it dispenses the correct drink for the right amount of money (functions), a boundary test would check what happens if you insert just one cent too little (boundaries), and a negative test would involve trying to press buttons that do not exist to see if the machine crashes (negative scenarios).
Test Execution
Chapter 3 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Test Start as soon as a story is ready (shift-left)
Detailed Explanation
Testing should begin as soon as a user story is deemed ready. This 'shift-left' approach moves testing earlier in the development process, allowing for earlier detection and resolution of issues. Starting testing early means that any problems can be identified before they propagate into later stages of development, leading to more efficient workflows and less rework.
Examples & Analogies
Consider a student studying for an exam. If they start reviewing their material the week before (early testing), they can detect and address misunderstandings. However, if they wait until the night before (late testing), they may have many topics to clarify and limited time to fix gaps in their knowledge.
Bug Reporting
Chapter 4 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Bug Log in real-time with clear reproduction steps
Detailed Explanation
When defects are found, they should be logged in real-time, meaning that as soon as a bug is identified during testing, it is documented immediately. This report must include clear reproduction steps, allowing developers to replicate the issue easily. Clear communication regarding bugs is essential for effective resolution and helps to ensure high-quality software.
Examples & Analogies
Think of it as the customer service process in a restaurant. If a diner finds a hair in their food, they should report it immediately (real-time logging) and explain exactly where they found it and what the dish was (clear reproduction steps). This allows the restaurant staff to respond quickly and address the issue effectively.
Regression Testing
Chapter 5 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Regression Use automation or fast manual passes for impacted areas
Detailed Explanation
Regression testing involves re-running previous tests to ensure that new code changes haven't introduced new bugs elsewhere in the software. Automation can be utilized for efficient regression testing, especially for testing impacted areas, allowing testers to quickly validate that existing functionalities still work as designed.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine you have a carefully stacked set of boxes in a warehouse. If you add a new box on top (new code change), you need to check if any of the boxes below have shifted or fallen (introduced bugs). Using an automated system to monitor the stability of the stack can help ensure everything remains intact.
Test Closure and Reporting
Chapter 6 of 6
π Unlock Audio Chapter
Sign up and enroll to access the full audio experience
Chapter Content
- Test Update RTM, test summary, or status dashboard
Detailed Explanation
In the closure phase of testing, updates need to be made to the Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM), test summaries, and status dashboards. This helps track what testing has been completed, what is still pending, and how well the project is aligning with its quality goals. Clear documentation during this phase aids continuous improvement and accountability.
Examples & Analogies
Think of it like a project manager closing out a project. They review the project timeline (RTM) to see what was completed, summarize the findings for stakeholders (test summary), and update everyone involved on the status of deliverables (status dashboard). This ensures everyone is aligned on the project's outcomes.
Key Concepts
-
Agile Testing: An integrated approach to testing throughout the entire Agile development cycle.
-
Shared Responsibility: Quality assurance is a collective responsibility of the entire development team.
-
Continuous Feedback: Agile emphasizes rapid and ongoing feedback to improve quality and enhance agility.
Examples & Applications
In Agile, during sprint planning, QA ensures that user stories are testable by clarifying acceptance criteria.
QA reviews each feature's readiness before it is demonstrated during the sprint review, ensuring high quality.
Memory Aids
Interactive tools to help you remember key concepts
Rhymes
In Agile, we test all the time, to catch the bugs before they climb.
Stories
Imagine a team working on a spaceship. Every day during construction, they test parts as they build. This ensures that when it's time to fly, everything works smoothlyβjust like Agile teams do.
Memory Tools
Remember 'EARLY' for Agile Testing: E for Early Testing, A for Automation, R for Responsibility shared, L for Less documentation, and Y for Yes to collaboration.
Acronyms
QA
Quality Always.
Flash Cards
Glossary
- QA
Quality Assurance, a role responsible for ensuring the quality of deliverables.
- Sprint
A time-boxed period in which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review.
- CI/CD
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment, practices that automate code integration and deployment processes.
- Exploratory Testing
A testing practice where testers explore the application to find defects without predefined test cases.
- User Stories
Short, simple descriptions of a feature from the perspective of the end-user.
- Retrospective
A meeting held at the end of a sprint to reflect on what went well and what could be improved.
Reference links
Supplementary resources to enhance your learning experience.