How to move from traditional testing to agile

Agile testing is the order of the day and many testers are switching from traditional Agile testing practice. In this context, it is needed to say that, business requirements for Agile testing practice are different from that of their traditional counterparts. Agile methods are considered healthier by modern testers. Also, the test cases that are prepared for agile testing are quite different from the traditional testing.

Why you need to shift from traditional to agile testing?

One of the advantages of agile testing is that it focuses on automation. In this regard, Agile testing practice includes automated acceptance tests. It also creates regression test plans as part of the continuous integration associated with software development.

It is evident that traditional testers are very much dependent on documents. On the contrary agile testers do not use too many documents. Neither do they had to write lengthy test cases. In short, it can be said that agile testers work is very much reduced in agile testing methodology. Agile testers need to be communicative and they require gathering information pertaining to their tasks through verbal, virtual or written communication.

Enterprises discover the various challenges associated with traditional testing. These incorporate delay in writing test cases which causes a corresponding delay in software development. Often defects are found later and then making changes in the design and development of software becomes a bit complicated.

Traditional testing practice is quite rigid and so an alteration in business requirements affect previously developed test cases. Also, there are risks associated with the communication process involved in the traditional practice. Most importantly, product quality is adversely affected if the product is scheduled to be delivered within a fixed release date.

These disadvantages associated with traditional testing are removed with agile testing. Unlike traditional, agile allows the testers to get rid of any ambiguity at the correct moment. Moreover, it enables early detection of technical or testing challenges, dependencies and roadblocks. If there are any changes then the same are considered healthy so far as software development is concerned and are included to develop efficient systems. If you are shunning the concept of traditional testing and embracing agile counterpart, then you can observe, that effective team collaboration helps team members to work together and attain a common objective. Most importantly in agile testing, quality matters the most and acceptance criteria is decided long before the developer embarks upon the process of software development.

Steps needed to move from traditional to agile testing

So if you are looking to move from traditional testing to agile, then you can expect the software products that are developed to be released as per the schedules. Unlike the traditional one, where product release is delayed, postponed primarily because there are changes suggested in the specified requirements even at the time of product release. Moreover, requirement study and subsequent writing of test plans becomes a lengthy process for the testers. Conversion to an agile environment for testing purposes require testers to act promptly, implying rapid feedback, thereby allowing the testing and developing team to proceed forward. In agile testing procedure information shared by the testers is meaningful and easily comprehended by the participating professionals. Overall, it can be stated that it is grossly beneficial to the business as a whole.

Benefits of Agile Testing

Apparently it sounds bizarre to even conceive that requirement definition, testing and product delivery can be accomplished within a month. But with agile testing, the time for testing is very much reduced. So a transition from traditional testing to agile testing implies the use of automation. It reduces significantly manual labor so far as testing is concerned. It can therefore be said without any obfuscation that agile testing enhances the efficiency and productivity in IT enterprises.

5 ways Agile Testing Methodologies help you transform Projects

Agile testing methodology aims at building better software with a more focussed approach which emphasizes on individuals, interactions and responding to changes with a quick turnaround time. Agile project management technique strives to build teams which collaborate, communicate and are responsive throughout the development process. Agile testing follows the same principles of agile workflow and delivers software tested for errors, performances and functionality. Needless to say, Agile testing accelerates your software test lifecycle.

Manifesto for Agile Software Development states that:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Agile though uses the same modules which exists in the traditional waterfall model which moves from requirements to design to implementation to verification to maintenance, it does not differentiate between modules and they do not move one after another but together. Developers and testers work in parallel and aim at delivering small set of software patches. Thus the testers do not wait till the code is finished and are most robust bridging the line between testers and developers. They behave more like developers in their approach and work towards getting better software product out instead of just logging more bugs.

Here are top 5 ways agile testing methodologies help transform your software projects:

•        Handling Changing Requirements better

With Agile way, there is no rigid adherence to requirements and the focus is to satisfy the customer’s requests – User experience takes Center stage. Like any software, the requirements keep changing with business objectives and agile testing is more than equipped to handle this. With developers and testers working closely as a single unit wearing each other’s hat and testers focussed on quality of the software, the customer’s requests are better handled and implemented quicker without much impact on the remaining modules.

•       Aims at Continuous Delivery

Agile breaks down the requirements into iterations and aims at continuous delivery. With iterative development approach, agile produces frequent working versions of the final software which is checked for requirements, coding errors and tested. Each version implements a set of features as per client’s need and is part of the final software. Being tested for all frequent iterations makes the final software more robust and the implications are less when the final software is tested resulting in a high quality software.

•       Results in Better interactions

Agile implements a collaborative approach where project managers, architects, leads, developers and testers work together with regular short interval dialogues internally which leads to better communication with customer and end users. It also results in better responsiveness to ever-changing project requirements, better coordination between developers and testers, and in turn a software which adheres to overall quality aspects and goal of project.

•         Creates Self-organizing teams

Agile creates self-organizing project teams which are unified in their approach and have a single goal of delivering better software. It replaces the siloed functions of the traditional software development process and brings better coordinating teams working more closely to fulfil the requirements of the client with every iteration.

•        Simplicity

Agile methodology leads to simplicity bringing teams together and make them think in a more creative way coming up with solutions to complex problems. With Agile, tester’s priority is not to find bugs and get relieved but to work towards an efficient software by following a more open approach then a bookish approach towards testing. Agile in itself means more flexible, adaptable, and that way of style implemented in testing approach eases the complicated business of software production and testing.

Agile proposes to be a faster, more engaging and collaborative in approach and thus requires a team which adopts the agile working style leaving behind the traditional approach of software development. It requires a total cultural shift leaving behind the standard set of tools and processes and moving into people oriented approach.

If you are looking for Agile Software Testing services or are looking at hiring services of an Agile Software Testing company, please reach out to us and we will be glad to assist.