Agile
Agile methodology has taken the software development world by storm and rapidly cemented its place as “the gold standard.” Agile methodologies all started based on four core principles as outlined in the Agile Manifesto. These methodologies are rooted in adaptive planning, early delivery and continuous improvement, all with an eye toward being able to respond to change quickly and easily. As a result, it’s no surprise that 88% of respondents in VersionOne’s 2017 State of Agile Report ranked “ability to adapt to change” as the number one benefit of embracing agile. However, as more and more development teams adopt an agile philosophy, testers have struggled to keep pace. That’s because the widespread adoption of Agile has led teams to issue releases and totally undocumented software on a more frequent basis. This frequency has forced testers to shift when they conduct testing, how they work with developers and BAs and even what tests they conduct, all while maintaining quality standards.
Agile principles are all about being collaborative, flexible and adaptive. It’s built on the premise that the world now changes regularly, and that means software teams no longer have years to bring new products to market. In that time, competitor offerings or customer expectations can change, and the team risks irrelevance. Agile minimizes this risk by helping teams collaborate together more by adapting to what the team needs to be successful. It does this by encouraging teams to regularly show off their work and gather feedback so that they can adapt to change quickly.
One of the most popular software testing methodologies (used by 58% of organizations that have embraced agile according to VersionOne), Scrum takes a highly iterative approach that focuses on defining key features and objectives prior to each sprint. It is designed to reduce risk while providing value quickly. Scrum starts with a requirement or user story that outlines how features should perform and be tested. The team then cycles through a series of sprints to provide small bursts of value quickly. To help the team work in this flexible way and avoid shifting priorities, Scrum requires that questions be answered from the very start.