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Test Planning

Other considerations of the test plan that should be considered early in the process include:

  • Testing environment and the requirements thereof. This includes test data in the environment, environment capabilities, how can it be managed and who is responsible for it.
  • Bug management – This may sound simple but a process needs to be well defined as to who the bug gets assigned to once it manifests itself on testing.
  • Software updates – When are we planning to push new changes to the testing environment?

So is a test plan needed in Agile? Certainly a test strategy is needed but one needs to understand at what stage it is useful to do and what is useful to do.

Who is an Agile tester?

Agile Testers include everyone in the team. In most traditional methodologies a tester is a dedicated individual whose sole purpose is to test the solution against the defined requirements.  They are then only needed in the testing phase of the process. In Agile however, a tester is every single person involved in the team and they are involved throughout the process of development. While there may be a dedicated agile tester in the development team, in terms of Agile anyone in the team should be able and can be expected to test. This includes Developers, Product owner, Business analyst etc.

An Agile tester is an interactive and team focused individual who is not afraid to express their views whether good or bad. The tester is technically savvy and seeks to understand the system better by making themselves available across the entire team to understand the bigger picture. They continuously and interactively work with both the Developers and the Product owner. This enables the tester to be involved in the planning and clarification of requirements and enables communication lines between the Developers and the Product Owner. They are able to follow directions but also lead. Testers do this through ensuring that the acceptance criteria are met.  Testers continuously seek improvement and leads and embraces change very well. Their customer focused approach enables the tester to validate the system in a manner in which a customer would. This is where creativity is mostly appreciated. The testers obsession is not only ticking every test step defined but is also delivering a working solution that the customer wants and can use.

Recommended Further Reading

The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course:

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