Suppose you are starting with agile testing and moving from traditional software testing methods. In that case, you should know that you will need to make some crucial decisions to ensure that this transformation of your software development processes goes as smoothly as possible. Having the best agile framework is perhaps the start of the transformation that will help you shift to a more streamlined approach. You would need DevOps tools as well for this purpose.
The best thing about adopting an agile methodology is that you can start experiencing the changes as soon as you make the transition. If you don’t have the right resources or technology required for this transition, you should look for agile consulting services in the UK that will help you fill the gaps. But you still need to know how you can make this collaboration with an agile consultancy in the UK a fruitful one. For that, we are sharing with you a few tips that will ensure the successful implementation of agile testing.
Collaboration and Communication
The first and possibly, the most critical factor on which rests the success of agile testing is how your teams communicate and collaborate. We told you how important the collaboration with an agile consultancy could prove to be for your project. On similar lines, the communication between your team members is vital to everything you are going to do. The agile approach puts all the emphasis on the role of people when it comes to driving the development process. So, it is only fair that team members are heard when implementing agile testing.
Also, agile is mostly about delivering customer satisfaction with the help of continuous product delivery. Testers must be trained to communicate appropriately. After all, there is a common objective that every team member is working to achieve, which is to create a product that matches customer’s expectations. We are no longer living in an era where success was dependent on individual brilliance. Now we are more focused on working as a team, with each member designated responsibilities based on their expertise to achieve success.
So if you have chosen the agile testing approach, you need to understand the importance of communication. And for better team collaboration, you need to distribute work amongst different teams and set them clear objectives to allow them to work interdependently. When there is transparent allocation, the likelihood of more than one team member doing the same work is very less.
Learn the Importance of Customer Feedback
As we alluded to a little earlier in the blog, continuous software delivery is used to achieve high customer satisfaction in agile testing. Some customers don’t care about the creation of the product. They are more interested in the results meeting their expectations. Agile does this a little differently. With agile, testing is done at different phases of the development lifecycle. It increases the likelihood of a much improved final product.
Unlike other methodologies in which the customer is given a product that still has several issues, which may be challenging to fix instantly, agile identifies the problems and glitches as they take place. It helps in providing the customer with a product that is better in every way. Agile is also known to be quite useful when it comes to better customer control. So agile testing puts more emphasis on customer collaboration and downgrades the role of contract negotiation.
In the agile methodology, the customer has a significant role to play right through the development phase. So, their inputs are welcomed by the teams involved in development and testing at every stage of the development lifecycle. Such involvement of the customers helps in the development of a product perfectly aligned with their expectations.
Rely More on Working Software and Less on Documentation
The documentation of software products for fast development and delivery is a common phenomenon. Preparing this documentation can take a lot of time as there are different types of documentation, of which you may have to create all or a few. Some of these types include Technical specifications, test plans, documentation plans, interface design documents, and technical requirements, amongst others.
It is the time taken to prepare the documentation that is often the reason for the delay in the development process. Agile also requires documentation but in a simplified manner. It is the reason for no such delays in agile. The team of testers has no other responsibility but to focus on the product as well as the things that can be done to add value and deliver customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
We have discussed just a few tips that can help you implement agile testing successfully. If you follow these tips, you would be able to deal with most of the obstacles that come your way.
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