1. BDD (Behavior Driven Development) Testing: An Overview
2. Significance of BDD Testing
3. Seven Benefits of BDD Testing that Ensure High Product Quality
4. BDD Testing: Use Cases Examples using Gherkins
5. Conclusion
6. How TestingXperts Helps Businesses with BDD Testing?

BDD (Behavior Driven Development) Testing: An Overview

BDD is a software development methodology that emphasizes collaboration and communication among developers, testers, and business stakeholders. BDD testing is a testing framework that uses natural language to describe the behavior of an application, focusing on its functional requirements and business goals.

BDD testing involves creating executable specifications called “scenarios” that describe the desired behavior of an application in a structured format. These scenarios are written using a natural language, such as Gherkin syntax, that is easily understandable by non-technical stakeholders.

BDD testing encourages collaboration and communication among all stakeholders, which helps ensure that the application meets the business goals and requirements. It also promotes test-driven development and agile methodologies, which can improve the quality of software and reduce time-to-market.

Significance of BDD Testing

BDD testing is becoming increasingly important in modern software development practices. BDD is a collaborative approach to software development that involves the entire team, including developers, testers, and business stakeholders, to ensure that software is developed to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

BDD testing emphasizes the importance of defining the behavior of a system before it is built and then testing that behavior to ensure that it is correct. This approach helps to eliminate ambiguity in requirements and ensures that software is developed to meet specific business goals.

BDD testing frameworks like Cucumber and Behave are gaining popularity among digital businesses because these frameworks enable the creation of executable specifications that both technical and non-technical stakeholders can easily understand. These specifications can be used to automate testing and ensure that software meets the requirements set out by the business.

Overall, BDD testing helps to ensure that software is developed to meet the needs of all stakeholders and that it meets the highest standards of quality. It is a collaborative and inclusive approach that is becoming increasingly important in modern software development practices.

Seven Benefits of BDD Testing that Ensure High Product Quality

Improved Collaboration:

BDD testing encourages collaboration between business stakeholders, developers, and testers. This helps to ensure that everyone involved in the software development process is aligned on the business goals and objectives and that the software being developed meets those goals and objectives.

Greater Clarity:

BDD testing uses a plain language syntax that is easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand. This makes it easier for business stakeholders to communicate their requirements and expectations to the development team and bring all teams on the same page.

Enhanced Test Coverage:

BDD testing focuses on testing the behavior of a software system, which helps to ensure that all important scenarios are covered. This helps to reduce the risk of bugs and other issues being introduced into the software.

Faster Feedback:

BDD testing provides faster feedback to developers, which helps to reduce the time it takes to identify and fix issues. This helps to ensure that the software is delivered on time and within budget.

Reduced Costs:

BDD testing helps to identify and fix issues early in the software development process, which helps to reduce the overall cost of development. This is because fixing issues later in the development process is often more expensive than fixing them earlier.

Increased Agility:

BDD testing is a flexible and agile testing methodology that can adapt to changing business requirements and objectives. This helps to ensure that the software being developed is always aligned with the business goals and objectives.

Improved Quality:

BDD testing helps to ensure that the software being developed meets the business requirements and objectives and that it is of high quality. This helps to ensure that the software meets the needs of the end users and it is reliable and easy to use.

BDD Testing: Use Cases Examples using Gherkins

How TestingXperts Helps Businesses with BDD Testing?

TestingXperts (Tx) is one of the Top 5 pure-play software testing services providers globally. Tx has been chosen as a trusted QA partner by Fortune clients and ensures superior testing outcomes for its global clientele. Tx has experience with all industry-leading performance testing and monitoring tools, along with expertise in end-to-end application performance testing services, including network, database, hardware, etc. With a highly skilled team of performance testers, Tx helps businesses benchmark their application performance. Tx provides customized test results reports to clients that help them make informed decisions.

Our team of experienced professionals provides a comprehensive suite of services to help you achieve better quality software development through Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) testing.

Tx’s BDD Testing Services: Key Differentiators

Comprehensive Approach:

Our BDD testing services cover the entire software development life cycle, from requirements gathering to testing and deployment. We work closely with you to ensure that your testing strategy aligns with your business objectives and delivers the desired outcomes.

Experienced Professionals:

Our team of BDD testing experts has years of experience in the industry and has worked on projects of varying complexity. They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every project, ensuring that your testing strategy is well-designed and executed.

Customizable Solutions:

We understand that every project is unique, and that’s why we offer customizable solutions tailored to your specific needs. Our team works closely with you to understand your business objectives and develop a testing strategy that aligns with your goals.

Test Automation:

We use industry-standard tools like Cucumber and Selenium to create automated tests that verify the functionality of your software. This allows us to test your software quickly and efficiently, while also ensuring consistent and accurate results.

Cost-effective Solutions:

We offer competitive pricing for our BDD testing services, ensuring that you get the best value for your investment. Our focus on efficiency and quality ensures that you get high-quality testing services that meet your budget requirements.

Results-driven Approach:

Our BDD testing services are designed to deliver results. We work closely with you to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure the effectiveness of our testing strategy against these KPIs. This ensures that you get the desired outcomes from your testing efforts.

Continuous Integration and Delivery:

We can help you set up a continuous integration and delivery pipeline that automates your software development and testing processes. This allows you to quickly identify and resolve issues, and deliver high-quality software to your users faster.

Conclusion

In conclusion, BDD testing is an effective approach to software testing that focuses on collaboration and communication between developers, testers, and stakeholders. It encourages the use of plain language to define test cases and promotes the creation of a shared understanding of the requirements and behavior of the software. By leveraging BDD testing, digital businesses can ensure that their software meets the desired outcomes and that all stakeholders are aligned on the features and functionality. BDD testing also helps to identify defects early in the development cycle, reducing the cost and effort of fixing issues later on. Overall, BDD testing is a valuable methodology for teams that want to improve their software quality and deliver software that meets the needs of their users. To learn how Tx can assist you with high-quality QA and testing services, contact our experts now.

The post How Behavior Driven Development (BDD) Testing Transforms Product Quality first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. DevOps QA Best Practices
2. Disentangle from the traditional roles and responsibilities of QA
3. Communication and Collaboration are Imperative
4. Include QA in the Requirements Gathering Process
5. Detecting Software Defects Early
6. Multiple Virtual Testing Environment is Essential
7. Conclusion

A highly iterative DevOps process lays more pressure on the QA role to properly evaluate software while working closely with developers, network professionals, and business stakeholders. In this article, we will explore how DevOps is the best way to strengthen the project and be absolutely sure of what you are shipping to the customer. With high-quality software as the main aim, here are some DevOps QA best practices that will help accelerate the software delivery and also maintain the quality of the software.

DevOps QA Best Practices

1. Disentangle from the traditional roles and responsibilities of QA:

The traditional roles and responsibilities of QA are more time-consuming, contradicting the basic fundamentals of agile, i.e. quick turnaround and early feedback. Hence, with DevOps, integrating QA early-on in the lifecycle helps to significantly reduce development cycles and also meet customer expectations as intended.

2. Communication and Collaboration are Imperative:

Strong communication and collaboration help in maintaining a clear focus on software quality while making an early release possible. Communication helps in making the objective clear while collaboration makes it easy to deliver the software on time. In several cases, a different pair of eyes looking at the same application helps to identify a different issue. Keeping everyone on the same page is vital to a project’s success.

3. Include QA in the Requirements Gathering Process:

It’s essential for every work stream to have a common understanding of what functionality is built. Involving QA at the start is vital, as the requirements/user stories get assessed from a testability standpoint. This helps in identifying critical areas for tests and planning the test efforts better. An added advantage is that everyone is able to collaborate with each other early on.

4. Detecting Software Defects Early:

One of the main advantages of DevOps methodology is the way its iterative approach helps in detecting software issues. This is very critical to minimize re-work effort and thereby to control the cost of quality.

5. Multiple Virtual Testing Environment is Essential:

The volatile growth in the global software market and the rapid advancement in computing technologies have shortened the software development lifecycle. Due to the focus on cost-effectiveness, the focus has now shifted to optimizing the software development lifecycle. In order to overcome the problems of hardware cost and environment set-up, multiple virtual testing environments are essential for testing. A virtual testing environment provides isolated sandboxes for running applications, which presents homogenous environments on heterogeneous hardware.

DevOps is not just a process, but an effort to improve an organization’s overall culture and practices in order to ensure a better customer experience and improved business outcomes. To facilitate continuous delivery, DevOps has become a priority.

The post Accelerate Software Delivery with DevOps Best Practices first appeared on TestingXperts.

Today’s businesses are rapidly adopting agile and DevOps to achieve faster and quality releases. DevOps methodology embeds faster releases achieved through continuous integration and continuous delivery of software along with continuous testing. Many software testing methods such as functional, regression, performance, security testing, etc., are leveraged to ensure high-quality products. Out of these methods, the functional testing method plays a major role in the software release in the agile and DevOps processes. It helps businesses achieve fully functional and high-quality software in less time through faster and quality releases.

Table of Contents

1. Functional testing Overview
2. Types of functional testing methods
3. Why do businesses need functional testing?
4. Differences between functional testing and non-functional testing
5. Unit testing vs Regression testing vs Functional testing
6. How to do functional testing?
7. Functional test case examples
8. Significance of Functional testing in Agile
9. Significance of functional testing in DevOps
10. Various functional testing tools
11. Conclusion

Functional testing Overview

Functional testing in software testing is a black box type of software testing, and quality assurance method performed to test the software’s functionality and its related components. The main aim of this testing type is to validate the functionalities of an application against business requirements by providing certain inputs and validating the outputs.

Types of functional testing methods

1. Unit testing:

It is the first phase of the software testing process, where developers test the smallest possible units of the software in isolation to validate its functionality.

2. Component testing:

In this software testing type, software components are tested individually without integrating them with other components.

3. Smoke testing:

This form of testing is also named build verification testing, which is used to determine the stability of the software. It helps testers know whether the code can be shared for further testing.

4. Sanity testing:

In this software testing technique, testers perform basic tests on the software. Whenever the build is received after some changes, this testing type is performed to ensure the bugs are fixed and the software functions properly.

5. Integration testing:

In this software testing type, various individual software modules are combined and tested as a group to ensure their proper functioning.

6. Regression testing:

In this software testing method, the software is tested to ensure that recent code changes or newly added functionalities do not affect the existing functionalities of the software.

7. System testing:

In this testing type, the quality assurance team evaluates the software to know how various components interact together. It ensures that the software works properly.

8. User acceptance testing:

In this testing method, the end-user/client/product owner tests the product to verify its functionality and usability before it is released in the market.

Why do businesses need functional testing?

• It helps to improve the quality of the software

• Helps to verify the software functionality based on Software Requirements Specification (SRS) and ensures the system functions as per the user specifications.

• Helps to test specific error conditions and other important functions of the software.

• Helps to achieve fully-functional software which is defect-free to deliver a great CX.

Differences between functional testing and non-functional testing

Unit testing vs Regression testing vs Functional testing

How to do functional testing?

1. Identify the testing needs/requirements:

The first step of functional testing involves the testers who need to understand the business requirements and take a stance on the testing needs in detail.

2. Prepare a test plan:

The next step involves preparing the test plan. The test plan should clearly state the objective of the test, test methods, testing techniques, etc.

3. Write test cases:

It is an essential step wherein testers create test cases. The functional test cases should be prepared in a way that ensures maximum test coverage.

4. Create input data based on function specifications:

Now, to test the specific functionality of an application, testers have to create data and use it as an input. The data that is used to test the application is known as input data.

5. Execute the test case:

Testers execute the test cases using the input data that are identified during the preparation of test cases.

6. Compare the actual and expected output:

This is an essential step, where testers compare the actual output with the expected outcome. It is done to determine whether the test is a pass or a fail.

7. Log defects:

In the last step, testers note the variations between actual and expected outcomes and log these variations or defects to let teams know about the same.

Functional test case examples

Situation: Suppose there is an online music app, and below are the set of test cases to be evaluated:

• User logs in with user account and password

• The login page contains two text fields, i.e., username and password

• It also has options, i.e., login and cancel

• When the user enters the correct credentials, the action is successful, and the login page directs the user to the music app home page

• If the user clicks on the cancel option, the login is canceled

Significance of Functional testing in Agile

In traditional testing models like the waterfall model, the development and testing of the software happen one after the other, and usually, testing starts once the development is complete. However, in agile methodology, the product is simultaneously developed and tested in sprints, and features are rolled out in each cycle.

In an agile environment, at one end, the developers develop the software, adds new features, or make improvements to the code, while simultaneously, on the other hand, testers perform functional testing of the software. If some changes are introduced to the software, regression testing is performed to ensure the software’s existing functionality remains unaffected.

Common functional testing types performed in an agile environment include smoke, sanity, unit, component, etc. Functional testing in agile speeds up the software testing process, ensures early identification and removal of defects, enhances collaboration between teams and saves time.

Significance of functional testing in DevOps

In a DevOps environment, the main focus is building, testing, and releasing the software faster and more frequently. DevOps streamlines and automates the entire software delivery lifecycle by integrating it with the Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) pipeline. In DevOps, everything starting from development to the software release is continuous and automated. The software is continuously developed, continuously tested, continuously integrated, continuously deployed, and continuously monitored.

Automated DevOps functional testing is performed at each stage of the DevOps CI/CD pipeline to ensure software quality. During the development stage, unit testing is performed to ensure code quality. Also, in the DevOps environment, developers frequently commit changes to source code and merge those code changes to a central repository. Regression testing is performed to ensure code changes do not break the software’s existing functionality. At the continuous integration stage, integration testing is performed to ensure the proper integration of all codes and modules. Finally, the whole software is tested by leveraging system testing techniques to ensure the proper functioning of the software. This is how functional testing fits in the DevOps environment and helps businesses achieve high-quality software.

Some of the benefits of functional testing in DevOps include it helps to remove functional defects from the software much early and faster, ensures the software quality starting from build stage to release stage, delivers fully-functional software in less time, eliminates the chances of manual errors, as the process is automated, and saves significant time and cost.

Various functional testing tools

Tricentis Tosca:

It is an intelligent test automation tool that can be used to test the software’s functionality. This tool allows continuous testing and integrates easily into the DevOps CI/CD pipeline.

Appium:

It is an automated software testing tool that can be used to test the functionality of native, hybrid, and mobile web applications. This tool allows testers to test mobile apps on various platforms, such as android, iOS, and Windows. This test automation tool supports various languages and works on JSON wire protocol (extension of Selenium JSON wire protocol).

Ranorex:

It is an all-in-one test automation tool for desktop, mobile, and web. This tool allows codeless test automation and can be used for testing software functionality. This software testing tool supports cross-browser and cross-platform testing. Ranorex easily integrates with the DevOps pipeline.

Selenium:

It is one of the widely used test automation tools best suited for web applications. This tool has various components, such as Selenium WebDriver, Selenium IDE, and Selenium Grid. This automation testing tool supports a majority of OS, browsers, and languages. Selenium also has a record and playback feature that makes software testing easy.

TestComplete:

It is a widely used test automation tool for mobile, desktop, and web. This tool supports various languages and can be used to perform keyword-driven and data-driven testing.

Conclusion

Today’s businesses are rapidly adopting agile and DevOps processes to achieve quality software in less time. But the quality of the software depends on its proper functioning, which can be ensured through end-to-end functional testing. This testing type helps businesses in many ways, such as improving the functionality of the software, enhancing customer experience, and saving significant costs. Businesses should leverage end-to-end functional testing from a next-gen QA and independent software testing services provider to achieve high-quality software in less time.

The post Significance of Functional Testing for Businesses in Agile & DevOps first appeared on TestingXperts.

Contents
1. Importance of Artificial Intelligence

2. Why do we need Artificial Intelligence in Software Testing?

3. How Artificial Intelligence benefits software testers?

4. What are the AI tools for software testing?

5. In Conclusion

Software testing is the only premeditated way where an application can be observed under certain conditions and where testers can recognize the risks involved in the software implementation. Testing, on the other hand, is gradually transitioning to greater automation to ensure maximum precision and accuracy in the journey towards digital transformation. In an attempt to make the application foolproof, the world is turning towards Artificial Intelligence (AI). This implies that instead of manual testing and human intervention, we are moving towards a situation where machines will be slowly taking over.

Importance of Artificial Intelligence

Simply put, Artificial intelligence (AI)is the science behind computers performing tasks that are traditionally performed by humans. AI provides machines with the skill to process information about its conditions and learns to adapt to the transformations with problem solving techniques. Machines are learning faster than ever given the technology advancements. The computer is fed with a huge amount of data to adapt as per a set of inputs so that it can identify patterns and logic and as a result make an effective connection between similar input and output pairs. It is through machine learning that websites like Amazon and Netflix are able to deliver targeted ads to their customers by using huge amounts of data based on the web pages the customer searches. Personal assistants like Google Assistant, Alex, and others use AI technology extensively to deliver results.

Machine Learning has come a long way with people using it to drive cars without a human. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become quite famous in the field of healthcare also as it is used to identify cancerous tumors. As Artificial Intelligence begins to progress, technology experts across the globe are finding ways to leverage its potential in the software testing field as well. It is only a matter of sometimes when training applications to be familiar with problems for agile and more efficient testing becomes a reality.

Why do we need Artificial Intelligence in Software Testing?

Software testing is usually a time-consuming process. Artificial Intelligence is the best choice for developers looking for faster deployments with insufficient infrastructure. It is best to leave the arduous work to the Artificial Intelligence-powered automation which leaves only 20% of the testing work to human ingenious and cognitive ability. It would ensure more fail-safe results as hand-crafted testing does not only require extensive human hours but is also susceptible to imprecisions and discrepancies.

Adopting to the algorithms of Artificial Intelligence will help the testing industry to provide smart productive software for their users. Also, the inclusion of AI into the software development lifecycle effectively helps the developer and testing teams to find and resolve the errors quickly before the software becomes available for QA teams. The methodology helps in speeding up the software testing process as the repetitive tasks can be efficiently performed and this can result in saving more money and time.

How Artificial Intelligence benefits software testers?

Reduces the test-cycle time:

With the AI methodology, it is easier for a tester to understand which test cases are required to be executed in each test cycle. AI is efficient in gathering data from the previous test executions made for the application. This helps AI to easily identify when any changes are made in the code. Also, it automatically states the test suites as per the application risk. The application risks are defined by considering several factors such as the most used parts of the application, tests having the risk of failure or complexity, etc. This way of finding defects at earliest and running the test cases that can get affected at the start of a test cycle helps to receive faster feedback from delivery teams and ensures to find solutions when any defects are identified.

Helps to find bugs faster:

Unlike the traditional test methods, the AI methodology is an expert to find the defects faster in applications. In the previous methods, error detection was at the later period and this resulted in several drawbacks for the app before its launch. AI helps in automating the processes, it automatically corrects the code and assigns bug tracking to the QA teams. This effectively benefits the teams to track the errors at the earliest and achieve a bug-free app before production.

Encourages Script Execution:

There is no need to perform a test script automation when using AI because test scripts are executed automatically by the AI. Also, it enhances test cases to be more stable so that there won’t be any change experienced when the locators get changed.

Improves the speed of Test Coverage:

AI is efficient for increasing the scope and depth of the test cases. AI monitors the memory, file contents, internal programs, and data tables of the app to verify the functionality is as needed or not. Also, with the use of the AI-powered test automation tools, thousands of test cases can be executed in one test run. This ability of AI effectively helps in speeding up the test coverage.

Reduces Costs Requirements:

Bugs or the errors in the application can become expensive when they are not resolved at the earliest. With the help of AI, instant feedback can help to find and resolve the errors at the earliest and this significantly helps in cost savings. In addition to this, AI is even more efficient to sort files, detect errors and scan code at a lesser time. This reduces the effort of manual work and human errors and thus, yields more accurate results at a lesser cost.

Improves Accuracy:

A well-experienced tester can even make mistakes while carrying out repetitive tasks in manual testing. This is the reason automation came into effect to reduce the scope of repetitive tasks. When automation is powered with AI, the repetitive tasks are performed by the AI and the testing teams are provided with the scope to perform exploratory activities and find automation solutions. Thus, the time consumption is reduced and the accuracy for achieving quality results increases.

What are the AI tools for software testing?

– Functionize

– EggPlant AI

– AppVance

– Testim

– Applitools

– TestCraft

– Test.ai

In Conclusion

Digital Transformation is becoming impossible without the implementation of new and emerging technologies. The consumer market has become dynamic, organizations that do not leverage these technologies will end up way behind in the race. Businesses need to experiment and innovate to make their product success with the end-user. This can only be possible when these technologies are tested extensively against the odds and under all conditions.

TestingXperts brings machine learning together with analytics to unleash the power of software testing and drive automation and innovation, consequently improving QA efficiencies. Our intelligent frameworks are based on industry best practices and standards, to efficiently evaluate clients’ testing maturity. Connect with our experts to understand and improve all QA focus areas across the delivery lifecycle.

The post Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on the Software Testing Industry first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. Overview of Agile Maturity Assessment
2. Agile Maturity Model and its 5 Levels
3. Why is it Necessary to Assess Agile Maturity?
4. How to Conduct Agile Maturity Assessment – Best Practices
5. Summary

Agile coaches or Scrum masters have a good idea of what it takes for a team to mature. They understand the behaviors that should be shown daily to maximize project value delivery. But the question is, “How to bring the team around? How do we bring awareness and share knowledge about this journey among the team?” The answer to these questions is “agile maturity assessment.” It can help teams understand the basic concept of agile maturity and the steps they should take to reach the top level.

Agile maturity assessments allow businesses to measure their agility regarding technologies, processes, and people. These factors could directly influence their operational efficiency and competitive edge. These assessments allow enterprises to streamline processes, improve business outcomes, and enhance team productivity by identifying weaknesses and strengths.

Overview of Agile Maturity Assessment

Enterprises conduct an agile maturity assessment to evaluate their current state of agile maturity and analyze the value agile implementation has delivered to their organization. They utilize agile maturity models to identify their weaknesses and define goals to align teams efficiently with business changes. According to statistics, businesses that adopted agile practices showed a significant growth of 86% within their software development teams. However, many enterprises are not implementing agile principles and values correctly. Let’s take a look at the core components of an agile maturity assessment:

Process Evaluation:

Businesses assess how well the agile methodology is integrated with their project management and development process. They check for consistency and efficiency of agile processes across multiple teams.

Cultural Alignment:

Agile is a mindset that one must become accustomed to. It is about a methodology that drives cultural change in the team. Businesses evaluate whether their work culture supports agile values like responsiveness, collaboration, and flexibility.

Leadership Engagement:

To ensure the success of agile transformation, top leadership must support and actively drive agile practices. They should measure senior management’s commitment and involvement in promoting and implementing agility.

Tooling and Infrastructure:

Every process requires a proper set of tools. The same is true with agile implementation. This component reviews an organization’s tech and infrastructure to support its agile practices, such as CI/CD systems.

Feedback and Improvement Procedures:

Continuous improvement is a core aspect of the agile process. This assessment component allows businesses to examine how quickly they collect and act on feedback received from stakeholders to improve process outcomes.

Agile Maturity Model and its 5 Levels

An agile maturity model tool/framework categorizes an enterprise’s agility level into five stages. It allows businesses to understand the condition of their current agile practices. By doing so, they can steer towards deeper implementation and refinement. Consider it a pathway that guides an enterprise towards continuous improvement in agility, which is necessary to respond quickly to business challenges and market changes.

There are 5 levels in an agile maturity model. From the initial stage, which is the beginning of agile practices in an organization, to the most advanced optimization stage. The goal is to allow teams to deliver value effectively. It also allows businesses to remain competitive in the dynamic market environment. This is true when we say that a business needs agility to grow. By assessing agility maturity, businesses get fine-tuned practices that improve quality, reduce costs, optimize resource allocation, and decrease the timeframe between the planning and delivery stages.

Now let’s take a quick look at five levels of the agile maturity model:

Initial:

Although teams use agile practices in this stage, they lack a formal and inconsistent structure. They do not have a coherent approach to the agile principle, leading to inconsistent project results.

Managed:

This stage involves analyzing the benefits of agile methods as organizations run towards a more systematic approach. The leadership team and agile coaches formalize the processes and focus on project management frameworks to incorporate agile values.

Defined:

In this stage, enterprises have successfully integrated and standardized agile methodologies. All the processes are clearly defined, and teams strongly cater to documentation and maintain a consistent approach to agile practices.

Quantitatively Managed:

At this level, organizations utilize metrics and KPIs to measure the effect of their agile practices. This data-driven approach enables accurate process management and targeted improvements based on quantitative results.

Optimizing:

This is the highest maturity level, focusing on continuous improvement. The organization must follow, innovate, and optimize agile practices continuously. It involves refining methodologies according to changing business and technical ecosystems, ensuring that agility is at the core of enterprise culture.

Why is it Necessary to Assess Agile Maturity?

“At regular intervals, teams have to reflect on how to become more effective, then optimize and adjust their approach accordingly.”- The Agile Manifesto

The majority of organizations (software development, infrastructure management, etc.) are already implementing agile methodology in one way or another. However, the problem is that most enterprises are not using the agile principle and its values accurately. Secondly, many enterprises attempt to become agile, but they keep failing. The problem is that many businesses don’t understand their current state, processes, and employees. The solution to this problem is agile maturity assessment.

Assessment is often termed critique or judgment, which is not true. It reflects a team’s performance and whether it aligns with agile framework practices. Agile maturity assessment clearly shows what’s working for a company and what needs changes. It assists scrum teams in becoming more agile by adopting the values and principles defined in the Agile Manifesto.

Agile transformation is a complicated process that takes a long time for a team to fully agile. A team must understand where it tries to reach in its agile journey. This is why a company or a team must assess/measure their progress, determine their agile path, and define the steps to reach their goals. An agile team assessment would serve as proof of their progress.

How to Conduct Agile Maturity Assessment – Best Practices

An effective agile maturity assessment requires a strategic approach to analyze current practices and set the stage for future improvements. Businesses should be able to identify the effectiveness of their agile methodologies and the next steps they require to advance to the next level of agile maturity. To assist in this, there are certain practices that businesses should follow, which are given below:

Have Clear Objectives:

Clearly define what you want to achieve with the assessment. Set clear goals, focus on specific agility areas, and assess every aspect critical to business success.

Select a Test that Syncs with Your Needs:

One suggestion: Do not use the scrum maturity assessment and model if you are not into the scrum. The framework you choose will help establish a benchmark to keep track of your business progress. So, it becomes your responsibility to select the standard that fits your business ecosystem.

Stakeholder Engagement:

From the start, involve all the stakeholders (leadership team, team members, client (based on project), etc.). Take their input and feedback to gain a diverse perspective to support the assessment.

Make the Remediation Process Time-bound:

Similar to OKRs (objectives and key results); the remediation process should be time-bound based on quarterly deadlines. Select one or two goals that need improvement and monitor them consistently. Keep your improvement process small and enable your team to stay focused.

Actionable Insights:

The assessment should include actionable insights and metrics. Based on the assessment results, implement practical steps to improve agile practices.

Choose Assessor Partner Carefully:

It is crucial to select the right partner, like Tx, for agile maturity assessment. The partner must be knowledgeable, have technical experience, be objective, and be collaborative. This will enable you to look at things differently and easily identify blind spots and biases.

Summary

Agile maturity assessments are crucial for businesses aiming to optimize their agile practices effectively. As a business owner, it becomes your responsibility to measure your agility state and identify your strengths and areas for improvement. It would be more beneficial and deliver expected outcomes when teams follow key practices such as effective communication, collaboration, and the mindset to accept change.

Want to improve your capability to adapt to change? Contact our agile experts and learn how to optimize your tools and processes. Get in touch with us to learn about your business’s current agile state and quickly assess your workflow and processes. Our assessment approach will assist in benchmarking the agile engineering process and ensure continuous improvement in your entire workflow from the initial to the final stage.

The post Conducting an Agile Maturity Assessment: Best Practices first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. What is Agile and Test-Drive Development?
2. Starting with Test-Driven Development in Agile
3. Aligning TDD with Agile Processes
4. Best Practices for TDD in Agile Methodologies
5. Addressing Challenges in TDD-Agile Integration
6. Conclusion
7. How Can TestingXperts Help with Software Testing?

In today’s rapidly changing software development and testing landscape, organizations constantly look for methodologies that streamline processes and enhance product quality. Agile and Test-Driven Development (TDD) have individually proven their ability to improve software quality and ensure faster time-to-market. Ideal for businesses, the guide highlights the integral role of TDD in Agile environments, contributing to a standard of excellence in software development.

What is Agile and Test-Drive Development?

Agile is a set of principles for software development where requirements and solutions evolve through the collaborative efforts of cross-functional teams. It involves adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continuous improvement, providing a flexible approach to responding to change.

On the other hand, TDD is a software development technique where developers first write tests for a new feature before writing the actual code. Agile and Test-Driven Development (TDD) are effective on their own, but when used together, they work even better and bring more benefits. Here’s why:

• With TDD’s continuous testing approach embedded in Agile iterative development cycles, each component is systematically verified, leading to robust software builds.

• Agile feedback-driven approach paired with TDD ensures that discrepancies are caught and rectified early, reducing backlogs and rework.

• Studies suggest that projects leveraging TDD within Agile methodologies see a notable reduction in post-deployment bugs.

Starting with Test-Driven Development in Agile

Integrating test-driven development within an agile framework is a strategic move that enables enhanced software quality and more efficient development cycles. However, one must approach the integration with clarity, preparation, and a keen understanding of both methodologies to reap these benefits.

Building a Team Ready for TDD

Ensure every team member understands the principles of TDD and its importance in Agile. Encourage team members to think about test cases before diving into code. Developers, testers, and business analysts should work closely, discussing requirements and test scenarios. It ensures everyone is on the same page and reduces misunderstandings.

Picking the Right Tools for Testing

There are many testing tools options available online. Consider the language compatibility, integration capabilities, and user feedback before deciding. Select tools that adapt to the project’s changing needs. Ensure that the testing tool seamlessly integrates with other tools in the development cycle, such as continuous integration servers and version control systems. It promotes a smoother workflow.

Setting Up a Good Testing Space

It’s crucial to have a separate, dedicated environment for testing. This ensures that tests don’t interfere with ongoing development and that the testing conditions remain consistent. While manual testing is necessary, look for opportunities to automate repetitive tasks. Automated tests save time in the long run and ensure that previously developed features work as intended after new changes. Make sure developers receive prompt feedback after tests. It allows them to address any issues quickly and maintains the agile continuous improvement cycle.

Aligning TDD with Agile Processes

Integrating test-driven development with agile processes can elevate the precision and predictability of software projects. This section explores the integration of TDD with Agile practices, emphasizing a unified approach that drives excellence at every phase.

Adding TDD to Agile Meetings and Tasks

Tests written and their outcomes should also be highlighted in the standup discussions. It ensures that testing remains central to daily operations and enhances accountability. When breaking down user stories into tasks during sprint planning meetings, it’s essential to incorporate tasks related to writing tests. It ensures that testing is integrated seamlessly into the development process. In sprint retrospectives, along with reviewing what went well and potential improvements, the outcomes of the tests should be examined. Evaluating the efficacy of these tests and determining necessary modifications for the next sprint can be beneficial.

Testing First

What It Means and Why It Helps – Adopting a testing-first methodology means formulating tests before developing the code. This approach sets clear benchmarks for code performance, thereby reducing ambiguities. After creating the code, it’s immediately evaluated against the predefined tests. Such a procedure offers instant feedback, enabling developers to refine the code promptly and bolsters code quality. By prioritizing testing, the chances of overlooking errors can be prevented. A robust foundation is maintained as development ensues since each code segment undergoes rigorous testing from inception.

Using Test Results to Plan Next Steps

Test outcomes have tangible data, shedding light on which facets of the project are progressing optimally and which require further scrutiny. Such a data-centric approach guarantees more effective task prioritization. Recurring test failures or unexpected results are early indicators of potential issues, allowing teams to resolve challenges much faster.

Best Practices for TDD in Agile Methodologies

Using Test-Driven Development within Agile methodologies offers a way to achieve optimal software performance. To fully implement this integration, certain best practices are necessary. Let us look into these practices, outlining a roadmap to combine Agile and TDD successfully.

Writing Clear and Simple Tests

Test cases should be easy to understand. It means that any team member, whether a developer or a tester, can quickly grasp the test’s purpose and the expected outcome. Establishing a consistent naming convention for tests helps quickly identify what specific functionality a test covers.

Combining Different Types of Tests

In a complex software project, relying solely on one type of test can leave gaps. It’s essential to use a combination of unit, integration, and system tests to ensure comprehensive coverage. While all tests are crucial, unit tests might be more frequent due to their focus on individual components. However, integration and system tests should also be scheduled regularly to ensure the software functions as expected.

Testing Together and Learning from Each Other

Occasionally, developers and testers should pair up to write tests. This practice encourages knowledge sharing and brings different perspectives, often leading to more robust tests. After testing sessions, it’s beneficial to have feedback rounds where team members share insights, challenges, and learnings. It ensures continuous improvement in the testing process.

Stay Updated, Analyze, and Refine

Software and testing landscapes always change. Regularly investing time in training and exploring new testing tools and methodologies can elevate the team’s testing proficiency. After each iteration, review the testing process. Identify areas of success and those that need adjustments. Implementing these insights in subsequent sprints ensures constant evolution and optimization.

Keeping the Focus on What Customers Need

While technical perfection is vital, tests should always meet customer requirements. It means prioritizing tests that focus on features and functionalities most valuable to end-users. Gather feedback from actual users and incorporate this into the testing strategy. This ensures the product functions flawlessly and aligns closely with user expectations and needs.

Addressing Challenges in TDD-Agile Integration

While integrating Test-Driven Development (TDD) with Agile methodologies promises a full combination for software development, it is not without its challenges. Recognizing and addressing these challenges head-on can pave the way for smoother operations and enhanced outcomes. This section illuminates common obstacles faced during TDD-Agile integration and provides actionable tips to navigate them.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Initial Time Investment

Implementing TDD requires writing tests before actual development begins, which can seem time-consuming initially. Some businesses might view this as a slow development pace, especially during tight deadlines. While TDD might seem time-intensive initially, it leads to fewer errors and more robust software in the long run. It’s crucial to highlight these long-term benefits to the team to keep them invested.

Learning Curve

For teams new to TDD, there’s a learning curve associated with understanding and implementing effective tests. It could lead to potential inefficiencies until the team becomes proficient. To address the TDD learning curve, periodic training sessions can be organized. This helps familiarize the team with best practices and accelerates the adoption process.

Maintaining Test Relevance

Ensuring that tests remain relevant can be challenging as projects evolve. There might be scenarios where tests written early no longer align with the project’s current requirements. To ensure test relevance, schedule regular reviews of the tests. Out-dated tests can be identified and updated during these sessions, ensuring they align with the project’s evolving requirements.

Integrating with Existing Systems

For projects that had begun without TDD or with a different testing methodology, integrating TDD midway can pose compatibility and consistency challenges. For projects adopting TDD midway, consider a staged integration instead of a complete rebuild. Start by introducing TDD in specific modules or components. Expand its scope across the project as the team gains confidence and proficiency.

Conclusion

Combining Agile and Test-Driven Development (TDD) offers a robust framework for software development. It’s crucial to maintain a commitment to best practices and strongly emphasize continuous learning and improvement. By implementing robust test-driven development approach, businesses can optimize processes and products, ensuring quality and efficiency in every project.

How Can TestingXperts Help with Software Testing?

At TestingXperts, we use our vast experience with the latest testing methodologies to work with precision and exceed client expectations. Partnering with us means securing a competitive edge, minimizing risks, and optimizing software performance and reliability. We combine test-driven development with quality assurance, ensuring your software is always ahead of the competition.

By partnering with us, you get:

• Integrating TDD methodologies for optimal code quality and responsive development

• Assuring flawless functionality at every stage of the software lifecycle

• Harnessing the best of automation for streamlined testing processes

• Validating software performance even under extreme conditions

• Ensuring a seamless user experience across diverse mobile platforms

• Building software that’s not just functional but secure against threats

To know more, contact our QA experts now.

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Contents

Test Automation And Agile Testing

Automation, in any arena, increases productivity and reduces cost. Usage of test automation in the entire software testing life cycle (STLC) enables the team to increase test accuracy and productivity. Professionals working in agile recognize the significance of automated testing, but are also aware of the complexity involved with automated solutions.

Due to the constant change in the test objects and ongoing maintenance, it becomes challenging for the team to keep the automation suite up-to-date and relevant. Despite all these issues, the bitter truth is that it is impossible to work in agile environment without test automation. In fact, according to Robert Walsh, test automation incorporates three of the four pillars of agile automation testing i.e. unit testing, acceptance testing, and automated regression testing.

Importance of Test Automation in Agile Testing:

1. Effective rise in development output:

The short development cycle is the most important factor that demands automation in agile testing. The Agile teams have short time frames to grasp the requirement, build the code and then regress those changes. Therefore, it becomes essential to use a method of testing that supports these compressed cycles as manual testing is too resource intensive and can easily surpass the given time frame to complete the task. Test Automation, assists in carrying out the work at a rapid pace without affecting the quality of the application.

2. Efficiently resolving recurring changes:

We are all well acquainted with the fact that projects rarely come with a pre-decided set of requirements. The requirements are developed and changed over time depending upon the priorities of the business. The prompt discovery of issues demanded by agile can only be carried out by an automated method. Test automation helps in bringing the essential agility needed in order to respond promptly and effectively.

3. Easily identifying the code issues:

Test Automation allows the tester to test the code quickly without hampering the quality of testing. It also comes with a collection of pre-decided test scripts that help to identify the issues effectively. Thereby, it allows the tester and the developer to get the exact idea of the code and also helps them to respond quickly.

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4. Thorough and continuous testing:

Automation allows repeated and exhaustive examination of the code with a detailed overview. A thorough and continuous testing helps in ensuring the quality of the code. The demand of continuous testing in agile, makes it essential to use test automation as it helps in preserving the previous functionality that could have been affected due to the recently added functions.

5. Automated test support activities:

Test Automation not only contributes in carrying out test scripts but also supports in automating other test activities like test reporting, result validation and data set up. Agile testing requires repeated code of arrangements which can be programmed by test automation. It subsequently releases the testers from the mundane and laborious tasks.

At TestingXperts, we have extensive experience to identify automation needs in your agile projects. Also, with our ingenious Agile Software Testing Services, we have helped our clients achieve augmented success. Get in touch with one of our test advisors here..

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1. What is Agile Methodology
2. Agile Development Methodology Features
3. What are the principles of Agile Methodology
4. Agile Manifesto Principles
5. Benefits of Agile Methodology
6. Significance of Agile Methodology for Businesses
7. Types of Agile Methodologies and Frameworks
8. Conclusion

What is Agile Methodology

Agile methodology is the most significant approach to project management which is effectively used in the process of software development. This agile approach has been majorly introduced in the field of software development to overcome difficulties with earlier waterfall model and to make processes more flexible and effective.

Specifically, the agile methodology definition refers to the software development process centered around the idea of iterative development. In this agile development methodology, requirements and solutions evolve through proper collaboration between cross-functional teams and the product owner. This unique software development process ensures teams to deliver value faster with quality and predictability and handles changes effectively.

Agile Development Methodology Features

Iterative & incremental:

This agile methodology feature proposes incremental and iterative approach with frequent reassessments to make the product better.

Work breakdown:

The agile process consists of small cycles technically known as sprints or scrum. It involves breaking down the project work into iterations or sprints

Close coordination with product owner:

The product owner or customer has a first-hand overview of every stage of project development along with changes if any.

Parallel testing:

The software development and the software testing are taken up in parallel to ensure quality software is delivered. Regression testing is involved every time whenever new functions or logic is added

Effective collaboration between teams:

Testers and developers work in close collaboration when compared to the earlier waterfall model

Daily stand-up calls:

Every day scheduling of short and quick meetings as stand up calls is taken up to review the tasks status within the agile process

Timely Updates and Reports:

The agile methodology process places upfront the product owner to be updated with daily, and weekly reports on project status which makes the process transparent

The agile development methodology emphasizes and practices four basic principles of agile manifesto which have been given below:

What are the principles of Agile Methodology?

Evidently, the agile methodology steps and the process revolves around iterations as priorities can be shifted from iteration to iteration and new features tend to be added into the next iteration. Basically any agile manifesto is followed by some important agile principles which businesses should essentially know and adapt in their agile software development process.

Life Cycle of Agile Methodology 

The lifecycle of agile involves a series of phases that a product has to go through. It starts with the concept stage and goes all the way to the retirement stage. Let’s take a quick look at the Agile SDLC phases: 

• Concept: The agile teams plan the project’s vision, scope, goals, and objectives. 

• Inception: This phase focuses on completing a small amount of work to enable teams to follow the project’s direction. 

• Iteration: In this phase, the teams integrate enough functionality to present to stakeholders, satisfy their current goals, and configure it for package implementation. 

• Release: This phase involves performance testing, security assessments, documentation, and user acceptance testing. The primary goal is to satisfy user demands and ensure the product’s success. After the final development, it is released into the production stage. 

• Production: This phase ensures the product is viable and running when deployed to the end-users. 

Agile Manifesto Principles Businesses Must Know

1. Customer satisfaction through faster and continuous software delivery

Agile focuses on minimizing the time between ideations and launch. The goal is to provide a working product to customers in the shortest amount of time. Moreover, customers can be satisfied by following frequent iteration process along with aligning with the market requirements on a continual basis.

2. Accommodate changing requirements throughout the development process

Agile encourages changes that might take place during the development process. In Agile methods, the changing trends are observed, customer needs and behaviour are studied in-depth, and accordingly change requests are worked upon in the agile software development process.

3. Frequent delivery of working software

Agile methods believes in dividing a product into smaller components and then deliver those components frequently in the form of sprints. Through this methodology, these frequent mini-releases of the product that are built will actually boost the product’s overall development.

4. Collaboration between business stakeholders & developers throughout the project

A proper communication channel works wonders for any software project. It’s the teamwork in the agile model that dominates and hence there must be a proper communication channel set-up between the business stakeholders and the technical team.

Typically, a product achieves success only if it is able to be viewed both from a business and technical standpoint. Hence, the business team and the technical team must work collaboratively.

5. Support, trust, and motivate the people involved

Team motivation plays an important role such that the efficiency and outcome of the project are up to the mark. The agile teams involved should have good hands-on experience to ensure project success.

6. Enable face-to-face interactions

One of the other agile principles revolves around the ease with which various teams can work in close collaboration using various video conferencing and other modes of interactions.

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress

From an agile methodology perspective, customers will respond to working software in a much better manner than a final product that is all perfect.

8. Attention to technical detail and design enhances agility

Despite the fact that agile methodology favours frequent releases and changes in requirements, there must be a stringent protocol set in place for carrying out agile activities, which brings orderliness to the work. This will only make the future less troublesome.

9. Simplicity

This agile principle focuses on churning out work from especially those areas where the outcome is up to the mark and satisfactory. This means that the team members must have a clear understanding of the project objectives and what is expected exactly out of them.

10. Self-organizing teams encourage great architectures, requirements, and designs

Agile methods encourages teams to make critical business decisions rather than depending upon a senior manager. The teams must work in such a manner that they are able to define the processes involved in the project at all levels so that the team members have an idea as to what the outcome can be.

11. Regular reflections on how to become more effective

The final agile principle states that teams must have a learning attitude so that they can learn certain processes they are not familiar with. Also, the teams must learn about the changing customer requirements and the trends going on in the marketplace, so that the concerned teams can adopt and implement best practices.

Difference Between Agile v/s Waterfall Methodology 

Limitations of Agile Development Methodologies:

While being flexible and adaptable, Agile development methodology has some limitations, such as: 

• Scope Creep: The iterative nature of Agile software methodology gives rise to scope creep if project requirements are not defined and managed clearly. This will lead to missed deadlines and feature creep. 

• Difficult to Scale: Although best for smaller teams, scaling Agile development in software engineering for larger and more complex projects can lead to coordination issues.  

• Inconsistent Results: Frequent changes in the project development can lead to inconsistent results, showing a lack of clear leadership or vision. 
• Limited Predictability: Agile’s flexibility makes it difficult to predict delivery timelines and costs upfront, which is challenging for stakeholders. 

Benefits of Agile Methodology

– Ensures early and quality deliverables

– Addresses any changes within the project through change adoption

– Delivers more business value as features are delivered based on the customer’s business importance

– Ensures faster releases to enable faster time to market

– Ensures high-quality development by breaking up project into manageable units of sprints

– Ensures effective collaboration between teams and stakeholders to deliver value to customer

– Eases dealing with costs & schedules with effective collaboration to ensure a more controlled environment

– Delivers working software at frequent intervals through sprints

– Overall ensures cost effectiveness

Significance of Agile Methodology for Businesses

Delivers real-business value:

This agile process focusses on driving real-business value to customers. This methodology places more value on outcomes by enabling quality products that meet the customer’s business goals. This agile methodology approach ensures effective collaboration between teams and stakeholders to achieve a complete understanding of the stakeholder’s business goals.

Close involvement of stakeholders in agile process:

Agile development methodology helps stakeholders to be involved throughout the project and helps to get an effective working model of the software. The process of software development is faster as bugs are identified early with parallel software testing process taken up along with development.

Ensures visual project management:

Businesses get a visual project management as agile teams enhance their ability to work collaboratively by presenting the data in a visual form. This eases businesses to comprehend project details and to manage change.

Scalability:

Businesses determine the scalability of a project based on the time and cost factors. Essentially the key advantage of agile methodology is that it is an effective and scalable project management tool.

Teams collaboration:

Specifically, for businesses, the ability of teams to adapt to change is a cornerstone of agile project management and is an important advantage of agile methodology in testing. Moreover, when agile teams put their time to good use, they deliver what the stakeholder wants without excess spending due to careful usage of teams’ skills and expertise. This sort of effective team usage and active collaboration between teams ensures there will be no overspending involved in the project.

Types of Agile Methodologies and Frameworks

1. Agile Scrum Methodology
2. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
3. Lean Software Development
4. Kanban
5. Extreme Programming (XP)
6. Crystal Methodology
7. Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
8. Feature Driven Development (FDD)

1. Agile Scrum methodology:

This type of agile methodology is one of the most dominant agile methodology followed by enterprises. It is exclusively used by 58% of organizations and another 18% use it combined with other agile methods. This is a light-weight agile project management framework that is effectively used for controlling and managing iterative and incremental projects.

The scrum consists of various roles and responsibilities that are given below:

– A Scrum Master is responsible for the team overview, for planning of sprint meetings and also ensures proper collaboration between teams

– There is a Product Owner who is responsible for product backlog creation and for delivery of the functionalities. The Product Backlog consists of features, bug fixes, other non-functional requirements, etc.

– The Scrum team manages the work and is responsible to develop features and deliver them for each sprint cycle

– Each iteration of scrum is called sprint and teams work on defined sprint backlog

– Daily scrum meetings are conducted to evaluate the progress of the scrum teams

– At the end of each sprint, team delivers functionalities developed and tested during that period to the product owner

This is the most commonly used agile methodology and is suitable for all types of projects.

2. Scaled Agile Methodology (SAFe):

This is a leading framework for scaling Agile across the enterprise. This methodology is used by world’s largest organizations to achieve the benefits of lean agile software and ensures systems development at scale. This SAFe drives faster time to market, increases productivity & quality while also improving employee engagement.

This methodology has been designed exclusively to deliver value on a regular basis and with predictable schedules for businesses. This method also provides a knowledge base of effective and integrated principles and practices to support enterprise agility.

3. Lean Software Development:

It is an iterative type of agile methodology and is a way of optimizing people, resources, effort, and energy of an organization with a basic aim of creating value to the customer. It is based on the principles of continuous improvement, eliminate waste, build quality in, create knowledge, defer commitment, deliver fast, respect people, and optimize the whole basic principles.

In this Lean software methodology, along with all its underlined principles, every business represents a value stream. This value stream consists of activities required to design, develop and deliver a product or a service to the customer. By using this lean methodology, optimizing development time and resources is achieved. This methodology ensures delivering only what the customer needs.

4. Kanban:

The tern Kanban is a Japanese term in which “Kan” refers to “visual” and “ban” means a “card” or “board.” There are some differences between Kanban and scrum methodology. In Kanban approach, there are no fixed time boxes for anything like we have sprints in scrum model.

The tasks are larger in Kanban and are relatively less of them than when compared to a scrum. The period of assessments is also less and visibly there is no speed in the team in Kanban. Typically, only an average time for full implementation is counted. As there are no sprints, teams work on a task from beginning to the end.

The teams work from a Kanban board which based on team’s requirements consists of certain columns stated from left to right. Some of the common columns include Goals, Story queue, Elaboration & Acceptance, Development, Test, Deployment and Done columns. A special column with term ‘Expedite’ might be there which has the top-priority tasks placed in them.

Overall, this Kanban methodology consists of three basic rules that include divide your work into tasks, limit the work in progress, and measure cycle time. Therefore, based on the business need, this method can be leveraged by businesses. Kanban technique is normally utilized by teams involved in maintenance and production support activities.

5. Extreme Programming (XP):

This agile technique is useful for projects with constantly changing demands or requirements from the customers. This methodology is also useful when the product owner is not very sure about the functionality of their proposed system. In such situations, this methodology holds to be very effective.

This XP approach ensures frequent releases of the product in short development cycles. It has checkpoints placed within the process where any new customer requirements can be easily implemented. Highly useful for businesses unsure about requirements of their proposed project.

6. Crystal Methodology:

This is one of the agile methodology which primarily focuses on people and interactions while working on a project rather than giving importance to processes and tools. It is one of the most light-weight and flexible approaches to develop software.

The crystal approach properties include teamwork, communication, simplicity, reflection, responding and reporting, reasoning, frequent adjustments and improve processes. Moreover, crystal method focuses on people involved, interaction between teams, community, skills, talents of people involved, etc. Hence, crystal approach can be adopted by businesses for projects of different sizes.

7. Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM):

It is an agile methodology project delivery framework that is used for developing software and non-IT solutions and it forms a part of the Agile Alliance. This DSDM testing framework covers a wide range of activities across the development lifecycle and includes specific foundations and governance.

Some of the principles of DSDM include focus on business need, deliver on time, collaborate, never compromise quality, build incrementally from firm foundations, develop iteratively, communicate continuously and clearly along with demonstrate control.

8. Feature Driven Development (FDD):

It is an iterative and incremental software development process and blends a number of industry recognized best practices into a cohesive whole. Its main purpose is to deliver tangible working software in a timely manner, repeatedly.

The project lifecycle includes developing an overall model, building a feature list, planning by each feature, designing by feature and finally building by feature. It is a simple five step process and ensures larger project teams to move products forward with continuous success.

This agile methodology framework leverages pre-defined development standards which makes the teams to move quickly. It is best suited for large corporations or for those businesses working on large-scale software projects.

Conclusion

Today, agile methodology is more beneficial to every project development process as it ensures effective communication between teams, and ensures quality outcomes. This process of agile approach enhances the innovation as multidisciplinary teams collaborate and ensure business value with the product owner involvement throughout the delivery process.

This agile approach ensures enhanced communication with close collaboration, and brings about organizational adoption to changes to deliver value to the business owner. Various agile methodologies can be leveraged by businesses based on the project size and based on the project need.

Leverage our professional software testing team as we have been enabling customer success by adopting different agile methodologies for project delivery. Our next-gen testing services deliver exceptional value to your business. Connect with our agile teams today.

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Software testing metrics are crucial for every agile team member, testers, QA managers, project managers, and others, as these metrics help to effectuate the software testing process one step forward. Typically, all activities done by software testers or QA teams are essentially measured, reported, and tracked with the help of these testing metrics. There is no better way to improve agile software testing than to measure the software testing progress leveraging some effective software testing metrics.

But, testers often face difficulty deciding which metrics to choose from the numerous software testing metrics available. Moreover, even if one selects the right metrics, the key to software testing success and progress lies in quantifying results obtained from evaluating these metrics. Therefore, in this blog, a detailed outlook on the agile software testing metrics has been detailed.

Content

1. An introduction to Agile Software Testing Metrics
2. Broad types of software metrics
3. Why should businesses know about Software Testing Metrics?
4. What are the benefits of leveraging Software Testing Metrics?
5. Some characteristics and components of Software Testing Metrics
6. Broad lifecycle stages of Software Testing Metrics
7. Four main categories of software testing metrics
8. What are some of the critical software testing metrics businesses should know?
9. 4 Best practices to follow for tracking Software Testing Metrics effectively
10. Conclusion

An introduction to Agile Software Testing Metrics

 



Software testing metrics are quantifiable measures used to determine the progress of the software testing activities. Typically, they help teams track and monitor the software testing progress, quality, and productivity. The main aim of these testing metrics is to increase the efficiency of the overall software and uat testing process. These testing metrics help stakeholders make informed decisions about further improvements in the testing process by providing related information. There are many types of software testing metrics but broadly divided into four main types.

Broad types of software metrics

 



Source code metrics –



The software’s source code is vital and measured for its quality using published source code metrics. These published metrics are divided into five categories based on their measure, size, complexity, coupling, cohesion, and inheritance factors.

Development metrics –



These metrics measure the software development. It is vital to measure the number of defects within the code and the time taken to fix them. There should be more emphasis on the number of defects in the code than the time taken to resolve those defects. Suppose multiple defects are occurring numerous times in the code and required to be fixed multiple times. In that case, it depicts a gap in the developer’s skills or misunderstanding of the software testing requirements that need to be adequately addressed.

Testing metrics –



These metrics measure the product’s testing efficiency and evaluate the functionality and quality of the software. There are two main categories of testing metrics based on what they measure. The first is test coverage, and the second is defect removal efficiency. Test coverage metrics measure how many test cases were executed, how many test cases were still left to be completed, what parts of the software were tested, how much percentage of testing still left, etc. Whereas the defect removal efficiency metrics measure how many defects were identified, how many defects were removed, etc., and these metrics help improve the software product quality.

Project/Program level metrics –



These metrics relate to the project quality and are used to quantify defects, cost, schedule, productivity and estimate various project resources and deliverables. Project metrics help teams to assess the health of a project and make informed decisions. These metrics reveal how well the project is getting completed as compared to KPIs selected previously. It helps project managers evaluate the project’s status, foresee possible risks, assess the team’s productivity and work quality.

Why should businesses know about Software Testing Metrics?

 



•  To track the quality and progress of their software testing projects

•  To determine the productivity of the existing software testing process

•  To identify the areas of improvements

•  To effectively manage priorities and workload between software testing teams

•  To help stakeholders make informed decisions about the software testing quality

•  To track and monitor the effectiveness of organizational testing processes

•  To estimate the cost and plan the schedule for future software testing projects

•  To help stakeholders decide if the existing technology or process needs an upgrade

By analyzing all the above points, businesses can further evaluate their software project’s effectiveness and software testing efficiency by using these metrics.

What are the benefits of leveraging Software Testing Metrics?



These testing metrics helps to:

•  Improve the overall project planning

•  Confirm if the test quality is up to the mark

•  Analyze risks if any

•  Estimate the future cost and time

•  Identify the areas of improvement

•  Manage the workloads

•  Reduce the overall test time

•  Improve the product quality

•  Enhance the customer satisfaction

•  Increase the ROI

•  Reduce the overall costs of the testing process

•  Forecast the production delivery

Some characteristics and components of Software Testing Metrics



•  Should be simple, easy to understand, and computable

•  Should be independent of the programming language

•  Can be automated so that testers may not have to take readings manually

•  Should make use of consistent units of measurement

•  Should be cost-effective

•  Should be adaptable to every software testing need

•  Should be able to validate the testing process reliably and accurately

Some of the important components of Software QA and test metrics are:

 

1. Test Coverage	2. Test Status	3. Overall Test Progress
• Requirements • Functional & non-functional • Test cases • Code coverage	• Test case (pass/fail) • Defects • Defect reports	• Test goals & objectives• Test blockages, if any
4. Risks involved	5. Defects	6. Test status completion & Resources involved
• Technical • Business • Project	• Categories • Trends • Detection percentage • Resolution status	• Manual tests• Automation tests

Broad lifecycle stages of Software Testing Metrics



Stage 1 – Analysis:



This stage involves the identification of metrics to be used. Once the metrics are identified, parameters are defined and set for evaluating the metrics.

Stage 2 – Communication:



In this stage, the need for the metrics is communicated to the testing teams and stakeholders. The testing teams are also educated about the data points that should be collected for processing the metrics.

Stage 3 – Evaluation:



In this stage, the data is captured and verified by the testing teams. It also involves the calculation of metrics value as per the data captured.

Stage 4 – Report: 



In this stage, a formal report with an effective conclusion is developed and shared with the stakeholders. Feedback is collected from the stakeholders regarding what further actions are to be taken up.

Four main categories of software testing metrics



Process metrics:

These metrics are used to measure and improve the ability of the software testing process, e.g., how many defects were identified during the testing process, how many defects were fixed, how much time was consumed in fixing the defects, etc.

Product metrics:

It deals with the quality of the software product and describes the product’s characteristics such as size, complexity, design features, performance, quality level, etc. The main aim of these metrics is to improve product quality.

Project metrics:

It describes the project characteristics such as cost, schedule, productivity, and also measures project efficiency such as how well the project is moving, and whether it is going as per schedule, or is it lagging behind the plan, etc.

People metrics:

It measures the ability and skill levels of software testing teams. E.g., Are teams working as per schedule, are the quality of defects teams identify within the stipulated time, the productivity of the team, etc.

What are some of the critical software testing metrics businesses should know?



Seven Types of Software Testing Metrics

1.  Metrics for tracking agile testing efforts

2.  Metrics for tracking test efficiency

3.  Metrics for tracking testing efforts

4.  Metrics for tracking test coverage

5.  Metrics for tracking test effectiveness

6.  Metrics for tracking defects

7.  Metrics for tracking the cost of tests

1. Metrics for tracking agile testing efforts-

These metrics measure the testing efforts put in by agile testing teams to test the product. The metrics that come under this category are:

1.1  Sprint Burndown:

It is a chart that depicts the graphical representation of the rate at which teams complete their tasks and shows how much work is yet to be completed within a defined sprint period. Typically in this chart, the sprint dates are represented on the x-axis, and ideal effort hours for completing a task using the remaining hours of effort are represented on the y-axis.

1.2  Velocity:

It measures how much work a team completes on an average during each sprint. It compares completed tasks with the team’s estimated efforts. Agile managers use these metrics to predict how quickly teams can work towards attaining goals by comparing hours committed to and completed hours in previous sprints.

1.3 Code complexity:

These metrics count some linearly independent paths through a program’s source code. It is derived via a measure named cyclomatic complexity. These metrics help agile teams to determine the risk of unstable or error-prone code. By leveraging these metrics, agile teams ensure that the code adheres to established industry standards, such as indentation, inline comments, and correct usage of spacing.

2. Metrics for tracking the test efficiency:

Test efficiency is an important attribute that needs to be evaluated effectively. It depicts the quality level of the software testing process. Below listed are some of the metrics used for test tracking and to know its efficiency:

2.1  Passed test cases percentage = (No.of passed tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100
2.2  Failed test cases percentage = (No.of failed tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100
2.3  Blocked test cases percentage = (No.of blocked tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100

2.4 Mean time to repair (MTTR) = Total corrective maintenance time / Number of repairs

3. Metrics for tracking the testing efforts:

It is an important metric that measures or quantifies the efforts put in by testing teams to test the product. It helps stakeholders to evaluate and compare the expected vs actual testing efforts of testing teams.

3.1 Test execution coverage percentage= (Number of tests run) / (Total number of tests to be run)×100

3.2  Number of bugs per test = (Total number of defects) / (Total number of tests)

3.3  Average time to test a bug fix = (Total time between defect fix & retest for all defects) / (Total number of defects)

4. Metrics for tracking the test coverage:

These metrics depicts the real scenarios and situations of the testing process. It measures the total number of test cases executed vs the total no. of test cases that are still left pending for execution. Below listed are some formulas used for tracking the percentage of test coverage:

4.1  Requirements coverage = (Number of requirements covered)/(Total number of requirements)×100

4.2 Automated test coverage: This metric measures the percentage of test coverage achieved by leveraging automated testing. With time, the test coverage percentage should significantly increase and results in improved software quality. The more automated test coverage percentage, the lower are the chances of defects in the software.

      Automated Test Coverage = (Total automated cases)/(total automation candidates)x100

5. Metrics for tracking test effectiveness:

In contrast, to test efficiency metrics, test effectiveness metrics measure and evaluate the bugs and determine the test set’s quality. Some of these include:

Test effectiveness using defect containment efficiency = (Number of bugs found in test) / (Total bugs found(Number of bugs found in test+Number of bugs found after shipping))×100

6. Metrics for tracking defects:

It measures the defect percentage, defect density, defect severity, and all other aspects related to defects. These metrics help evaluate how many defects and their severity level to ensure the quality of the software testing process. Some of them are:

6.1  Accepted defects percentage = (Number of defects accepted as valid by a dev team) / (Total number of defects reported)×100

6.2  Rejected defects percentage = (Number of defects rejected as invalid by a dev team) / (Total number of defects reported )×100

6.3  Deferred defects percentage = (Number of defects deferred for future releases) / (Total number of defects reported)×100

6.4  Fixed defects percentage = (Total no. of defects fixed) / (Total no. of defects reported)×100

6.5  Critical defects percentage = (Critical defects) / (Total defects reported)×100

6.6  Defect density = (Total number of defects) / (Total number of modules)

6.7  Meantime to detect = (Number of defects found) / (Total execution time (in hours))


6.8  Defect severity index = ((No.of critical defects ×8)+@(No.of high severity defects ×6)+@(No.of medium severity defects ×3)+@(No.of low severity defects ×1)) / (Total no. of defects)

6.9  Defect Age (severity wise distribution): This metric reflects how many of the open bugs are open for long and the corresponding severity

6.10  Defect leakage: This metrics helps to counts the total number of escaped defects within the sprint that were found by the user rather than the agile development teams. Agile teams calculate defect leakage percentage per unit of time, per sprint, or release, etc.

Defect leakage percentage = (Total number of defects found in UAT/Production) / (Total number of defects found before UAT /Production)×100

6.11 Defect categories: The software defects can be divided into various categories such as:

• Area-wise distribution: These metrics reflect the defect distribution based on the testing type performed. E.g. Security defects, performance defects, Functional defects, etc.

• Component-wise distribution: This metrics represents the number of defects in each module of the software. By adding the number of defects in each module, testers can identify the total number of defects in the software.

• Severity-wise distribution: This metrics represents the severity level of defects. It is possible that areas that have a minimum no. of defects could contain high severity defects; thus, those defects should be rectified first. It is usually represented in the form of a histogram or a Pareto chart.

6.12 Defect cycle time: These metrics measure how much time do these agile teams take from the point teams start fixing the bug till the time bug is resolved. It can be represented with the help of a chart where the x-axis represents the time, and the y-axis represents the number of hours taken to resolve the defects.

7.  Metrics for tracking the cost of tests:

During the software testing process, several components contribute to the testing cost, such as resources involved, tools and infrastructure cost, etc. It is important to track and evaluate the testing cost and to compare expected vs actual testing expenditure. The following metrics can track it:

7.1 The actual cost of testing = (Actual budget of testing) / (No. of testing requirements or test case or test hour)

7.2  Budget variance = Actual cost – Planned cost

7.3  Schedule variance = Actual time is taken to complete testing – Planned time

4 Best practices to follow for tracking Software Testing Metrics effectively



1. Link software testing metrics to business goals:



Practically, it is almost challenging to track almost everything. Therefore, software testing metrics should be linked to business priorities. It is important to prioritize and select the most relevant metrics to business, which helps them achieve their goals.

2. Analyze the trends, not just numbers:



Often, it is seen that whenever testing metrics targets are met, the software teams declare it as success. But these simple, quantifiable targets do not represent the entire story. There is a lot more effort behind software testing, and therefore, trends need to be analyzed from time to time to determine in which direction the testing efforts are going and how progressive the final results are.

3. Break measurement periods into shorter time frames:



This helps the software development teams to analyze the software metrics and trends from time to time. With the help of shorter timeframes, teams can effectively determine how well the software testing process progresses.

4. Notifies progress to stakeholders:



Software testing metrics are used to represent complex processes to management and stakeholders with the help of simple numbers. These metrics should not be treated as a means to judge individual performances as the software testing process involves a lot of effort and other non-quantifiable aspects. Thus, metrics should always be used as a discussion starter by which teams and managers could discuss necessary improvements.

Conclusion:

There are many types of software metrics available in the market. But, choosing the right metrics, implementing them correctly, and following them effectively is the only key to the success of the software testing process. TestingXperts has been at the forefront leveraging software testing techniques to deliver superior quality deliverables to its clients. Talk to our testing experts today to know about different software testing types and get an edge with high-quality products.

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]]> https://www.testingxperts.com/blog/Ensure-Continuous-Delivery-in-Agile-Testing-Cycles-with-Test-Automation?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blog-ensure-continuous-delivery-in-agile-testing-cycles-with-test-automation Wed, 18 Jan 2017 08:21:17 +0000 http://18.219.80.225/blog-ensure-continuous-delivery-in-agile-testing-cycles-with-test-automation/ Quality @ speed is what every enterprise strives for these days. With increasing business demands to accelerate time-to-market, more and more companies have started migrating from traditional development methods to continuous delivery that are based on agile philosophy. This modern approach allows software to be developed and deployed in short cycles. Table of Contents Test ... Ensure Continuous Delivery in Agile Testing Cycles with Test Automation

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Quality @ speed is what every enterprise strives for these days. With increasing business demands to accelerate time-to-market, more and more companies have started migrating from traditional development methods to continuous delivery that are based on agile philosophy. This modern approach allows software to be developed and deployed in short cycles.

Table of Contents

1. Test automation and Continuous Delivery
2. Implementing Test Automation
3. Benefits of Test Automation
4. Conclusion

Companies are rapidly embracing devOps and agile practices to accelerate the software delivery to cope with the strict demands of the market. The modern landscape of software testing not only focuses on speedy delivery but also necessitates quality. It becomes imperative for the companies to follow a continuous schedule that encourages frequent releases without affecting the quality.

 

Test automation and Continuous Delivery

 

Manual methods have become arduous and outdated, given the tremendous pressure on companies to continuously innovate, develop and deliver. This puts a lot of onus on regression testing.  Given the enormous effort required for manual regression testing, it has now become necessary to automate tests as far as possible.

Software testing needs a vigilant and thorough process of impersonating an end user trying various input scenarios, asserting and comparing expected behaviors. Using automated tools for certain programmable parts of the test suite can help in a faster software delivery. Test automation implemented well can ensure that the right tests are implemented at the right time to reduce overall test cycle time. Automated tests have proven to meet all kinds of customer demands.

NEW BLOG: Ensure Continuous Delivery in Agile Testing Cycles with Test Automation https://t.co/CYkuvV475Z

— TestingXperts (@TestingXperts) January 18, 2017

 

Implementing Test Automation

 

Enterprises are spending too much effort and costs on regression testing due to the constant changes in the environment and applications. Test Automation helps in accelerating the regression test efforts in an economical way. It also helps in providing 24×7 unattended implementation.

The main objective of executing an automation program is to fast track testing and reduce the overall cycle time. This also helps in using resources efficiently and appropriately.  However, there are a variety of tools available these days, both open source and commercial. Organizations need to carefully evaluate what suits and integrates well to provide optimum results.



Benefits of Test Automation

 

Projects running on agile mode will have to make sure that every sprint accommodates in-sprint automation in addition to the regular regression automation to achieve bigger benefits.  This ensures applications with quality@speed in production.

Conclusion

TestingXperts’ test automation framework Tx-Automate helps in drastically reducing the effort to kick-start automation and improve the existing framework. It also helps in enhancing quality and consistency of testing by removing all possible manual errors and at the same time increases the test coverage, making the testing process efficient and competent.

For queries related to continuous delivery in agile testing cycles and how TestingXperts can help, drop us a line at info@testingxperts.com




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