Articles

2020 letters and confetti 7 Agile Testing Trends to Watch for in 2020

With 2020 upon us, software development firms seeking to increase their agility are focusing more and more on aligning their testing approach with agile principles. Let’s look at seven of the key agile testing trends that will impact organizations most this year.

Nick Karlsson's picture Nick Karlsson
Test pyramid with the base unit test layer eroded The Eroding Agile Test Pyramid

The test pyramid is a great model for designing your test portfolio. However, the bottom tends to fall out when you shift from progression testing to regression testing. The tests start failing, eroding the number of working unit tests at the base of your pyramid. If you don't have the development resources required for continuous unit test maintenance, there are still things you can do.

Wolfgang Platz's picture Wolfgang Platz
Requirements model Requirements Mapping Using Business Function Test Suites

On this team, testers were overcommitted, avoidable defects were surfacing, and documentation was hard to find. Worse, trust and morale were low. Upgrading tools was out of the question, so the testers decided to take matters into their own hands and create incremental change themselves. Here's how a team added a new type of traceability to its requirement test case world.

Balazs Schaffhauser's picture Balazs Schaffhauser
4 steps in a QA process 4 Strategies for a Structured QA Process

Being a software tester is no longer just about finding bugs. It is about continuous improvement, defining a clear test strategy, and going that extra mile to improve quality. Following a consistent, structured approach to QA will help you acquire more knowledge about the product you are testing, ask questions you otherwise may not have thought of, and become a true owner of quality.

Praveena Ramakrishnan's picture Praveena Ramakrishnan

Better Software Magazine Articles

QA Is More Than Being a Tester QA Is More Than Being a Tester

QA testers often take on more of a role than just testing software code. When the team needs help, QA should lend a hand in assisting with business analysis, customer communication, user experience, and user advocacy.

Amanda Perkins's picture Amanda Perkins
The Unspoken Truth about IoT Test Automation The Unspoken Truth about IoT Test Automation

The internet of things (IoT) continues to proliferate as connected smart devices become critical for individuals and businesses. Even with test automation, performing comprehensive testing can be quite a challenge.

Rama Anem's picture Rama Anem
Test-Driven Service Virtualization Test-Driven Service Virtualization

Because enterprise applications are highly interconnected, development in stages puts a strain on the implementation and execution of automated testing. Service virtualization can be introduced to validate work in progress while reducing the dependencies on components and third-party technologies still under development.

Alexander Mohr's picture Alexander Mohr
testing Adopt an Innovative Quality Approach to Testing

How much testing is really enough? Given resources, budget, and time, the goal of comprehensive testing seems impossible to achieve. It’s time to rethink your test strategy and start innovating.

Rajini  Padmanaban's picture Rajini Padmanaban

Interviews

Testing as a Craft: A Conversation with Greg Paskal
Podcast

Greg Paskal, evangelist in testing sciences and lead author for RealWorldTestAutomation.com, chats with TechWell community manager Owen Gotimer about testing as a craft, choosing the right test automation tools, and current testing trends around the world.

Owen Gotimer's picture Owen Gotimer
Melissa Tondi Embracing Tools and Technology in QA: An Interview with Melissa Tondi
Video

In this interview, Melissa Tondi, senior QA strategist at Rainforest, discusses the foundation you need in order to have a positive introduction for new tools and technologies. She explains why the team leader has to understand what motivates each individual and how to get them excited about their job. Melissa says team members also have to realize that if they are in any way involved in testing software, they are a technologist, so they have to embrace the tools and technology that will continuously improve and streamline repetitive tasks.

Jennifer Bonine's picture Jennifer Bonine
Bob Galen Strategic Leadership in Agile: An Interview with Bob Galen
Video

In this interview, Bob Galen, principal agile coach at Vaco Agile, talks about the importance of getting rid of silos by breaking down the barriers of “them and us” and becoming “we.” He also discusses the need for agile managers to steer away from a tactical management view toward a more strategic leadership view. That means leading their teams by setting expectations and guidelines and being available to help if needed, but ultimately just trusting their teams to get the job done.

Owen Gotimer's picture Owen Gotimer
Peter Varhol and Gerie Owens What Testers Can Learn from Airline Safety Improvements: An Interview with Peter Varhol and Gerie Owens
Video

Technologist and evangelist Peter Varhol and Gerie Owens, a test architect and certified ScrumMaster, discuss their STARWEST presentation, “What Aircrews Can Teach Testers about Testing.” They talk about how testers can apply airline safety practices to their teams’ delivery of high-quality applications through complementary expertise, collaboration, and decision-making. They also explain how blind deference to authority and automation can be detrimental to a testing team, and how to use everyone’s skills to achieve success.

Jennifer Bonine's picture Jennifer Bonine

Conference Presentations

STARCANADA 2019 Providing Value as a Leader: More Than Just Being the Boss
Slideshow

Being a test manager is more than just being the boss. Sure, there is direction to set, issues to address, hiring, performance reviews, and status updates.

Jeff Abshoff
STARCANADA 2019 3 Steps to QA Success from a VP of Quality Assurance
Slideshow

Are you a leader with a quality problem? Every organization struggles with quality at some point in their product lifecycle. Knowing what to measure and how to build a culture of quality with specific and actionable methods is key.

Karen Holliday
Agile DevOps West What's That Smell? Tidying Up Our Test Code
Slideshow

We are often reminded by those experienced in writing test automation that code is code. The sentiment being conveyed is that test code should be written with the same care and rigor that production code is written with.

Angie Jones
STAREAST Testing in Production
Slideshow

How do you know your feature is working perfectly in production? And if something breaks in production, how will you know?

Talia Nassi

AgileConnection is a TechWell community.

Through conferences, training, consulting, and online resources, TechWell helps you develop and deliver great software every day.