The Role of Agile Testing in Improving Your Software Quality
With advantages such as better collaboration between teams, a simplified code with less documentation, ongoing feedback, and better application maintenance, agile testing empowers you to deploy robust software that can desirably meet your business and customer needs.
While you may argue that agile testing can raise recurrent regression bugs, it also goes without saying that the bug fixing is immediate. Every bug is fixed in its sprint, therefore keeping the code clean and error-free.
So, what makes agile testing the no.1 choice when it comes to tight deadline-chasing projects?
Simply put, agile test management helps define the tools and processes that can keep the team together in terms of maintaining the test progress.
In 2021, the shift-left approach, where testers and developers combine efforts to create test cases simultaneously, has improved software quality by leaps and bounds. Bottlenecks are identified quickly, therefore, allowing an early release and reduced costs. Agile testing ensures that testers can get ample time to test usability, performance, and functionality with more efficient and quick software delivery.
How do agile testing methodologies impact your software quality?
One look at the agile testing lifecycle is enough to imply an advanced and well-structured approach to handling testing requirements early on.
In agile testing, development and testing processes go simultaneously, thereby giving much room for error fixing and avoiding costly mistakes in the longer run. This collaboration and communication make it easier for all stakeholders to be on the same page when understanding each epic, feature and user story.
In terms of advantages, agile testing overrules its predecessor SDLC models by great lengths. By being more open to changes, it emphasizes the deployment of a working software over extensive documentation hiccups.
Let’s take a look at why the agile testing approach is better when compared to waterfall methodologies:
Time and cost-efficient
In the traditional approach, testers must wait for the coding to be completed before writing test cases. But in agile, as the development and testing are simultaneous, errors are found early on and fixed as you go.
This parallel approach speeds up the deployment and allows for early software release before the stipulated deadlines. Clients are thereby satisfied, and you can improve your customer retention rate.
Requires less documentation
Documentation is no doubt a necessary part of the testing process. But what happens when the requirements of the client change dynamically at each sprint?
To accommodate the new changes, agile emphasizes lesser and more relevant documentation. Any documents that are not related to delivering functionality or those that do not add value to the client are deemed unnecessary.
Documentation is a lengthy process that requires approvals, reviews, and the need to follow specific templates. Agile testing eliminates all of that and stresses instead, on the proper functioning of the software.
Flexible and accommodative
Agile testing is more open to change in terms of fluctuating and dynamic requirements. Being flexible to the evolving user stories and adapting to current market conditions is one of the critical requirements for any software product today.
By placing individuals and interactions above processes and tools, agile testing methodologies aim for a higher customer collaboration level to guarantee a user-centric software. It can only happen when each sprint cycle accommodates new changes introduced in the upcoming iterations.
Facilitates enhanced collaboration
Streamlined communication between the various stakeholders is essential to deliver a well-crafted software product. Accordingly, agile testing prioritizes customer collaboration than staying rigid to what was initially discussed in the contract. Effective communication from the client’s end in terms of critical feedback can propel the development and testing processes in the right direction.
Furthermore, when business and technology teams work co-dependently, the enhanced collaboration helps thwart any unprecedented or substantially problematic issues.
Accelerates software deployment
One of the leading agile testing principles focuses on preventing bugs in the first phase rather than looking for them in later stages of development. Agile testing speeds up the development by running tests parallelly, thereby releasing the software within a shorter timeframe.
With frequent testing cycles, product owners and other teams get a greater understanding of the epic, allowing them to create an advanced and ready-to-market software.
Provides a simple test-driven approach
Agile testing is a reasonably simple testing model that is based on consistent improvement. There is a better determination of risks and issues, which helps mitigate them quickly and effectively.
With certain functionality, security and performance assurance, and a clean code, the software becomes easy to maintain. There are negligible chances of failure, which can be spotted and fixed in each sprint iteration effectively.
Promotes collaboration among teams
Several leading global organizations such as Philips, Vista Print, and JP Morgan Chase have chosen agile testing methodologies over traditional approaches to improve workplace efficiencies.
As a result of implementing the agile principles, teams can react to situations quicker, bureaucracy is removed, and it is ultimately more comfortable for smaller teams to take responsibility.
Feedback loops are avoided, and teams can move from ideation to delivery smoothly and swiftly. Hence, it is a win-win!
Takeaways:
In software development, quality is paramount. Agile testing keeps quality assurance as a top priority, and therefore testers must have a good understanding of Agile principles to adapt to its methodologies.
To tap into agile testing’s benefits, you need a team with rich experience in handling agile projects. At Qualitest, we enable your agile transformation and help you deliver an efficient software product.
