testco-software regression testing | agile software testing | agile testing

Agile Testing Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

/in /by

Agile Development methodologies have become widely used and accepted as industry standards across the world. The flexibility to grow and adapt software development organizations is one of the most attractive features of Agile development. The price paid for this flexibility is buggy software. While most Agile development teams are able to produce features at a higher rate than traditional development teams, they also deliver more defects than a traditional development team. Software quality for Agile testing is needed.

Agile Software Testing Services

Agile testing involves testing from the customer perspective as early as possible, testing early and often as code becomes available and stable enough from module/unit level testing. Since working increments of the software are released often in agile software development, there is also a need to test often. Taking an agile testing for software quality control approach is key.

Download Agile Testing Report

Why Have an Agile Testing Methodology?

  • Early in the lifecycle teams don’t realize the severity of existing defects, and do not put a large effort into finding them.
  • When Critical Mass is reached, customers begin using the product in unexpected ways.
  • As product development becomes steady, the effort necessary to find the defects is not constant throughout the release cycle, and a steady team of Test Engineers is too much for some stages and not enough for other stages.
  • When the product matures, automation test scripts that have been relied on in the past no longer provide sufficient coverage, and cannot find all of the defects.

On Demand Agile testing solves these problems, it keeps product quality in step with your engineering team. TESTCo’s QA testing will make this happen.

Agile QA Outsourcing

The Problems with Agile QA Outsourcing

/in /by

There are two problems with Agile QA Outsourcing and we have a solution.

Here’s the first problem.

“Testers”, and particularly, outsourced software testers are poorly qualified to provide all the quality assurance services that you need in your Agile software projects.

Surprise! 80% of Quality Related Activities are Non-Testing Activities

Consider all of the quality-related activities in your agile software project:

  • Requirements Generation – missing stories, creeping scope, dependencies, edge cases, acceptance criteria & story gaps
  • Estimations – missing functionality, dependencies, more edge cases,
  • Planning – regression planning, test automation planning, test strategy and planning
  • Documentation – acceptance criteria, test data sets, configuration management
  • In-Sprint – testing, defect reporting, test case creation, test automation, regression testing

You can easily see that 80% of the quality related activities are non-testing activities.

Why are “Testers” the problem?

Most “Testers” have little or no training in technology engineering, software development methods, or team work.

Most offshore “Testers” have been identified and selected as “Testers” because they are not qualified to be “Developers”. They may have experience testing, possibly even in an Agile software project, but they haven’t been trained in software engineering or software quality.

See the potential for issues?

But Wait, There’s More!

The second problem we frequently see with Agile QA Outsourcing is the fact that “agile” is different in every organization – sometimes it’s different on every project!

So….if Agile is different every time, what does Agile QA Outsourcing really mean? Well, we believe that it means that we adjust how we work to match how you work. We start every software testing and QA project the same way – with this question.

“We have a full toolbox but we’re only truly useful if we understand how to work *with* you. So, can you tell us your agile process and how you’d like to see us work with you?”

That’s where Agile QA Outsourcing starts at TESTCo.

Agile QA Outsourcing, the TESTCo Way

TESTCo’s success in Agile QA outsourcing is based on three distinct advantages that most software QA companies do not have.

  1. Test Engineers – are trained and experienced in using the best systematic approach to find and document defects in your software. “Testers” can run the test cases you give them.
  2. QA Managers – are responsible for evaluating and selecting the best QA Strategy, building the test plan with the Test Engineers and reporting quality measurements and statistics each day.
  3. Agile QA Strategies – are used to match our QA Strategies with your team’s approach to Agile Development so that everyone’s work and outcomes are perfectly aligned and in sync.

Business Outcomes to Expect from TESTCo Agile QA Outsourcing Services

The most important business outcome we produce for our clients is a measure of the risk and certainty of your software. We will tell you, on a daily basis, the quality of your software which will allow you to make a business decision about when to deploy your software for the maximum benefit with the least risk.

Mostly this looks like a daily report with a list of defects and recommendations.

But, there are also many other business benefits that you can expect from working with TESTCo on your Agile QA outsourcing project:

  • Requirements are completed sooner with greater detail and fewer missing dependencies.
  • Estimates are more accurate and delivered functionality is more complete.
  • Plans are more accurate and updated more frequently.
  • Documentation is up to date and sustainable.
  • In-Sprint Testing is faster, better and cheaper

If your Agile QA Outsourcing is not making your Agile software projects better, faster and cheaper, then contact us and let’s discuss your unique situation and how we can help you. Not ready to talk, but want to learn more about software testing for Agile projects. I’ve written an informative report you can download here.

Download Agile Testing Report