7/28/2019 Agile Test Palnning

1/3

5 Rules to the Road For TestPlanning in AgileIn the traditional waterfall methodology ofsoftware development, there is an

emphasis on defining detailed requirements of a software product before

proceeding on to the design phase, which includes application design and test

planning. Since the requirements of the expected product are well known up front

when following the waterfall methodology, it is possible to define a detailed test

plan that will require little modification during the lifecycle of the project.

In agile development, however, the requirements are teased out over the course

of the entire project. Requirements are often written on a "just in time," or "justsoon enough to get to code" basis. While this has many business benefits, it

makes the task of a Quality Assurance Lead very challenging. Test plans must be

developed without a complete understanding of the scope of the project, and they

must be adapted to meet changing requirements. Below, we will outline some

best practices that we have found helpful.

The Three Pillar Way to Agile Test Planning

Three Pillar follows a set of best practices in Quality Assurance Testing that

proves its value when delivering products to our customers. Test planning is an

important milestone in the development process that needs to be very carefully

planned. Here are five rules to the road for test planning in agile that we

incorporate in every Three Pillar engagement.

1. Define a Test Strategy

While it may not be possible to identify the scope of items to be tested early, it is

possible and in fact critical to project success to determine a test strategy. The

test strategy should include:

QA Build strategy: Who is responsible for the QA build? At what points in the sprint will

a build be delivered to QA? is additional hardware required?

Test data creation: In the early sprints dependencies between components that are still

under development may require mocking up of test data. Or later on, in order to perform

certain tests, such as performance testing, users may need to be loaded into the DB. The

Test Plan needs to identify when Test Data may need to be created and who is responsible

for creating it.

http://www.3pillarglobal.com/http://www.3pillarglobal.com/http://www.3pillarglobal.com/http://www.3pillarglobal.com/

7/28/2019 Agile Test Palnning

2/3

7/28/2019 Agile Test Palnning

3/3

allocate more resources for a short burst to do the testing or pick the execution

paths that are most likely to be executed by end customers after discussion the

risks with the client.

5. Have an Open and Continuous Feedback LoopIt is critical that the product be designed with quality in mind. Changes in product

features or addition of new features impact the Test Plan and thereby product

quality. Hence the QA Lead needs to be fully engaged in product decisions with

product owners and development leads who in turn need to take QA testing

estimates into consideration while developing/changing the Product Roadmap.

As with most things in life, there are countless other rules to the road that can

and should be followed when QA testing software products in an agile

environment. Even if these are the only five tenets you follow, though, youll be

off to a good start.