Testers in the Agile World

1. Testers in the Agile world
Wiktor Żołnowski
@streser
blog.testowka.pl
www.agileszkolenia.pl

3. I considered myself a Tester (on my team)

4. “Tester is the most important role in the
team”
Tester is the most important role in the team because:
- only testers and testing can add quality to the software...
- thanks to them there are fewer bugs in the software...
- they are adding high value to our products...
- it is impossible to work in a team without testers...

5. “Only testers can add quality to
software...?”
Quality is not a result of software testing - testing is
only quality control
(and even not always this)...

6. “If you have testers in the team then the
number of bugs in the software is lower...?”
Amount of implemented bugs could be lower than
without testers, but not always...
It's not a tester who is responsible for implementing
bugs or fixing them..
Testing is proving that there are bugs in the software
not fixing them...

7. “Software testing adds value to the product”
Software testing doesn't add any value to the product
by itself...
Try to do only software testing without programming...

8. “It is impossible to deliver high quality
software without testers”
There are many teams that work just fine
without testers...

9. “Who is a tester?”
“What is a tester?”
Tester is a state of mind...
Software testing is continuously stressing the product
and hunting for bugs...
Testing is not just clicking around...

10. “What is the role of a tester in an Agile
Team?”
By "...Agile Team..." I mean collocated, cross-functional
team...
I don't believe in “Agile Testing Teams” etc...

11. “From the beginning...”
Testing is not just creating and executing test scenarios...
It's not even about test automation...
Testing is the art of asking correct questions at
the right time:
What are you working on?
How do you plan to implement it?
What about our DoD?
Can you name all the test cases which you
will use in your unit tests?
Is this feature ready for tests?

12. “What next?”
It's no more: “We – Them”
Now WE are the team, and WE have a common goal
so WE will be working together...

13. “Feedback”
Is our product working properly?
Are there any major bugs still there that need to be
fixed?
What is the probability/risk of there being critical bugs
that we didn't find yet?
Is it Done? Is it Done WELL?
Could we do this better than it is right now? Should we
do this better?

14. “The team”
Higher expectations...
Agile means continuous improvement – also your
personal improvement...
Increasing our effectiveness – it means that we will need
to automate some parts of our work..

15. “The Tester”
You need to be prepared for any changes...
You need to be pro-active...
Asking questions is crucial...
You need to find a way to react before bugs will be implemented...
It's because:
“Responding to changes over following a plan”

16. “Testers are (?) different than programers”
Different point of view...
Tester is closer to the customer...
They behave as a user more than programers...
Working with testers can be effective, because:
“Individuals and interactions over process and
tools”

17. “Tester is the most a very important role in
the team”
Working with testers in the team could be very
effective...
Testers need to ask questions and be pro-active...
Communication skills are crucial...

18. “There is no place for testers in the Agile
World...”
Why the hell testers aren't mentioned in methodologies like
Scrum or XP?

19. “Scrum tester?”
In Scrum we have cross-functional teams where everyone is
called “developer”...
Could “developer” mean “tester”?
There is Definition of Done – but there is more than one way
to assure that this done is done...

20. “XP tester?”
In eXtreme Programming the most important part of testing is
test automation...
But can high quality be assured only by TDD, BDD or ATDD?
Is there any place for non-technical testers?
Even if they don't know how to automate tests they always
could learn how to do it...
Could you even try Pair Programming with testers?

21. “Tester”
Testers with their domain knowledge and experience could be
very helpful in the programming process...
Their input into TDD or BDD can be crucial...
They are closer to the customer...
And we know that:
“Customer collaboration over contract negotiation”
is not always so easy...

22. “What next?”
Tester is the most a very important role in the Agile Team!
There is no a place for testers in the Agile Team!

23. “We are all testers?”
Everyone is testing what she is doing – one way or another...
Everyone likes to prove that something is broken...
Everyone could ask questions mentioned before...

24. “We are the team”
It is crucial to work together, as a team...
Cross-functionality works only with cooperation...
You can be the most senior programmer and the most junior
tester in the team or you can be the most senior tester and the
most junior programmer...
We are the team and we have common goal which is:
“Working software over comprehensive documentation”

25. Finally
There are testers among us!
Their knowledge is priceless...
Testers could be valuable team members but you need to
create proper environment for them...
Empower them!

26. In the end...
"There are no testers (mentioned) in the Agile world"
...
But
...
"Testers are very important members of agile teams."
...
And
...
"We are all testers."

27. So how many of you would call yourself a
tester now?
Wiktor Żołnowski
wiktor.zolnowski@gmail.com
www.agileszkolenia.pl
www.byop.pl
www.blog.testowka.pl