Summary: This article discusses the importance of automated testing in Agile software development, highlighting how automated testing aligns with the Agile methodology, the benefits of automated testing for Agile, and providing three tips to maximize automated testing in Agile environments, emphasizing the role of test management tools like TestMonitor in streamlining the process.
Agile development is known for being flexible and accelerating the customer-developer feedback cycle, allowing for fast, iterative development that refines the product over time.
Although this approach brings many benefits, it does lack the dedicated testing phase that its predecessor—the Waterfall Methodology—brings. This makes it more complicated to conduct the right amount and types of software testing.
Fortunately, as the testing field has evolved, it has brought with it automated testing, allowing quality assurance (QA) professionals to run scripted tests within an automated testing tool.
One of the biggest benefits of automated testing is its ability to run repetitive tasks quickly, regularly, and with high levels of accuracy, resulting in a yes/no result. When combined with the benefits and flexibility of manual testing, agile teams can feel confident they are delivering a product that fits their customers’ needs and expectations.
So how can your agile development team take advantage of the benefits of automated testing?
How Automated Testing Aligns with Agile Methodology
Choosing the agile methodology means pushing your team to perform accelerated coding, testing, and refining until the product is fit for purpose.
Similar to this agile mindset, automated testing in agile allows your QA team to create test cases that will run automatically, over and over, as new elements are added or changed in the code repository. This DevOps perspective helps teams produce functional, bug-free code before it reaches precise, comprehensive manual testing for aspects such as security, performance, integration, and usability.
Why Automated Testing Is Important for Agile Development
In addition to maintaining the momentum that is a hallmark of agile development, automated testing is a good option for other reasons.
Here are some of the most pronounced benefits of automated testing that align with the qualities of agile:
- Tests can be run quickly and repeatedly, without worry about tester availability or the risk of mistakes due to fatigue.
- Automated testing platforms offer high availability, reusability, and accuracy, which are critical during agile sprints.
- Tests can be written to allow for binary-based requirements testing and script-based load and stress testing.
3 Tips to Maximize Automated Testing in Agile Environments
Maximizing automated testing can be tricky, even for experienced QA testers. That’s why the TestMonitor team compiled a trio of tips that will help your team better integrate automated testing into your agile environment:
1. Understand what software sequences and functions to automate.
Not every requirement can be easily satisfied with a binary (i.e., yes or no) result, but many can. That’s why it is important to focus on developing automated test scripts with this question in mind: Is the system performing this task or displaying this feature correctly?
Creating test scripts for the right scenarios will allow for the right feedback and save time when they require high reuse.
2. Choose the right test management tool.
Today’s test managers can use test management tools to simplify the time-consuming administrative tasks involved in test management, including developing test cases and compiling tester feedback.
Modern test management platforms like TestMonitor can also integrate with other software development and project management tools, ease the management of multiple development projects, and make collaboration during testing intuitive.
3. Conduct sequence testing with development.
Agile sprints break a larger, complex software development function into smaller achievable targets. Work ahead to ensure that automated test scenarios are prepared and ready to run in the same sprint as the features in development to increase the speed and relevance of the feedback and prevent more costly reworks later.
Boost Your Test Management with TestMonitor
Even if your team is a well-oiled agile machine, leveraging a test management platform like TestMonitor can help them maximize the time and energy they spend on testing while amplifying the visibility and communication vital to comprehensive testing.
Are you ready to learn more about taking agile software testing to the next level? Then take a moment to download our latest resource, Agile Software Testing Guide: Methodology, Tools & Processes for Better Software.
