QA Agile Testing Quiz: Trivia Questions

Team member first, specialist second!

Test automation in the early stages of an agile transition is usually very tough, but as the team evolves and settles, the right time to implement automation will arrive. At the start, almost all testing from a user and QA perspective will be manual, but the team should keep automation at the top of the priority list to address.

The purpose is not to report how you are spending your hours, but which tasks have been completed, which tasks are next and if there are any blockers.

Teams define their definition of done; it can vary from team to team and should change over time as the team learns and grows and processes improve.

The entire team is responsible for the quality, including collaborating on test requirements and methods, creating and running tests, and meeting the team definition of done.

The ultimate goal of agile testing is to improve the software. Agile testing focuses on continuously improving the quality of the software by identifying and addressing defects, enhancing the user experience, and delivering value to the customers. While finding bugs and executing tests are important aspects of agile testing, they are not the ultimate goals. Automating tests is also beneficial in agile testing but not the sole objective. The primary aim is to enhance the software by incorporating feedback, adapting to changes, and delivering a high-quality product.

Velocity = Total number of story points accepted at the end of a sprint.

The value of testing is in the early detection of defects and achieving "done". In agile, the number of defects logged during development is no longer a focus; the focus is now on delivering value and having customers accept stories for delivery each sprint.

The goal of agile testing is to provide the highest value items to the customer that meet their expectations.

Automation is required to truly gain all the advantages Agile offers.

Planning and meeting are essential to agile projects, but the Agile Values are Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation Responding to Change over Following a Plan While there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

If your team is not performing sprint retrospectives and making improvements each sprint then you are not truly practicing the agile mindset; working in sprints does not make a team agile.

A release consists of many sprints, meaning that a release is a collection of multiple sprints that have been completed. A sprint, on the other hand, is a time-boxed period during which a specific set of work or tasks is completed. While a release represents a larger milestone or goal, consisting of several sprints, a sprint is a shorter, focused period of work within that release.

Throughout a sprint stories are worked in parallel and so each can be in a different state.

Velocity is used to understand the amount of work a team can complete within a sprint period and is a measure used for release planning. Sprints are based on task hours. Velocity rates are specific to a team and should not be used to compare team performance. Velocity is affected when a change in scope is made; before items are added to a sprint this point needs to be considered.

Unlike Waterfall projects where there is a specific phase for testing, Agile testing is continuous.

In traditional waterfall projects, the team may have coded and successfully tested all the requirements, but they may have failed to deliver the right product. Agile helps teams adapt to changing requirements and to also focus on delivering the highest-valued requirements at the end of each sprint which is accepted by the customer.

Total story points assigned to stories divided by velocity yields duration. 140/18 = 7.777 (8)

Incremental and iterative development practices are directly tied to sprints in which teams should produce potentially shippable products.

Testers are an integral part of the team; focus is to deliver a quality, shippable product at the end of each sprint that achieves "done" without added technical debt. Testers are accountable to the team, product owner and business.

Specific test activities are defined at sprint planning; a separate test plan may not be required; a test strategy can define overall Agile testing practices and techniques that are followed across teams where each team adopts the practices that work best for them for a given project.

While many think of Agile as a process, it is actually a mindset consisting of 4 Values and 12 Principles that guide teams regardless of the process (e.g. Scrum) they choose to use.

It is a collaborative team effort, not just for QA specialists.

Defects found during a sprint are important, but not a metric we want to focus on as teams should be resolving these within the sprint; defects found during the hardening sprint are important to measure the quality of testing in previous sprints, the ultimate measure, as always, will come from customers in production.

Not the project manager.

Testers should work closely with the Product Owner (and/or Product Owner Proxy) to understand and help develop acceptance tests and discuss other testing possibilities.

Cross-functional, includes all skills needed to ensure “Done” Size is seven plus/minus two members Tasks Work, Estimates Work, Volunteers to perform work Has the right to do everything within the boundaries of the project guidelines to reach the iteration goal Organizes itself and its work Demos work results to the customer and stakeholders at the end of each sprint

Meets monthly with PO; meets as often as needed with scrum team

All of these items are usually outlined in an agile test strategy.

Set expectations that Team members own estimates and define & allocate their own tasks
Guide teams to solve problems
Solve problems teams can’t
Enforce the defined process
Protect the teams
Monitor progress
Help facilitate meetings and keep them time-boxed and focused
Help identify and remove organizational blockers
Utilize the Agile metrics to help teams improve adoption and processes
Share ideas for improving Agile practices
Ensure teams are enabled with Agile resources/tools consistent with ADP Agile practices
Ensure attendance of Agile Training for applicable team members
Perform 1:1's and support individual team member career and development goals