Overview

This 3 day series of classes covers the essential principles and practices for testing in an Agile context. It is structured as a series of 1-day classes so that you can take all three days, or just choose one or two. The sequence of classes is:

• Day 1: Adapting to Agile
• Day 2: Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD) in Practice
• Day 3: Exploratory Testing in an Agile Context

Agenda

On Day 1, participants experience an Agile transition through the WordCount simulation. By the end of the day participants have a visceral understanding of Agile, and in particular the shifting role of Test/QA in Agile development.

On Day 2, participants learn the essential elements of Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD), a practice in which the whole team collaborates on creating acceptance tests as part of the feature/story discussions, and in which those tests are then automated during implementation.

On Day 3, participants learn how to integrate Session-Based Exploratory Testing within a sprint or iteration to gain additional feedback on the software under development and discover previously unknown risks and vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m in a QA/QE/Testing group, and my organization is adopting Agile. This is all new to me. Where should I start?

We recommend that you take all three classes in this series.

The first day, “Adapting to Agile,” gives you an opportunity to experience an Agile transformation and see how the whole team (not just testers) relies on test-related activities to move the project forward.

The second day, “Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD) in Practice,” shows how testers can start adding value up front, and may address concerns you might have about designing tests without having requirements documents.

The third day, “Exploratory Testing in an Agile Context,” will teach you about applying Session-Based Exploratory Testing as part of a sprint or iteration. It will also answer concerns you might have around how an Agile team tests for the risks and vulnerabilities that are not covered by automated tests.

I’m a Developer. Are these classes just for testers?

Nope! We want you to participate! Please join us!

As a Developer on an Agile team, you contribute a great deal to the testing-related activities. These classes will help you learn how to collaborate with testers and business stakeholders on various testing-related activities to ensure that the whole team is getting the feedback they need to keep the project moving forward. These classes also might help you convince other people in your organization that testing activities are a shared responsibility on an Agile team.

I’m a Scrum Product Owner or a Business Analyst. Should I come to these classes? If so, which one?

If you are responsible for defining what the software should do on an Agile project, then you are also ultimately responsible for accepting the software. And yet you don’t have time to test it thoroughly by yourself. You need the help and support of the technical team to be sure when you accept software that it meets your expectations. The practice of Acceptance Test Driven Development is particularly important for that. So if you can come to only one day of these classes, we recommend you come for Day 2, the ATDD class.

If you can come to two days, we recommend that you also take the “Adapting to Agile” class because it will allow you to explore the connection between stories and acceptance tests in a microcosm.

Of course, if you can come for all three days we think you’ll find it very worthwhile. The third day on Exploratory Testing will give you ideas for ways to explore the emerging system to ensure that it really does meet your needs.

Really? I should sign up? But I’m not in QA, and I’m not a Tester. I’m a …

We hear this a lot: “Great! You have an Agile Testing class! I’ll send my QA department!” There is an unfortunate implicit assumption that the only people who have to worry about testing are the designated Testers or QA people.

In an Agile context, everyone tests.

So no matter what role you play on an Agile team, you have some testing-related responsibilities, and you need to be prepared to play your part in ensuring that the software is adequately tested before calling it “Done.”