Agile testing strategies

Agile Test Strategy Example Template

In an agile environment, where we work in short sprints or iterations, each sprint is focused on only a few requirements or user stories, so it is natural that documentation may not be as extensive, in terms of both number and content.

The purpose of the agile test strategy document is to list best practices and some form of structure that the teams can follow. Remember, agile does not mean unstructured.

Here, we take a look at a sample Agile Test Strategy and what to include in the document.

A test strategy usually has a mission statement which could be related to the wider business goals and objectives.

A typical mission statement could be:

To Constantly Deliver Working Software that Meets Customer’s Requirements _by means of _Providing Fast Feedback _and _Defect Prevention, rather than Defect Detection.

Supported by:

No code may be written for a story until we first define its acceptance criteria/tests

A story may not be considered complete until all its acceptance tests pass

In the Agile Test Strategy document, I would also include a reminder to everyone about Quality Assurance

QA is a set of activities intended to ensure that products satisfy customer requirements in a systematic, reliable fashion.

In SCRUM (agile) QA is the responsibility of everyone, not only the testers. QA is all the activities we do to ensure correct quality during the development of new products.

Test Levels

Acceptance Testing

WHY: To ensure customer’s expectations are met

WHO:  Developer / SDET / Manual QA

WHAT: Verifying acceptance tests on the stories, verification of features

WHEN: When the feature is ready and unit tested

WHERE: CI / Test Environment

HOW: Automated (Cucumber)