Agile testing refers to testing software as part of an agile development project. Agile software development has long since prevailed over the former waterfall method. In the agile approach, the project is broken down into smaller parts, which are then worked through in so-called sprints. The advantage for the product owner is that they are not simply presented with a product that is more or less what they had in mind, but are closely involved in the development process and thus have much more insight and say in the project.
It goes without saying that testing software for functionality, security, and quality is essential (even if the topic is unfortunately still too often neglected). In agile projects, software testing must also be adapted, as testers are involved in the process from the very beginning. The testing team can even be on board and provide input as early as the requirements discussion (user stories) stage. The tester is thus integrated into a cross-functional team and involved in all development steps. The advantage of this approach is that misunderstandings can be identified and corrected much earlier and, in the ideal case, do not arise in the first place.
There are two approaches to implementing this in practice. On the one hand, testers can be integrated into the development team and test continuously during the sprint. The other approach would be for the testers to test the sprint results immediately and then process them as early as possible in the following sprint. The first option can delay the development of functionalities with very high quality. With the second option, functionality is implemented more quickly, but quality is delayed. Both options have advantages and disadvantages, and it must be decided on a case-by-case basis how the teams should be set up to ensure optimal project success.
Regardless of this, at Vialutions, testers are even responsible for the product backlog and its maintenance, so that a high level of product understanding is established from the outset, misunderstandings are cleared up, and the right test cases are developed and executed.
At Vialutions, we work successfully with agile teams consisting of developers, project managers, testers, and DevOps, and we are convinced that this approach results in the best software products and increases satisfaction on both the customer side and our side.