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@StickyMinds on Twitter
Want a daily dose of what's new and popular on
StickyMinds.com and in Better Software magazine? Follow
@StickyMinds on Twitter for regular updates about weekly
columns, news, discussion boards, eNewsletters, and more.
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Featured Tool:
Rally Enterprise
Vendor: Rally Software
Address: 4001 Discovery Drive,
Suite 220
Boulder, Colorado 80303
Phone: 303.565.2800
Fax: 303.226.1179
Tool URL: RallyEnterprise.com
Description: Agile Lifecycle Management free for 30-Days! Winner
of four consecutive Jolt Awards, Rally Enterprise delivers
full-powered agile project and program management,
including hierarchical requirements management, test and
defect management and integration with development, and test
and build environments. From an initial agile pilot to
enterprise-wide deployment, Rally gives teams the visibility
and collaboration needed to deliver high-value software in
rapid iterations. Rally's software-as-a-service solution starts
fast and scales easily across platforms and geographies
for low-risk, low-cost deployment. Try it free today!
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Sticky ToolLook Interview
Agile Quality and Automation with Ben Carey
Ben Carey is an agile coach with Rally Software. In the following
interview, he takes a look at the concept of a "whole-team approach"
to quality in agile organizations and the value automation brings
to those organizations.
StickyToolLook: How do you see the various roles across an organization
interacting when it comes to "owning quality," and what are some of the
obstacles to that ownership?
Ben Carey: If you look at the structure of most organizations, they're
based on functional divisions. With the functional divisions typically
comes an inability to see the system that underlies the delivery of value
to our customers. When the structure of the organization supports and
encourages functional views instead of system-level views, then we are
starting out with a significant handicap.
When cross-functional teams have a shared vision, shared goals, and
team-based commitment, then they are put in an environment where quality
becomes an attribute of the target system, not just a collection of
activities that are performed by someone with a specific job title.
I think that we need to make that leap to build great software.
STL: Iterations are key to agile practices. What are some of the difficulties
of testing in iterations, and what advice do you have for teams struggling
to deliver fully tested software at the end of an iteration?
BC: Traditional software processes have ingrained a mental model where
we focus on design followed by development followed by testing. This
linear view of software delivery is a hard habit to break because we've
operated in this model for so long. When teams start to challenge their
assumption that we need to do things in a linear progression, they
typically find that their work can be done in tandem.
Another big stumbling block is that new teams typically face challenges
in breaking their work down into valuable units that can be completed
and validated within the iteration. Although this is hard at first,
most teams catch on fairly quickly. When you leverage the feedback
loops that are available with agile methods, then you can find great
advantages in delivering value-focused chunks of functionality and
become more comfortable in splitting stories based on value.
STL: One of the solutions in the tester's toolbox is automation, but
there are differing opinions about where manual testing ends and
automated testing begins. What do you think automation brings to agile,
and what do you think should be automated?
BC: Automated testing is extremely helpful because of the ability to
reduce delays in feedback. Coupling automated testing with continuous
integration and having a stop-the-line mentality ensures that as soon
as a build or a test suite fails then the team is notified. The ultimate
goal is that we want to make failures visible and fix them as soon as
possible. Our ideal state requires that our tests run fast so that we
receive the feedback as quickly as possible, and it's worth noting that
this might take some time depending on the current state of your application.
A general rule of thumb is that we'd like to automate as much testing as
possible. There are certainly cases where it is cost-prohibitive to automate
certain items, and in those cases, you just need to make a judgment call
based on the value and the cost. Sometimes it will make sense and other
times it won't. In addition to deterministic-style testing, there are areas
like exploratory testing that don't lend themselves to automation. In the
cases where automation isn't possible, we want to try to spread those
items throughout the lifetime of the project so that we can maintain
the short feedback cycles.
Keep the Conversation Going
Have a question or comment? Send an email to jmcallister@sqe.com and keep the conversation going.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Agile Development Practices Conference 2009
November 9-13, 2009 | Rosen Shingle Creek | Orlando, Florida
Learn the latest in agile methods, technologies, tools, and
leadership principles from thought leaders who deliver inspiring
keynote presentations, in-depth tutorials, and a wide range of
conference classes. Network with your peers during informal
gatherings and discuss your challenges with experts in agile
practices. *Register two people at the same time and save half
off the second registration!*
For more information, visit www.sqe.com/adp |
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Media Spotlight
Better Software Conference 2009: Jonathan Kohl's
What's More Important: Being Agile or Creating Value?
Are we, in our rush to be "agile," losing sight of what's really
important? Shouldn't our dilemma be whether we are creating software
our customers value? If your processes and tools deliver software
that your customers value, does it matter how "agile" you are?
In this video, Jonathan Kohl looks at why and for whom we develop
software, what our end-users and team members value, and the
difference between tools and processes that create value and those
that distract from it.
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What's Happening at StickyMinds.com
Featured Web Seminar:
Risk-based Testing: An Approach to Reducing Risk and Cost Overruns
Sponsored by Cognizant
The latest Web seminar brought to you by StickyMinds.com and Better
Software magazine. This Web seminar explains how a risk-based approach
can optimize the testing process while effectively reducing the
risk and cost involved. During this presentation, you will discover
techniques for risk identification, risk strategy and assessment, and
risk mitigation and predictability that can help you categorize and
prioritize testing requirements using statistical methods to optimize
cost and time spent on QA endeavors. Join us Thursday, November 10 at 2 p.m. ET. Register Now!
From the Download Center
Software Change Analysis: A Recommended Approach
Change happens. It's a fact of life. This fact is nowhere more
evident than in the software industry. Software products rarely
remain unchanged for long. They are ever evolving, growing,
and adapting as software developers in every shop hammer
out product updates, enhancements, customizations, and fixes.
Managers need reliable, objective representations to better
manage resources and to pare and streamline testing.
Software change analysis provides such an approach.
Download Now!
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Outside the Tool Box
USB Doomsday Device Hub
USB hubs come in all shapes and sizes, and many have secondary
functions meant to improve your work space in some manner.
This month's Outside the Toolbox item doubles as a device to make
you look like a person in charge—someone with one finger on the
button that will provide a solution to everyone's problems.
In addition to being a four-port USB hub, it has a series of
switches and a BIG RED BUTTON beneath a plastic shield (to keep
casual passers by from toying with the BIG RED BUTTON). When
pressed, the BIG RED BUTTON makes the sort of exploding noises
you'd expect to come with the pressing of a BIG RED BUTTON.
If, for some reason, you decide not to press the BIG RED BUTTON
after flipping the switches and opening the shield, you should
accompany your decision with the phrase "How about a nice game
of chess?" from the film WarGames. You know, just to be thorough.
Read more about the USB Doomsday Device Hub at StickyMinds.com
SEND US YOUR OUTSIDE THE TOOLBOX "TOOL"
Is there a favorite USB hub outside your toolbox? Tell us about it by sending an email to
Joey McAllister at jmcallister@sqe.com.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Give Yourself a Gift—Tester Certification
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An internationally recognized certification in software testing
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team. And now with eLearning, it's possible to get certified
online at your own pace and with a lower cost!
Special Offer:
Receive $250 off the eSoftware Tester Certification Course
when you register by December 31, using promo code: ENY2.
For more information, visit: www.SQETraining.com/eLearning
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StickyToolLook is an extension of StickyMinds.com and Better Software
magazine—and a reminder that your "online resource for
building better software"
is just a click away at www.StickyMinds.com |
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You are receiving this issue
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