Workshop –

Testing on Agile Projects

Agile is fast becoming a mainstream approach to software development, but it is implemented in a wide variety of ways and many ‘agile’ projects follow only a few of the ‘agile principles’.

This workshop first provides an introduction to the philosophy behind agile and explains how it differs from the traditional approach to software development.  The attributes of an agile project and the application of the Scrum methodology to a typical project are described.

Despite suggestions that testing is a secondary activity in agile methodologies, we shall see that testing is actually a crucial component, meaning that specialist testers are key members of the agile team.  True agile projects deliver shippable code at the end of each sprint but in reality most projects make compromises and do not achieve this goal; these compromises are largely driven by how testing is embedded into the development process.   The variety of options available for an integrated approach to agile development and testing are considered, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages.

People are the most important component of a successful agile project and special attention must be paid to getting the right mix of skills and personalities on your agile team.  The skills, capabilities and communication required for working on agile projects, and how these differ from those required on a traditional project are identified and considered.

Despite its growing popularity, those advocating an agile approach still need to be able to provide evidence to justify its take-up to higher management.  The workshop will finally provide data on the take-up and success of agile projects in the industry as a whole and guidance on how to introduce agile development into your organization.

This workshop provides attendees with:

• an introduction to the agile development philosophy and the Scrum methodology;
• a variety of options on how testing is integrated into the agile development approach;
• insight into the structure, make-up and skills required in agile teams, along with evidence on the success of the agile approach.

Course length/numbers

No limit on numbers, but with smaller groups the tutorial will be more interactive and allow delegates’ specific questions to be addressed.

This can be delivered as either a two-hour, half-day, full day or two-day workshop.