QA and testing

Do you use Quality Assurance in your coding practice? How do you use it? And when? And why? What drives you to do testing when you do it?

We claim that QA is one of the most important facets of Lean-Agile software development. More than simply catching bugs or verifying user requirements, they are also partners in helping you improve your entire process. And yet, it is generally misunderstood and under-appreciated.

In the last podcast, Rob Myers told a story about how testing can be misunderstood. This prompted me to want to explore in more depth testing and QA within the Lean-Agile Software Development framework. This podcast is part 1 of an interview with Alan Shalloway, who shares his perspective of QA in its role in overall process improvement in Lean-Agile.

Fundamentally, the goal is to change our perspective from "I am producing a product" to "I am always trying to add value to the customer" (in line with business goals). What we are after is:

• Changing the dynamic of the conversation between the developer, customer, and tester
• Creating a positive, knowledge-generating environment in which process improvement happens naturally and quickly
• Automating this so that it becomes part of the standard work of the team
• Augmenting the nature of documentation to include executable specifications that are always current

Recommendations - Training by Net Objectives

• Test-Driven Development

Recommendations - Reading

• Reading recommendations including testing and validation

Music used in this podcast:

• “Pizzaman” and “Chocolate” ©2006 William Cushman: ghostnotes.blogspot.com
• “On the Cool Side” ©2006 Kevin McLeod: http://www.incompetech.com/

For more information, contact [email protected] or visit us at www.netobjectives.com