By Christa Stone and Herb Henry

We recently featured a blog series that explored the differences between Agile and Waterfall project management techniques. The differences between these two approaches don’t end with planning and management activities. In fact, there are key differences in how these two approaches handle testing that we wanted to share.

What is Agile Testing?

Agile testing is a software practice that follows the principles of Agile software development.  Agile testing involves all members of a cross-functional agile team, with unique expertise contributed by testers, to ensure delivering the business value desired by the customer at frequent intervals, working at a sustainable pace.  Testing is continuous, beginning at the start of a project with integration between development and testing.

Pros of Agile Testing:

• Agile does not have a distinct “testing” phase since testing is a continuous process. However, there are several testing methodologies that can be used:
  • Test-Driven Development (TDD) starts by writing a unit test, then writing the user story, then write the code until the test passes.
  • Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD) starts by writing a user acceptance test (UAT) then writing the code until it passes the test.
  • Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) tests are included in user stories as specifications.
  • Exploratory testing is a manual test where testers record what testing steps have been taken and save these steps as a test.
• Agile testing is a separate task performed as the development life cycle moves forward. Development is driven by test results as testing is conducted as features are added.
• Planning is minimal due to the structure of the Agile methodology. To remain flexible, an Agile test strategy is developed instead of a test plan.  The Agile test strategy includes the purpose as defined by the user story, objectives, the scope of what needs to be tested, and methods on how tests will be run.  The strategy may include test data requirements, test environments, scheduling resources, identified people for testing, etc.
• Documentation is minimal.
• Testers have direct access to the development team.
• Issues (i.e., bugs) are addressed/corrected at the time of testing. Testers provide quick feedback from the testing perspective at every point.
• Constant communications/feedback occurs between team members and product owners, including a reporting of daily statistics and defects for each sprint.
• There is no time delay between the development and testing life cycles. Agile testing supports DevOps and continuous testing.
• Testing efforts can overlap in an Agile testing environment.
• Changes in stories and requirements can easily be incorporated into testing efforts. Testing is done at smaller functional levels, which allows minor changes to be incorporated and tested without impacting testing scheduled for other areas.

Cons of Agile Testing:

• Efficient and continuous communication between the developers and testers can break down.
• Development team members may make crucial decisions impacting development.
• Organizational structure can be unclear.

What is Waterfall Testing?

The Waterfall testing model is a breakdown of project activities into direct sequential phases, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialization of tasks.  The waterfall model tends to be among the less iterative and flexible approaches.

Pros of Waterfall Testing:

• Testing activities are structured and done in organized sprints.
• Testing documentation is well documented and approved by the stakeholders prior to testing.
• Testing documentation is reviewed and approved by project stakeholders.
• Waterfall testing is a step-by-step testing process that will be done once the development life cycle has been completed.
• Testing efforts will not overlap in the Waterfall testing environment.

Cons of Waterfall Testing:

• Requires a great deal of documentation.
• Organization structure is strict.
• Testing takes place at the end of the project.
• Organizational structure can be unclear.

Which is Best?

Both Agile and Waterfall testing methodologies have their advantages when it comes to quality testing, but each method has limitations.  To select the testing methodology that is right for your project, and organization, you will need to decide what aspects of each method is more crucial to you, your organization, and project.

Momentum’s team of implementation support consultants offer system implementation solutions, resources, and training.  With our suite of services, ranging from ensuring the quality of a software application through testing activities, your business gets the support it needs to evolve and succeed in the face of advancing technology. Let us know how we can help!

Written by Christa Stone and Herb Henry

Christa Stone is a detail-oriented Business Analyst with over 25 years of experience working with state government, federal government, and the private business entities.  She has lead business analysis efforts and has gathered and documented requirements on many projects of varying size and complexity, working with both Agile and Waterfall client environments. Christa brings exceptional facilitation skills enabling her to consistently gain stakeholder trust and cooperation.

Herbert Henry is an accomplished Business Analyst and Technical Writer with experience in all phases of the business analysis processes. He is a forward-thinking analyst with a unique combination of business, technical, and consulting experience to bridge gaps among business units and IT groups. He is a thorough, process-centric consultant practiced in executing high-level projects that require accelerated input from IT groups. He is accomplished in leveraging strong analytical, interpersonal, and technology skills to influence system enhancements and maintenance requests, while delivering quality solutions. Herbert possesses extensive communication experience, as well as knowledge in Product Lifecycle Methodology.

Like Herb’s work? Check out his other blog – The BA and the Submariner