Agile Testing Best Practices

National Conference on Research Trends in Computer Science and Technology - 2012
All copyrights Reserved by NCRTCST-2012,Departments of Computer Science and Engineering &

Information Technology,CMR College of Engineering and Technology,Hyderabad,A.P,India.
Published by IJ ECCE (www.ijecce.org) 26

International Journal of Electronics Communication and Computer Engineering
Volume 3, Issue (1) NCRTCST, ISSN 2249 071X

Abstract-From the time procedure is penned for an
development process, its best practices and easy way to
implement those practices are discussed and optimized. In
recent years many Software development life cycles are
introduced and their best practices are discussed and studied
empirically. Agile software testing being most adopted in
software product development process emerged as an solution
for efficient solution to test in Agile frame work. It derived and
explained that automation testing is best suited for Agile
Software testing technique. In this paper a complete study is
made on the procedure of Agile Software Testing explaining its
various stages. Also the procedure for Agile Software
Automation Testing and its best practices to be followed to
deliver optimal working product to the customer is discussed.
Paper includes best practices to consider before implementing
automated software testing. These best practices are strategic
and are applicable regardless of the automation tool you use
giving a clear path to test Software Product in Agile
development process.
Keywords- Agile Software Testing (AST), Agile Software
Automated Testing

I. INTRODUCTION

Agile Software Testing is an independent and
distinct part of Agile Software Testing Framework
[1]
.
Figure 1 depicts the agile frame work procedure. The term
'Agile Software Testing' is a philosophy and is a conceptual
framework for undertaking software engineering projects.
Most Agile Software Testing methods attempt to minimize
risk by developing software in short time boxes, called
iterations
[2]
. Each iteration is like a miniature software
project of its own, and includes all of the tasks necessary to
release the mini increment of new functionality: planning,
requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and
documentation. While an iteration may not add enough
functionality to warrant releasing the product, an Agile
Software Testing software project intends to be capable of
releasing

A Sophisticated Study on Best Practices of
Agile Software Testing

Harish R Madhu B K Lokesha V
GSSIT, Bangalore, GSSIT, Bangalore , Acharya Institute of Technology,
Karnataka, India Karnataka, India Bangalore, India
harish22011@gmail.com madhubkrishna@gmail.com lokiv@yahoo.com
new software at the end of every iteration. Agile Software
Testing methodologies address the needs

Figure-1: Framing Agile Process

of the real world because they are based on the already
proven strategy of iterative development. Simply put,
iterative development works by breaking the project into
more manageable chunks (iterations) and focusing the team
on creating functional software at the end of an iteration
(iterations are 2-8 weeks in duration depending on project
size and the Agile Software Testing methodology selected).
Software engineering can often be complex. To succeed, it
demands the use of IT methodologies. However off-the-
shelf methodologies can often be unwieldy or inflexible.
There has been a notable shift towards more iterative
development methodologies in the past decade, as
researchers and technology leaders sought increased
adaptability and flexibility that was not deemed possible
using traditional waterfall methods
[3]
. Agile Software
Testing methodology gives birth to thinking in different
directions leading to customer satisfaction and optimized
software development. It provides optimal approach for
forming small testing groups of highly motivated resources,
working with a defined goal. This approach of testing not
only complete testing life cycle in quick time but also


ensures a proper quality testing will be implemented. Agile
Software Testing software testing states an effective
approach in providing effective results in best possible time-
scale. To practice and implement any process, principals
and methodologies need to be defined and freezed
[4]
.

II. PROCEDURE OF AGILE
SOFTWARE TESTING

Often what vary between agile teams are not the
practices as much as their underlying philosophies and
principles. Discussed are the few encounter issues while
working in an Agile Software Testing project.
1. Expect to work in a team that emphasizes cutting to the
chase. Test deliverables will be asked to deliver every
week or two weeks.
2. The outset of an Agile Software Testing project is
usually short. Typical outline of test framework is
created and testing is started from day one based on the
implementation speed.
3. Once the testing phase has begun, the team will have a
tough time telling the early part of it from the later
parts. All work takes place in iterations of fixed length--
most typically one or two weeks each.
4. Each test iteration begins in a planning meeting lasting
a few hours. The "customer," who is represented by one
or more individuals, who know the next most important
features that the team should build and test drives this
collaborative working session.
5. A very important aspect of Agile Software Testing
method is that they all emphasize is delivering working
and tested software at the completion of each iteration.
6. From day to day, team start solving the problem by
sequence of efficient testing. A Status meeting of 5-
minutes are done to proceed further.
7. From a technical standpoint, most of the Agile Software
Testing methods say little about what a tester does from
day to day.
8. Throughout iteration, the Agile Testing Team will not
only just trying to complete individual technical tasks
but also promised to deliver completed business
functionality.
9. The business side of the fence defines acceptance tests.
Some of development work for the iteration might
include automating these tests so you can execute them
on demand, or as part of the nightly build.
Agile software development is great for many situations but
isn't appropriate for every shop or even every team within a
company. It's also not a guarantee for success. It requires an
appropriate attitude, an eye for spotting deficiencies in the
process, and a willingness to correct the process itself with
every iteration.
III. BEST PRACTICES FOR AGILE
SOFTWARE TESTING

It is impossible to optimize all testing, so it is
important to determine what tests will produce the most
benefit. Tests that require large amounts of data to be input
and tests that are run frequently, such as regression tests, are
good candidates for automation which is efficient tactic to
practice in Agile Software Testing. It is a good method to
adopt maximum automation test methodology at Agile
Software Testing wherever possible. Any test that has
predictable results and meets one of the following criteria is
a candidate for Agile Software Automation Testing:
1. The test is repetitive
2. The test evaluates high risk conditions.
3. The test is impossible or costly to perform
manually.
4. The test requires multiple data values to perform
the same action
5. The test is a baseline test run on several different
configurations.

Automating the repetitive and boring tasks frees up testers
to perform more interesting and in-depth tests. Keep an eye
out for tests or areas of an application that are frequently
modified. These are barriers to automation. If there is an
area of your Web site that changes daily, it will be difficult
to define exactly what constitutes a passing result.

IV. PHASES OF BEST PRACTICES
1. Prepare your applications for Agile
Software Automated Testing

Automation tools use a series of properties to
identify and locate controls. For example, when searching
for a button, the script might use the button label to locate
the object. If the label changes from OK to Submit, scripts
will no longer be able to find the button when they run and
will fail. Developers should immediately notify testers of


any application changes so the necessary updates can be
made to scripts. If possible, have developers create unique
names for controls. Providing a unique name makes it easier
for both the script and the tester to identify controls. This
reduces the chance that the automation tool will have to rely
on location coordinates to find the control. Automation tools
can reveal duplicate control names and non-standard
development practices.
2. Identify the correct search criteria

If the controls do not have a unique identifier,
consult with development to determine a set of control
properties that you can combine to create solid search
criteria. For example, combining the control type and
location coordinates can help distinguish between two
combo boxes with similar properties. Keep in mind that
some applications have dynamic properties. For example, a
Web page can have dynamic hyperlinks that include a
session ID. Since that ID changes each time the site is
accessed, the hyperlink reference does not make effective
search criteria and will eventually cause the script to fail.
3. Define a standard display resolution

In some cases, the test tool will need to use relative
coordinates to locate controls. All mouse actions also rely
on coordinates, so changing the display setting will affect
script execution. Use a standard display setting. If testing
requires more than one display setting, create display-
specific subroutines that can be conditionally called to
perform mouse actions.
4. Prepare Your Automation Team, Processes
and Divide your efforts
Identify the skills of your team members. Some
team members are better at writing test cases than writing
scripts. Have a tester with a programming background
create any subroutines and functions needed to perform
specific actions. Then document the functions and how to
use them so other testers can easily include them in scripts.
5. Create an automation plan

To decide which tests to automate, it is helpful to
write an automation plan. Begin with your goal for Agile
Software Automated Testing.
Following are examples of possible goals:
Speed up testing to allow for accelerated releases
Allow testing to occur more frequently
Improve test coverage
Ensure consistency
Improve the reliability of testing
Define the testing process

6. Define measurements for success

Agile Software Testing Software Testing goal
should not be automation for automations sake. In the
automation plan, define how you will tell if your test
automation is effective. Following are potential measures
for successful automation:
Same number of features are tested in less time
More features are tested in the same time
Current testing costs are less than previous testing costs
7. Develop test cases

Creating and debugging automated scripts is time
consuming. Therefore, you should avoid ad-hoc tests and
tests that are only performed a few times. Automated tests
should be repeatable and should have clear results. After
you determine the types of tests to automate, write test cases
that clearly document the goal of the test, the prerequisites,
the expected outcomes, and what determines a failure.
Ensure that each test has a specific purpose and identifiable
results. It is helpful to begin by automating previously
documented, manual test cases. When developing tests
identify checkpoints you can use to verify test results. Ask
yourself what changes in the application to indicate a
successful test. The system might update a database or
present a verification number. Use a spreadsheet or
databases to verify the expected changes.

V. IMPLEMENTING AGILE SOFTWARE
AUTOMATED TESTING

In addition to writing an automation plan, create an
automation testing standards document. Decide on how to
organize the scripts after they are recorded and define a
structure for the scripts. Before recording any scripts,
establish naming conventions for scripts and variables.
Also, create a separate document that lists all automated
tests and the purpose for each test. Use comments
throughout scripts to explain the logic of the test.


Create reusable and maintainable automated tests-It
is best to create small scripts then combine them to create
more complex tests. Long, complex scripts are difficult to
debug and update. When creating scripts, strive to keep
them reusable, understandable, maintainable, and modular.
You can use the acronym RUMM to remember the
characteristics of an effective script. The following
describes how to achieve each of the characteristics.
Reusable Keep scripts small and focused on a single task.
For example, if you are testing the functionality for setting
user options, you can create one script that opens the user
options and one that closes it. This allows you to use these
steps repeatedly without including them in every script that
accesses the user options window. You can also use
variables and external data to make scripts reusable. When
values for input fields are not hard coded in the script, you
can use the same script to test for a variety of different
conditions.

Understandable Maintaining a document that
contains detailed descriptions your scripts functionality and
purpose makes it easy to understand what types of scripts
are available and how to combine them into larger tests. In
addition to a list of scripts, comments in the individual
scripts can go a long way to making them easy to use. As a
general rule, add comments to variables, functions,
subroutines, and branching structures so it is clear how the
individual components work.

Maintainable Using external data not only
makes scripts reusable, it also makes them easy to maintain.
To add different test scenarios, you can simply add more
data to a spreadsheet or database without needing to edit the
script. Also, using an automation tool that includes a text-
based scripting interface or allows you to edit a script in a
text editor can reduce maintenance time.
Modular Creating scripts to perform specific tasks gives
you the flexibility to build complex tests from small scripts
that are easy to troubleshoot. If your code base changes, it is
easier to add small, modular scripts that address the new
functionality. You can organize scripts by the application
interface, major/minor division in application, or common
functions
VI. CONCLUSION

Agile Software Testing is more effective when it is
used with the tactic of Automation testing. Automation
testing is optimum technique to gel with Agile framework,
as it saves time and testing will be effective. The best
practices discussed in this paper can be directly adoptable
to software development process. Also, these best practices
form the basis for effective Agile Software Test automation.
Implementing them can help you avoid common mistakes
and improve your testing process regardless of the
automation tool you use.

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Agile Testing Best Practices

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National Conference on Research Trends in Computer Science and Technology - 2012

All copyrights Reserved by NCRTCST-2012,Departments of Computer Science and Engineering &

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