Agile Testing

Learning objectives#

• Describe the tester’s role in Scrum
• Test user stories with acceptance criteria
• Use the agile testing quadrants
• Contribute to the definition of done

Explanation#

Testers join backlog refinement to clarify stories and write acceptance criteria, often as Given/When/Then examples.

Stories are tested within the sprint; a story is not done until it is tested and meets the definition of done.

Agile testing quadrants: technology-facing tests supporting the team (unit), business-facing supporting (story tests), business-facing critiquing (exploratory, UAT) and technology-facing critiquing (performance, security).

Code example: User story with acceptance criteria#

1Story: As a customer, I want to save items to a wishlist so I can buy them later.
2

3Acceptance criteria
4  Given I am logged in
5  When I click "Save to wishlist" on a product
6  Then the product appears on my Wishlist page
7

8  Given the product is already in my wishlist
9  When I click "Save to wishlist" again
10  Then I see "Already in your wishlist" and no duplicate is added
11

12  Given I am not logged in
13  When I click "Save to wishlist"
14  Then I am asked to sign in and returned to the product afterwards
15

16Definition of done: code reviewed · unit tests · criteria tested · regression green · deployed to staging

Clear examples agreed before coding become the tests at the end of the sprint.

This example is illustrative. Copy or download it and run it in your own environment; the expected output is shown above.

Step-by-step explanation#

1. Refine the story together and add examples.
2. Developers build against the criteria.
3. Testers test each criterion as soon as it is ready.
4. The story meets the definition of done before the sprint ends.

Real-world use case#

Common mistakes#

Best practices#

• Testers in refinement
• Given/When/Then examples
• Test stories as soon as they are ready
• Automate regression to keep up with sprints

Remember this#

Practice exercise#

1Given my cart contains a Laptop and a Mouse
2When I remove the Mouse
3Then the cart shows only the Laptop and the total updates to ₹55,000

Mini quiz#

Want more? Practise all Manual Testing MCQs · Manual Testing interview questions

Related topics#

My notes#

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