Agile Model in Software Engineering

Agile Methodology: What is Agile Model in Software Testing?

The term “agile methodology” refers to a practise that encourages the continual iteration of software development and testing throughout the entirety of a project’s software development lifecycle. In contrast to the Waterfall model, which is used in software testing, the Agile model allows for the development and testing of software to occur simultaneously.

What is Agile Software Development?

The Agile software development methodology is one of the simplest and most effective processes that can turn a vision for a software solution into a requirement for a business. The term “agile” is used to refer to methods of software development that make use of ongoing planning, learning, and improvement; team collaboration; evolutionary development; and early delivery. It encourages flexible responses to change.

Agile Model Vs Waterfall Model

Agile and Waterfall model are two different methods for software development process. Though they are different in their approach, both methods are useful at times, depending on the requirement and the type of the project.

Agile Model Waterfall Model
  • Agile methodology definition: Agile methodologies propose incremental and iterative approach to software design
  • Waterfall Model: Development of the software flows sequentially from start point to end point.
  • The Agile process in software engineering is broken into individual models that designers work on
  • The design process is not broken into an individual models
  • The customer has early and frequent opportunities to look at the product and make decision and changes to the project
  • The customer can only see the product at the end of the project
  • Agile model is considered unstructured compared to the waterfall model
  • Waterfall model are more secure because they are so plan oriented
  • Small projects can be implemented very quickly. For large projects, it is difficult to estimate the development time.
  • All sorts of project can be estimated and completed.
  • Error can be fixed in the middle of the project.
  • Only at the end, the whole product is tested. If the requirement error is found or any changes have to be made, the project has to start from the beginning
  • Development process is iterative, and the project is executed in short (2-4) weeks iterations. Planning is very less.
  • The development process is phased, and the phase is much bigger than iteration. Every phase ends with the detailed description of the next phase.
  • Documentation attends less priority than software development
  • Documentation is a top priority and can even use for training staff and upgrade the software with another team
  • Every iteration has its own testing phase. It allows implementing regression testing every time new functions or logic are released.
  • Only after the development phase, the testing phase is executed because separate parts are not fully functional.
  • In agile testing when an iteration end, shippable features of the product is delivered to the customer. New features are usable right after shipment. It is useful when you have good contact with customers.
  • All features developed are delivered at once after the long implementation phase.
  • Testers and developers work together
  • Testers work separately from developers
  • At the end of every sprint, user acceptance is performed
  • User acceptance is performed at the end of the project.
  • It requires close communication with developers and together analyze requirements and planning
  • Developer does not involve in requirement and planning process. Usually, time delays between tests and coding

Four fundamental principles are emphasised throughout the agile software development process.
Interactions between individuals and teams regarding procedures and tools
Software that actually works favoured over exhaustive documentation
Collaboration with the customer prior to contract negotiation
valuing the ability to adapt over the ability to strictly adhere to a plan

Agile Process

Check out the Agile methodology process that is outlined below to quickly deliver successful systems.

Agile Process Model
Agile Process Model

The practise of agile testing makes use of a number of different agile testing methods, some of which are listed below:

Scrum

SCRUM is an agile development method that focuses specifically on the ways in which tasks can be managed within the context of a development environment that involves teams. Scrum, in its most fundamental form, can be traced back to the activities that take place during a game of rugby. Scrum is a project management methodology that emphasises empowering the development team and working in small teams (say- 7 to 9 members). The following is an explanation of the responsibilities associated with each of the three roles that make up Agile and Scrum:

Product Backlog

Scrum Master The Scrum Master is in charge of organising the team, running the sprint meeting, and removing any roadblocks that may be in the way of progress. Product owner
The Product Owner is responsible for the delivery of functionality at each iteration and is responsible for the creation of the product backlog as well as the prioritisation of the backlog.
Scrum Team The Scrum Team is responsible for managing its own work and organising the work necessary to finish the sprint or cycle.

Scrum Practices

This is a repository for tracking requirements, complete with information regarding the total number of requirements (user stories) that need to be satisfied before each release. It is the responsibility of the Product Owner to keep it updated and prioritise its tasks, and the scrum team should have access to it. The team may also submit a request for the addition of new requirements, modifications to existing ones, or deletions.

Scrum Procedures Procedures are broken down into the following categories:

Process flow of Scrum Methodologies:

The workflow of Scrum Methodologies is as follows:
The following is a rundown of the process flow for scrum testing:

The term “Sprint” is used to refer to each iteration of a scrum.
The product backlog is a list that contains all of the information necessary to create the final product.
In the course of each Sprint, the most important user stories from the Product backlog are chosen and incorporated into the Sprint backlog.
The team is working on the sprint backlog as defined.
The team performs daily quality assurance checks.
At the conclusion of the sprint, the team delivers the functionality of the product.
Extreme Programming (XP)
When there are fluctuating demands or requirements from customers, or when they are unsure about the functionality of the system, the Extreme Programming technique can be of great assistance. It advocates for frequent “releases” of the product within short development cycles, which inherently increases the productivity of the system. Additionally, it introduces a checkpoint where any customer requirements can be easily implemented. The XP is responsible for the development of software with the customer as the primary focus.

Extreme Programming (XP)

The requirements for the business are gathered in the form of stories. The “parking lot” is the location where each of these tales is kept for safekeeping.

Within the framework of this method, releases are determined by a series of shorter cycles known as iterations, each of which has a duration of one month and four days. Each iteration consists of phases such as coding, unit testing, and system testing, and during each phase, some minor or major functionality in the application will be built.

There are a total of six phases that can be utilised in the Agile XP method. These phases are as follows and are explained in more detail below:

Phases of eXtreme programming:

Planning

The identification of interested parties and potential sponsors
Infrastructure Requirements
Information and data collection pertaining to security
Service Level Agreements and the Terms and Conditions of Those Agreements

Analysis

Taking Notes of People’s Stories in the Parking Lot
Make the stories in the parking lot your top priority.
Cleaning of accounts in preparation for estimation
Iteration is defined here. SPAN(Time)
Planning of resources for both the development and quality assurance teams’ designs Task distribution for the

Design

The preparation of test scenarios for each activity
Framework for Execution of Regression Tests Execution of Manual Test Scenarios Execution of Unit Tests Coding for Unit Tests
Defect Generation of reports Conversion of manual test cases to automated formats for regression testing
Review at the iteration’s midpoint

Execution

Review at the Finish of the Iteration
Small Releases Being Wrapped Up
Testing for regressive errors Demos and reviews
Create brand new tales in response to the requirements.
Process Improvements Derived from Feedback Collected at the End of Each Iteration
Closure Production Launch SLA Guarantee Assurance Review SOA Strategy Launch Closure Pilot Launch Production

Wrapping

Assistance with Production
The following provides a reference to both of the available storyboards that can be used to monitor the progress of the work on a daily basis:

Closure

Cardboard for the Tale
This is a tried-and-true method for keeping tabs on daily XP activities by compiling all of the stories in the form of stick notes and placing them on a board. It would be more efficient to use an online form rather than engage in this manual process, which requires more time and effort.
Storyboard available online
Online tool The stories can be saved on a storyboard if you want to. It has multiple applications that can be used by different teams.

Crystal Methodologies

The Crystal Methodology is predicated on the following three ideas:

During the chartering phase, various activities will be carried out. These activities include the formation of a development team, the execution of an initial feasibility analysis, the creation of an initial plan, and the adjustment of the development methodology.
Deliveries made in cycles: the primary development phase is made up of two or more delivery cycles, during which the Team makes adjustments to and improves the release plan.
Implements a portion of the requirements using one or more iterations of the programme testing and integration process.
The integrated product is made available to actual users.
A review of the project plan and the methodology that was selected for development
In this final phase, activities such as deployment into the user environment, post-deployment reviews and reflections are carried out. In addition, the phase concludes with a wrap-up.

Dynamic Software Development Method (DSDM)

The Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is an agile project delivery framework that utilises the Rapid Application Development (RAD) method of software development. The fact that DSDM’s users are expected to be actively involved in the system’s development and that decision-making authority is delegated to the teams they work in is an essential component of the system. When using DSDM, frequent product delivery will become the primary focus of attention. The methods that are utilised in DSDM are as follows:

Prototyping Time Boxing MoSCoW Rules Time Boxing
The DSDM project can be broken down into 7 distinct phases.

Study of the Project’s Feasibility Before It Begins
Business Study
Iteration of the Functional Model
Implementation through iterative design and construction
Post-project Feature Driven Development (FDD)
The “designing and building” of features is the primary focus of this methodology. In contrast to other Agile methods for software development, feature-driven development (FDD) describes very specific and brief phases of work that must be completed independently for each feature. It consists of a domain walkthrough, an inspection of the design, promotion to build, and an inspection and design of the code. FDD creates products with the target in mind while keeping the following things in mind:

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Domain object Modeling
Evolution according to characteristic
Ownership of Components and Classes
Teams That Do Features
Inspections
Configuration Management
Regular Builds
The ability to observe both progress and results.
Development of Software Using Lean Methods
The “Just in time production” tenet forms the foundation of the “Lean software development” methodology. Its goals are to accelerate the process of developing software while simultaneously reducing its overall cost. The concept of lean development can be broken down into seven steps.

Kanban

Kanban originally emerged from Japanese word that means, a card containing all the information needed to be done on the product at each stage along its path to completion. This framework or method is quite adopted in software testing method especially in Agile concepts.

Scrum Vs Kanban

Scrum Kanban
  • In scrum technique, test must be broken down so that they can be completed within one sprint
  • No particular item size is prescribed
  • Prescribes a prioritized product backlog
  • Prioritization is optional
  • Scrum team commits to a particular amount of work for the iteration
  • Commitment is optional
  • Burndown chart is prescribed
  • No particular item size is prescribed
  • Between each sprint, a scrum board is reset
  • A Kanban board is persistent. It limits the number of items in workflow state
  • It cannot add items to ongoing iteration
  • It can add items whenever capacity is available
  • WIP limited indirectly
  • WIP limited directly
  • Timeboxed iterations prescribed
  • Timeboxed iterations optional

Eliminating Waste
Increasing one’s capacity to learn Postponing one’s commitment (deciding as late as possible)
Early labour and delivery
Giving the team more agency.
Establishing One’s Integrity
Improve the overall performance.
Kanban is a Japanese word that literally translates to “card containing all the information that needs to be done on the product at each stage along its path to completion.” Kanban is an organisational tool that was first developed in Japan. This framework or method is widely used in software testing methods, particularly those based on Agile concepts.

Agile metrics:

The following is a list of metrics that can be collected for efficient application of agile:

The amount of work, measured in hours, that does not directly contribute to the sprint goal.
It is possible to lessen the impact of the drag factor by cutting down on the number of shared resources and the amount of work that does not contribute.
The new estimates might go up by a certain percentage depending on the drag factor –
The new estimate is equal to the old estimate plus the drag factor.
Velocity
The number of items in the backlog (user stories) that were successfully turned into shippable functionality during the sprint.
The number of additional unit tests
The length of time required to finish the daily build.
errors found during an iteration or in iterations that came before it
Leakage caused by production flaws