Acceptance Testing
The acceptance test is the highest of the test stages. The theory says that the customer tests here and realizes with a smile on his face how...
Do you still need test management in an agile project? Is a test manager necessary in agile testing? I get asked these questions again and again. My answer is quite clear: it depends. It depends on which tasks you need from this role in the team and consider to be helpful. And who can take on these tasks in the team.
The ISTQB defines the test manager as “The person responsible for the project management of test activities and test resources and for the evaluation of a test object.”
In a professional project environment - whether traditional or agile - there are quality assurance tasks. In the traditional approach, a test manager with a focus on test planning and control fulfills many of these tasks. In an agile team, everyone is responsible for quality. These tasks also exist here, although not necessarily in the person of the test manager.
Sometimes, however, these tasks in agile projects accumulate with individuals. That’s okay as long as it doesn’t create knowledge silos. In my experience, a sensible distribution among several team members and a shared view of the activities is more optimal.
What is it actually about? Here are a few examples of quality assurance tasks that the test manager would have taken on in a traditional project:
In agile software development, many of these tasks are already covered by developers, product owners, scrum masters or other roles. For the others, it is up to the team to decide whether and who should take on these tasks. How this can look in detail is described in my book “Agile Testing - The agile path to quality”.
All tasks are now distributed within the team. Is the test manager now obsolete? Quite the opposite! Their knowledge and experience are invaluable. When your own company switches to agile software development, the legitimate question arises: What happens now as a test manager? In recent years, I have coached many test managers who were faced with this question. Some of them have gone into agile projects as testers and have driven testing activities forward there. I have accompanied others on their way to becoming agile quality coaches. They have created a new understanding of their role and now support projects within the company. There they support developers and other team members:
The need for precisely tailored software tests is increasing due to the interaction and complexity of systems. The knowledge of today’s test managers is indispensable and will become even more important in the future. What can efficient tests look like? Which tests have which priority? In my opinion, the classic image of the test manager has had its day. We won’t often find managers who write hundreds of pages of test concepts and spend the whole day poring over Gantt charts. What does the agile test manager look like? He is a team companion who uses his know-how to accompany development and test teams and enables them to find their agile quality path.
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