Here's how you can master agile testing as a Quality Assurance professional.

As a Head of QA my experience working with software development for the pharmaceutical industry, where GxP (Good Practices) standards are mandatory, I understand the importance of being flexible and comprehending the processes and their impact on the client's product. A QA professional in software development must have a creative mindset to simplify and automate client processes, meet their needs, and comply with all relevant regulations. It is crucial to ensure that the URS (User Requirement Specification) is complete and well-written, and that the software developer has experience in the industry for which they are providing the service.

As a TESTER who knows the meaning of testing ('HOW DOES IT WORK?') - there is no such thing as agile testing. Sure you can do some regression on top of some acceptance criteria checking each sprint. But that will not be testing. It is just checking. A requirement is a hypothesis. Till the hypothesis is explored and proven, it does not make sense to support a requirement. The only way to really test a product is to test it when a feature is ready, not based on the requirement or in small chunks (you can't weigh a baby when it is being born, you have to wait)

Mastering agile testing as a QA professional hinges on effective collaboration. Here are three ways to achieve this: 1. Engage in regular communication: Participate in daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives to ensure alignment and provide continuous feedback. 2. Foster a culture of trust and transparency: Create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing insights and challenges, helping identify potential issues early. 3. Integrate QA into development: Work closely with developers, product owners, and stakeholders to understand requirements and expectations, ensuring quality from the start. By collaborating effectively, you enhance product quality and streamline the testing process.

Proactively sharing your insights and feedback can significantly contribute to the team's success. By highlighting potential issues early and suggesting improvements, you help enhance the overall quality of the product. In an agile environment, the focus is on collective responsibility and delivering value to the customer. Being an integrated part of the team, the contributions aa QA are crucial in achieving these goals.

Implementing continuous testing involves integrating automated tests throughout the software delivery pipeline to provide rapid and continuous feedback on the quality of code changes. It starts with automating tests at various stages of development, including unit testing, integration testing, and acceptance testing. As new code is committed, these automated tests are executed automatically, ensuring that any defects or regressions are identified early in the development process. Continuous testing enables teams to detect and fix issues promptly, maintain code stability, and accelerate the delivery of high-quality software.

A implementação de testes contínuos envolve a integração de testes automatizados em todo o pipeline de entrega de software para fornecer feedback rápido e contínuo sobre a qualidade das alterações de código. Ele começa com a automação de testes em vários estágios de desenvolvimento, incluindo testes de unidade, testes de integração e testes de aceitação. À medida que o novo código é confirmado, esses testes automatizados são executados automaticamente, garantindo que quaisquer defeitos ou regressões sejam identificados no início do processo de desenvolvimento. Os testes contínuos permitem que as equipes detetem e corrijam problemas prontamente, mantenham a estabilidade do código e acelerem a entrega de software de alta qualidade.

Implementing continuous testing is crucial for modern software development practices. It involves integrating automated tests throughout the software delivery pipeline to provide rapid feedback on the quality of code changes. Continuous testing ensures that defects are caught early in the development cycle. By automating tests and running them continuously, teams can identify issues sooner, reducing the cost and effort of fixing bugs later in the process. Regularly running tests helps maintain code quality standards. It ensures that each code change is thoroughly checked against predefined acceptance criteria, reducing the chances of introducing new bugs into the system.