How To Effectively Integrate QA into Agile Sprints?

How To Effectively Integrate QA into Agile Sprints?

Agile workflows project a 64% success rate. Competing strategies such as waterfall only

ensure 49%. With this 1.5X increased success rate, Agile has undergone widespread adoption

and aggressive deployment across organizations.

One crucial factor why Orion eSolutions strongly suggests Agile undertaking is due to the quality

it assures. This means that quality assurance must be an integral part of each sprint. It should

be seamlessly integrated and flawlessly followed in order to achieve the promises extended by

Agile.

If done properly, it can ensure the following:

● 60% revenue growth compared to other deployments.

● 71% software delivery acceleration.

● 51% increase in team productivity.

● 3X lesser failure rate

● Enhanced feedback incorporation, credibility, and cross department collaboration.

Here, we will take a look at how each sprint can be lubricated with an integrated QA tactic.

QA and Agile

1) Deploy Quanta of Testable Tasks

Remove the bottlenecks once you identify the tasks that might require additional inputs in terms

of preparation or data in order to perform QA. At Orion eSolutions, we include the necessary

developer tasks and enhanced preparation in the sprint plan in order to avoid this altogether.

2) Small Tasks = Better QA

The best practice to follow is to ensure that from day 2 of your sprint, there are tasks ready to

undergo QA. This can be done by breaking up the tasks into smaller, more inclusive units rather

than going behind a longer, complicated deliverable.

This is to address the fact that any reports not in favor of the project from the QA team entails

additional levels of communication. It requires time to be undertaken and addressed. And all this

has to be done in the same sprint. Hence, the faster QA starts, the better. This can ensure

absolute adherence to deadlines in the most seamless manner.

3) Break Up the Feedback

Every mishap need not be fixed in the same sprint. Divide up the feedback and prioritize the

approach. Feedback may be divided into blockers and low priorities. Blockers contribute to the

sprint path and need to be taken up immediately. These are the ones that need to be fixed in

order for the larger project timeline to be followed.

Low priority feedback can be taken up in subsequent sprints depending on whether it becomes

a blocker as the project continues. Keep these in the backlog and get back to the sprint at hand.

4) Automate

Each release depends on full regression testing. This is especially true insofar as production

releases are concerned. Smaller products usually sport a regression testing time of 5-8 hours.

The ideal manner is to pinpoint the sub tasks that contribute maximally to the next sprint at hand

and perform regression tests on them first.

Automated regression testing hoards a multitude of advantages. Understand the project budget

in order to specify which tests can be automated. Further, check the feasibility as it will be

impractical to automate regression if the sprint is not in its concluding stages.

Conclusion

An integrated sprint plan can help you stick to deadlines and go over the expectations without

necessarily compromising anything on the business end. This is what organizations are looking

for. With an effective mechanism like Agile, this is possible in the most seamless manner.

To know more about this process or to understand the QA integration mechanism in detail,

simply drop a mail at amit.dogra@orionesolutions.com