Changing times have companies focusing on better management of resources, flexibility, and work deliverance to their customers with efficiency and effectiveness. This being the case, using a practical methodology is an absolute necessity. Agile is an iterative approach to effective planning, managing, and executing work.
In a software company, Agile has multi-disciplinary use. An Agile team is known to deliver work in logical and consumable increments, with continuous evaluation being the natural process for progression.
Let’s look at the top three major agile approaches in a software development company like ours.
Agile for Software Testers
Software testing evaluates and verifies that a software product or application performs as expected. Non-functional testing focuses on how well the app operates, whereas functional testing verifies that the app’s operations perform appropriately. Thus, testing overall includes the prevention of bugs, the reduction of development expenses, and the enhancement of performance.
A software tester works on the quality assurance stage of software development and deployment. Automated and manual tests are performed to ensure that the software created by developers is suitable for the purpose and that any flaws or faults within the product are removed before it is released to end customers.
Agile Software Testing is a method of testing that adheres to the agile software development lifecycle. Agile testing can start at the beginning of a project with continuous integration of development and testing.
It increases product quality and allows development teams to release software in shorter time frames. As a result, problems and errors are addressed earlier, lowering the risk of discovering them after testing and dramatically reducing the cost of error management.
The Agile Method makes it easier to manage the scope of each release, prioritize features for each iteration, and deliver the most important ones by leveraging sprint cycles.
Agile for Project Managers (Scrum Master)
Agile is divided into sprints to prioritize the features, which are managed using Scrum methodology. The scrums can have stories or epics. These stories and epics are addressed in the backlog.
The Scrum Master is proficient in managing the Scrum, board & team members. They are also responsible for setting up and driving Agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, Scrum, and retrospective meetings. They manage project financials, status reports, change management, role identification, and business communication with the product owners.
As an Agile Scrum Master, one focuses more on team collaboration and less on hierarchical leadership, focusing on continuous releases and incorporating customer feedback with every iteration provided mainly by the Product Owner. Managers must focus on essential components in an Agile project and let go of unnecessary or distracting work.
A proficient Scrum Master must have the ability to thrive and remain calm under pressure, excellent communication skills and the ability to work well with others, critical thinking capabilities, including the ability to think on their feet, comfort with rapidly changing priorities, and a high level of adaptability and flexibility.
Scrum Meetings | Source: Unsplash
(Link to the interview blog or other approaches regarding project management)
Agile for Development Team
Like any other software development environment, the Agile methodology relies on developers to supply specified requirements as quickly as possible. Continuous development and integration are easier to implement using the Agile methodology, making the development team more productive and priority oriented.
The Agile Development team is self-organized and collectively accountable for all work required to create working validated assets. All development efforts and ancillary requirements like QA and DevOps are tracked as tasks for the stories. As a result, work gains ownership and accountability.
A well-designed MVP is the heart of a successful product system. Agile methodology is the spirit. And when the two work together, magic happens.
The development team is responsible for providing excellent code, attending all agile ceremonies, and assisting team members with any technical issues or blockages, ensuring that each story and sprint is a team success. They also collaborate closely with the Infrastructure team to ensure that the CI/CD process is followed thoroughly and that all coding norms are followed.
(I will be considering the CTA after linking other relatable blog posts, maybe a different methodology)
