Effective use of the Agile software development process aids teams in considerably raising the calibre of each new release of their programme. Additionally, it enables teams to quickly adjust to change.
The Agile process consists of short, time-boxed iterations known as sprints. Each sprint results in a working product. The success of this method relies not only on shorter iterations but also on a level of collaboration amongst the team that is hard to find in traditional methodologies. Here are our top 10 reasons to use Agile for your mobile application testing and development efforts.
Companies cannot afford to let process, procedure, and documentation lengthen time to market as customer demand drives product development. Delays like these cost businesses their ability to compete and eventually, consumers. By determining the demands of the customer, agile software development and testing assist in solving this issue. In-depth documentation is not valued in agile software development, nor are stakeholder involvement, customer collaboration, or process transparency.
Overview of Agile Methodology
The Agile software development technique is based on sprints, which are time-boxed project cycles. A sprint is a brief time frame, typically two weeks, during which the team works on a certain amount of features known as “user stories.” The crew can complete these tales within two weeks. As a result, compared to a waterfall project, the sprint has a substantially fewer amount of features. This method of feature restriction makes the product development and release cycle more manageable.
A traditional project team is substantially larger than an agile team, which should have no more than 12 members. The project manager, also known as the Scrum master, the product owner, analysts, developers, and QA testers make up the team. Throughout each sprint, the team can reach out to the product owner for assistance and feedback as they represent the interests of the project’s stakeholders. The team engages in daily stand-up meetings during a sprint to discuss progress. The team does a formal release at the end of the sprint before starting a planning session for the following sprint.
Agile vs. Waterfall in Mobile Application Testing and Development
Prior to adopting Agile, businesses developed and tested mobile applications in a more systematic manner. The waterfall method guided projects through a predetermined order of steps from start to finish. These processes combined to form project phases, each of which had its own unique set of tasks. The waterfall method was process- and documentation-intensive, despite being effective. Teams lacked the flexibility necessary to meet changing consumer demands as a result. In a waterfall project, any changes to the requirements required an analyst to update the requirements document, which the stakeholders then had to evaluate and reapprove. It was a procedure that resulted in delays and jeopardised the delivery timetable.
These difficulties are reduced, if not entirely, by agile software development. Teams in Agile work on a predetermined number of user stories throughout the course of a time-limited cycle. The team prioritises providing a usable product during that period rather than procedure and documentation. As a result, compared to waterfall projects, agile projects can deploy new features more quickly and frequently.
Top 10 Reasons for Choosing Agile Software Development and Testing
1. Reduces Technical Debt
The tasks needed to support the current product are referred to as having technical debt. These duties include testing, refactoring, and defect resolution. In a conventional project approach, this technical debt can quickly build up as the team concentrates on creating new features to meet the project’s deadline.
The maintenance duties necessary to support the current product are referred to as technical debt. Defect resolving, refactoring, and testing are some of these duties. This technical debt can quickly build up in a traditional project methodology as the team concentrates on creating new features to meet the project timeframe.
2. Easily and Quickly Adapt to Change
In Agile, teams are encouraged to adopt the methodology in addition to adapting to change. Agile recognises that client needs are subject to change and that teams must be flexible. The team can work in time-boxed iterations without having to wait for a drawn-out requirement change, review, and approval procedure. Any modification or upkeep item is put to the backlog and assigned to a subsequent sprint based on priority and business necessity.
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3. Using Agile for Mobile Application Development and Testing Creates Total Alignment and Transparency
A level of cooperation and involvement that is not present in a conventional waterfall project is necessary for an Agile software development process. During a waterfall project, each phase frequently only requires a small group of specialists to complete the assigned responsibilities. Agile is really different, though.
The entire team examines, validates, and decides which user stories to include in each sprint before each one. To complete the tasks allocated to the sprint, the product owner, developers, analysts, and testers collaborate. To keep everyone on the same page, the team meets every day. Each team member carefully collaborates with the developers and validates each feature during the sprint to make sure it satisfies the needs of the client.
4. Agile Software Development and Test Minimize Risk
Despite teams’ best efforts to anticipate the phases of a waterfall project, there is frequently a level of unpredictability that is not typical of Agile software development. Product testing and release are left for the end of the project in the conventional method of software development. If the team waits until the end, they will not know whether the product satisfies the customer’s needs.
Teams can act on feedback received from testing mobile applications using Agile virtually immediately. By working on a project in sprints, teams may swiftly assess their progress and make adjustments practically immediately. The team can be certain that they are creating value with each release since sprints are customer-focused.
5. Higher Quality Product
The product’s quality may suffer as a result of waterfall technique. In a waterfall model, project phases could be so jam-packed with features that developers are pressed for time to finish them, leaving little time for testing. They might not have the time necessary for thorough mobile application testing as a result.
A team working on an Agile project will not try to develop every feature at once. Instead, just a smaller subset of features are given to each sprint by the team. Thus, the creators will have extra time to polish those goods before their public release. Additionally, Agile’s emphasis on continuous integration (which merges all developers’ working copies to a common repository numerous times per day) enables developers to test issues every day and fix them right away. A product is completely tested and usable at the end of each sprint when it is developed in small, incremental releases.
6. Predictable Delivery Dates
Waterfall programmes have protracted project cycles, which make it challenging for teams to forecast an exact release date. Agile iterations take place in time-boxed sprints, and each release includes a working version of the product. The product owner is aware that they will receive new features at the conclusion of each sprint as a result.
7. Better Stakeholder Engagement
The product owner must be involved at every stage of the development process in order for Agile software development to be successful. Unfortunately, waterfall projects don’t encourage that level of participation. In a waterfall project, stakeholders are only likely to re-engage during user acceptance testing (UAT) after the requirements gathering phase. Product owners participate actively in Agile sprints, as opposed to waterfall sprints. They feel a sense of ownership as a result of this level of involvement, which promotes continued participation.
8. User-Focused Testing
Agile involves more than just being able to adapt to change. It involves giving the customer what they value most. The product owner collaborates closely with the team as a result to ensure that they have a clear grasp of what is required. User requirements are modelled as “user stories” in agile software development. These tales outline a course of action that benefits the client. Compared to the very extensive set of requirements created using a standard development technique, the idea of user stories is a sharp contrast.
9. Greater Customer Satisfaction
Throughout the Agile development and testing process, the product owner actively participates in the sprints. In the end, their involvement in this way develops a level of engagement that guarantees their needs are being satisfied. Additionally, they will appreciate that their team can produce releases more frequently and faster because they get to witness a working product at the conclusion of each sprint.
10. Better Project Control
To decide what gets into each sprint, teams collaborate with the product owner. The team will be in agreement about what has to be provided as a result. Additionally, it is less likely that the build will include any surprises or unanticipated features.
Daily standup meetings keep everyone updated on the state of the project so problems can be fixed promptly. Teams can get ready for the forthcoming sprint by attending planning sessions. Retrospectives assist the team in applying new techniques to future sprints and learning from past sprints.
At the end of each sprint, teams are able to deliver a working product that adds value thanks to the agile software development and testing process. One of the fundamental principles of the process is accepting change. Teams may swiftly adjust to requirements changes using Agile software development without having a detrimental influence on release schedules.
Agile also lowers technical debt, raises customer happiness, and produces products of superior quality. To find out how we can support you in your efforts to test mobile applications, Get in touch with one of our testing professionals right now.