Hollywood Secrets of Project Management Success

Integrating an Iterative Test Approach

Chapter 5, looked at the benefits of managing scope through the use of fixed-development time frames. This strategy promotes an iterative-type approach to construction. It’s effective because it allows development teams to deal with manageable bundles of work, instead of a whole barrel load dumped on them at once. Likewise, when testing is set up as a last-phase activity, test teams are again at risk for an overwhelming work load. Unfortunately, this happens so often on technology projects that it’s almost the expected norm. But such an approach does not work well. A better tack is to bring the philosophy of iterative development into the realm of testing. Testing iteratively not only helps manage test loads ...