Chapter 9
Testing in the Agile Environment
Increased competition and interconnectedness in all markets have forced businesses to shorten their time-to-market while continuing to provide high-quality products to their customers. This is particularly true in the software development industry where the Internet makes possible near-instant delivery of software applications and services. Whether creating a product for the masses or for the human resources department, one fact remains immutable: The twenty-first century customer demands a quality application delivered almost immediately. Unfortunately, traditional software development processes cannot keep up in this competitive environment.
In the early 2000s, a group of developers met to discuss the state of lightweight and rapid development methodologies. At the gathering they compared notes to identify what successful software projects look like; what made some projects succeed while others limped along. In the end, they created the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development,” a document that became the cornerstone of the Agile movement. Less a discrete methodology, the Agile Manifesto (Figure 9.1) is a unique philosophy that focuses on customers and employees, in lieu of rigid approaches and hierarchies.
Figure 9.1 Manifesto of Agile Software Development.
| We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: | ||
| Individuals and interactions over processes ... |
