What are some strategies for balancing speed and quality in Agile QA?

Quadrant 1: technology-facing tests that support the team, such as unit tests, and Quadrant 2: business-facing tests that support the team, such as US tests, are generally automated.

Automation will increase speed, but ensure the tests are covering the functionality needed and are not just blanket tests to say automation is complete.

Automate the testing as much as possible to save time, resources, and effort. Automation testing can help to improve the coverage, consistency and it also enables continuous testing and integration. Integrate the testing into CI/CD pipeline enabling us to deliver software faster, get early feedback, more reliably.

Ditch the boring stuff! Let robots handle repetitive regression testing with tools like Selenium or Cypress. You'll be freed up for way cooler things like exploratory testing and catching those sneaky edge cases.Befriend the Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery pipeline. It catches bugs early, stopping them from snowballing into monstrous time-sucking beasts later. Automate API testing to ensure those system components talk nicely to each other. This speeds up development and prevents integration headaches that make you want to tear your hair out.

To balance speed and quality in Agile QA, implement robust test automation for repetitive tasks, adopt CI/CD practices for continuous integration and deployment, shift testing left to catch issues early, prioritize testing efforts based on critical areas, use the Agile Testing Quadrants model for comprehensive coverage, foster collaboration in cross-functional teams, apply risk-based testing to focus on high-impact areas, employ time-boxed testing phases for efficiency, promote continuous improvement through retrospectives, and establish a clear Definition of Done encompassing all testing criteria. These strategies collectively enable faster development cycles without compromising software quality.

As part of BDD, I work with the PO to present the US in 3 Amigos. DEV and QA challenge the Acceptance Criteria. And everyone completes the US with scenarios. The PO/BA with the functional vision, the DEV with the technical vision and QA with the testing vision.

Collaboration is key, but effective collaboration will provide near flawless products. QA needs to understand what is expected, priorities, functionality. If only development is discussed a key piece of the process is being missed.

Involve everyone from the get-go! Developers, testers, stakeholders – everyone's in the same boat here. Early planning sessions ensure everyone's on the same page about priorities and quality expectations. Ditch the blame game and foster a culture where everyone owns quality. Encourage open communication, bug reporting, and knowledge sharing across teams. Establish feedback loops like lightning strikes! Testers get insights to developers pronto, allowing for rapid fixes and preventing bugs from becoming permanent residents.

You need to work with stakeholders to gain more insights, guidance, and feedback. By collaborating with stakeholders, increase the awareness and responsibility among agile team members, and improve your communication and trust with your stakeholders.

Prioritize like a boss! Not all features are created equal. Identify high-risk areas and test those bad boys first, making sure the critical stuff rocks before moving on. Be like Batman and adapt your testing arsenal. Exploratory testing, and shift-left testing – these are your gadgets for handling dynamic requirements and changing priorities like a champ. Use these sessions to analyze wins and losses, identify areas for improvement, and fine-tune your testing approach for future sprints.

Agile Team should be flexible and adaptable to future changes in user feedback, stakeholder expectations, or market conditions. Adopt a growth mindset and a continuous improvement approach.

Don't get lost in the testing maze! Focus on tests that deliver the most value and impact, making sure you're using your resources wisely. Don't try to open a wine bottle with a hammer! Choose the right tools for the task. Explore frameworks like SpecFlow or Gauge, use performance testing tools like JMeter, and consider AI-powered test optimization solutions. Track those key metrics like test coverage, defect escape rate, and resolution time. Use this data to continuously improve your testing processes and allocate resources like a pro.

We should learn something new everyday. Open communication is priceless and improving test coverage and functional knowledge will lead to lessons learned and with planning, those lessons won't be learned the hard way. Retrospectives are worthless if nobody takes ownership and nothing changes.

Stay ahead of the curve! Attend conferences, workshops, and online courses to learn about new testing tools, frameworks, and best practices. Keep your brain a sponge for knowledge! Don't be afraid to try new things! Share your learnings and successes with the team, creating a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Feedback isn't a monster, it's a gift! Be open to constructive criticism and use it to refine your approach and become an even more awesome QA professional.

Need to have the willingness to learn and grow with team members. Encourage team to share their ideas and opinions, and support them in their learning journeys. Share your learnings and successes with the team, creating a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Lean and adopt the best practices and standards

Implement automated build, test, & deployment pipelines. This accelerates feedback loops & enables faster releases with minimal risk. Prioritize testing based on risk factors such as complexity, novelty, & potential impact. This ensures resources are directed towards areas most likely to contain defects. Encourage exploratory testing to uncover unexpected issues & potential usability problems. This complements scripted testing & helps identify hidden defects. Utilize pair testing to leverage diverse perspectives & increase test coverage. This fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, & improves overall test quality.

Always prioritize quality! If you're unable to dedicate time to ensure high quality, the likelihood of your product failing increases exponentially. The simple reason is that people won't engage in discussions about a product that delivers a poor user experience and wastes time. In Practice, it's crucial to examine the Viral Coefficient, aiming for a value higher than 1.01. This indicates that users talk about your app. If it is equal to or less than 0.99, your chances of failure will rise exponentially. Regularly monitor this metric and work towards enhancing the quality of your product over time. Good luck!