Role of Unit Testing in Agile Projects

What is Unit testing ?

Unit testing is a methodology where individual units of software,? associated? data,? and? usage procedures are tested? to determine? whether? they? operate? correctly.? The? unit? is usually? a small piece of code—for? example,? a single function.? The unit test is a short? function? that? tests the behavior? of the unit? that produces? a pass/fail? result.? This is achieved by performing the tested? function? on a known? value with? a single correct? result.

The main? purpose? of unit? testing? is to allow? developers? to identify as many problems? as possible at the development stage and? to do it in an automated, repeatable fashion? that? can be applied for every code change.

This makes developers directly responsible for producing working?? code,? even? before? it? reaches? the? quality?? assurance team.

What Does Unit Testing Have to Do with Agile Development?

I think the two are closely linked. In fact, I believe you can’t be truly agile without implementing? unit testing as an? integral? part? of the? development process.? Unit testing has several benefits that align closely with agile development principles.

The?? central?? benefit?? of? unit?? testing?? is? that?? it? produces working? code? faster? and? with? fewer? bugs.? The? ability? to? catch? bugs at the development stage reduces a huge amount of overhead? that? is otherwise? spent on releases that? are immediately? rejected? by QA due to basic functionalities being broken. Unit testing increases the chances of a new feature? working? correctly? upon? first delivery, as it becomes the developer’s responsibility to verify that he is delivering working code.

Another? reason? that? unit? tests? cut? down? on? development time is that? their? fine resolution allows? them? to pinpoint pre- cisely the? location? of a problem.? A failed unit? test can? direct the developer to the exact location? of the problem? in the code, allowing him to quickly resolve it. This minimizes or even eliminates? the time that? would? otherwise? be spent locating? the problem.

Unit testing may not be able to catch all bugs, but it is highly effective in catching regression bugs that are defects that break existing? functionality. These bugs hamper? progress? and? waste valuable? development and? QA resources? as code is sent back and forth between the two departments, delaying new versions of existing? products and? new product releases. Without unit? testing,? it is virtually? impossible? to? detect? bugs during the development phase.? This causes sprints? to become bogged down as developers need to spend more and more time fixing regression bugs in order to keep producing working software.? It becomes impossible? to maintain a steady and predictable software delivery schedule while also maintaining quality.? When a release date draws? near and the product is not working,? panic sets in, software? is released without enough? time to test it, and more bugs are introduced, creating a vicious cycle.

Code that? is not properly? maintained very quickly becomes legacy code that? developers? either refuse to change or insist on rewriting? themselves.? To keep code alive, you need to be able to change it and be confident that your changes won’t break anything.?? Unit? testing? promotes?? this? confidence.? Without it, you? end? up? either? refusing? to? change? older? code or? investing large amounts of time rewriting? it every so often.? In order? to respond? quickly? to change,? you need to be able to modify? all parts? of your? code? quickly? and? confidently.?

The Key Differences between Dev Testing and QA Testing

Although both Dev testing and QA testing help ensure the required level of quality of the software being developed, they differ in many ways. Here’s looking at the key differences between Dev testing and QA testing:

Unit Testing Tools and Techniques

Conclusion:

Unit testing is the earliest testing practice that focuses on the code. With this testing approach, small modules of the program are tested individually. This approach benefits the teams in many ways such as early bug detection, fixing the code before they become expensive to resolve in the SDLC. Hence, practicing unit testing is essential for businesses to ensure that the developed software is bug-free and quality is assured from the initial stage of SDLC.

Together? with the agile methodology, unit? testing? that? works? well within? your? programming environment is a crucial? necessity for managing? modern software? development.