Agila metoders påverkan på testare

Sammanfattning: To assure good quality the software needs to be tested to find errors and to verify that the programme meets the customer’s expectations. Traditional methods are usually used in software development and means that a number of predetermined steps are followed. By using agile methods the development can more easily be adapted to the changes on the market. With these methods the testing is carried out continuously throughout the project. This may affect both developers and testers in different ways. Most studies focus on how agile methods affect developers but there are no studies on how testers are affected by these methods. The purpose of this master thesis is therefore to study how the testers are affected when adopting the agile methods. The study was based on a theoretical and an empirical study consisting of interviews. These studies indicate five areas to investigate further, these areas were: test process, collaboration and communication, psychological effects, exchange of knowledge and education. After contacting a number of interviewees a decision was made to only study the agile methods Extreme programming and Scrum. Interviews were carried out at six different companies, where all interviewees had experience of testing in agile projects. The questions were open-ended questions and the answers were compiled to be compared with the theory in an analysis. The result showed that tests are carried out early and continuously throughout the entire development process. Since the testing is carried out parallel to the development the tester gains a better understanding for the product and there is a smaller risk for unnecessary tests to be written. The documentation produced during the test process is not affected by the agile methods but is rather dependent on other factors. These factors could be demands or the company’s business area. Collaboration and communication between testers and developers is improved since they are sitting together and have daily meetings. This also results in an increased exchange of knowledge within the team and that the team members are more informed about each others work. The result also showed that agile methods have psychological effects on the tester. Since the tester often has a unique role in the team the feeling of loneliness is larger and the opportunities to discuss tests are less than if there would have been other testers in the team. The role as a tester means to work independently with both developers and product owners to satisfy the interests of both sides. Finally, the study showed that the team needs an education when adopting agile methods to make sure that all team members have the same understanding of the methods.