In the past few weeks I’ve been asked about and have been considering exactly how to fit QA and testing into a two week iteration. A primary concern of the folks I’ve been talking with is that QA’s and testers on an agile team have nothing to do at the start of an iteration. The second concern is that we can’t keep writing new code up until the last minute of an iteration if QA is to adequately test the code, and as such, what do the developers do at the end of the iteration. Of course, the underlying concern in both of these cases is keeping the QA’s and the devlopers effectively utilized during an iteration. Software quality always seems to boil down to a utilization/cost equation doesn’t it? Well, after giving it some thought, I think I’ve come with a basic schedule for QA’s and developers over a two week iteration. Here’s the plan:

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Take a minute and think about your current backlog. Close your eyes and get a good mental picture of it. OK, got an image? Now open your eyes. Does it look something like this cluttered garage?

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Trick or treat!!! How about some treats? As part of my website and blog redesign, I’m using today to kick off my new feature “Friday Freebies”. Every Friday, I’ll be posting links to good, free webcasts, seminars, ebooks, whitepapers, videos, and cool downloads that I find interesting or useful. I hope you’ll enjoy Friday Freebies. Here’s the first batch of treats for you to enjoy:

Free Webinars and Teleseminars (Click titles for more information and to register/attend)

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In agile software development, we create user stories as a way to communicate the requirements of our users in an easy to understand format. Usually, they take the following form:

“As a <user type>, I want to <function> so that I can <business value>.”

An example of a real user story looks like this: Read more »