Jonathan Kohl talks at length about the good and bad of the XP and Agile notions of software testing. Jonathan is a well known writer on software testing issues and has worked extensively as a tester on conventional software projects as well as scrum and extreme programming (XP) teams. He also shares his views on Ruby and the Ruby based Watir testing tool.

Jonathan Kohl >> Im a consultant based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada focusing on software testing. Software testing, for me, is in the intersection of three disciplines: business, technology and philosophy. Testing provides me with opportunities to investigate and problem-solve in a unique way, which is enhanced by working with talented people on great teams. Im known for my collaboration work on software teams, particularly working with developers. My business background also comes into play, and I can be as at home in a development shop working with technical people, or working with executives in the board room. Software testing provides a lot of variety that way for me.

I believe software testing is a challenging, intellectual craft, and Im dedicated to help move the craft forward. Skilled software testing is a relentless pursuit of learning, and there is a vast amount that we can learn. I hope we can keep pushing the envelope. You can find out more about me here: http://www.kohl.ca which has links to my articles and my blog.

"Software testing is a challenging, intellectual craft, and Im dedicated to help move the craft forward."

Recently, Ive been trying to encourage more testers to work on Agile teams, and to encourage Agilists to bring more testers on their teams. These articles describe some of my experiences in this space:
* Conventional Software Testing on a Scrum Team
* Conventional Software Testing on an Extreme Programming Team
* Exploratory Testing on an Agile Team

Jonathan testing his guitar :)

IndicThreads >> You have worked as a software tester with scrum as well as extreme programming teams. How do you distinguish between conventional software testing and the kind of testing required as part of a Scrum or extreme programming team?

Jonathan Kohl >> My experience on a wide variety of teams has taught me this: skilled software testing fits in and adds value on any team, no matter what the methodology is. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Agile methods about the tester role going away, and I spent almost a year working on Agile projects to see if this was true or not. What I found was that the XP notions of 100% test automation, no tester role, etc. didn't always hold up when skilled software testing was applied on those projects. There are XP teams with enough skilled testing done by developers and customers that they dont necessarily need a dedicated tester. However, I have yet to hear of a skilled software tester not providing value on a team.

"XP notions of 100% test automation, no tester role, etc. didn't
always hold up when skilled software testing was applied on those projects"

In XP, you have two roles on a team: the customer, and programmer. So, the term tester in the XP context usually means programmer, and as such, the testing activities engaged in are programming-centric. To someone who has been in a software testing role for a number of years, so-called Agile-Testing is a specialized form of software testing - test automation. So the view of testing is often quite narrow in the Agile Testing context.

"Agile teams miss out by having a narrow focus on testing..."

Its difficult right now to break into Agile teams if you dont have test automation skills, and I think Agile teams miss out by having such a narrow focus on testing. I want diversity on test teams, so testers with programming skills are welcome, but so are any other skilled testers. Some of the best testers Ive worked with could not program; many were technical writers for example. Ive heard of tech writers fitting in just fine on Agile teams once they adjust. The people who struggle the most are Process Police  they arent used to having to demonstrate skill, and keep up with the demands of a fast-moving team. Talented Agile teams demand skill, and testers often find they now have to explain what they are doing and why. If it provides value, most Agilists Ive worked with were pragmatic and didnt care if it broke the rules.

"I found Agile Testers discovering things that software testers/QA folks have known and practiced for years..."

Typically in technology fields, innovation is forward looking, and we rarely draw on past lessons from other disciplines, or even our own. I found Agile Testers discovering things that software testers/QA folks have known and practiced for years. They thought my testing was magical, and were impressed by skilled software testing, so I saw a huge opportunity for Agilists to learn from people who make a living as software testers. The mutual learning that takes place in these pairings, and the results that can be achieved are tremendous. We are barely scratching the surface and I want to see more of a convergence between these groups.

"Ridiculous claims that software testers have heard for years were once again trotted out as wisdom...

Agile methods have some great things going on with regards to testing, but weve been set back by a lot of bad testing folklore that was rehashed under the Agile Testing banner in early writings. Sometimes ridiculous claims that software testers have heard for years were once again trotted out as wisdom, such as manual tests are harmful, or every test must be automated, or testers are the Quality gatekeepers on a project. I found that actually working with Agilists, particularly Test-Driven Developers provided some great experiences, and I learned a lot from them, and they said they learned a lot from me. The most important lesson I learned was that my software testing skill worked just as well on Agile teams as other teams. I came to an Agile team already prepared, due to my experience as a software tester.

"My software testing skill worked just as well on Agile teams as other teams..."