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Agile Team Roles Business Analyst & QA Analyst Susan Fojtasek Tonya Guadiz
Agenda Development Processes Business Analyst Quality Assurance Analyst What does this mean to me?
Traditional Development Lifecycle
Agile Individuals & Interactions processes & tools Working software comprehensive documentation
Burn down Scrum Business Case Financing Scope & Approach Contracts Initial Release Plan Assemble Team Daily Scrum < 15 minutes Product Owner establishes vision and prioritizes Product Backlog Sprint Planning 1 day Acceptance Defined Team commits Tasks created Sprint 1 to 4 weeks Sprint Review 1/2 day Sprint Retrospective 1/2 day Team (BA, QA, Dev, etc.) creates and estimates Sprint Backlog (tasks) Releasable Increment velocity Burn up
BA QA Burn down Scrum Business Case Financing Scope & Approach Contracts Initial Release Plan Assemble Team Daily Scrum < 15 minutes Product Owner establishes vision and prioritizes Product Backlog Sprint Planning 1 day Acceptance Defined Team commits Tasks created Sprint 1 to 4 weeks Sprint Review 1/2 day Sprint Retrospective 1/2 day Team (BA, QA, Dev, etc.) creates and estimates Sprint Backlog (tasks) Releasable Increment velocity Burn up
Scrum Teams Scrum teams are optimally 7 +/- 2 people Scrum only defines 3 roles Product Owner ScrumMaster Development Team ScrumMaster BA Sponsor Team QA Stakeholders Product Owner
The Team Cross-functional group (PM, Architects, programmers, BAs, testers, UI designers, DBAs, etc) that have committed to accomplishing the goals of the sprint
Agenda Development Process Business Analyst Quality Assurance Analyst What does this mean to me?
Business Analyst Business Analyst vs. Systems Analyst Business IT
What Does Agile Mean to You? Misconception: I m no longer a valued team member Requirements don t need to be captured Product owner is responsible for writing requirements now I only have to worry about the high level user stories, the details will be figured out by the developers Don t throw away everything you ve been taught about being a BA
Responsibilities Objective: Define the scope of a project Identify what should be built Investigate & Analyze Communicate Document
Agile Responsibilities Facilitation Breadth, then Depth Don t get so wrapped up in process and documentation
Characteristics Inquisitive Detail-oriented Thorough Big picture focus Be flexible
Challenges Team doesn t pay attention to requirements Transition to new mindset: Don t have to know all the details up front You are no longer the single source of information, rather you are the facilitator Be involved with your team
Agenda Development Processes Business Analyst Quality Assurance Analyst What does this mean to me?
Quality Assurance Analyst or Tester Quality Assurance vs. Testing Quality Assurance Set of preventative activities Adherence to standards and processes Testing Investigation Focus on product output
Team member who: Agile Tester Collaborates well with technical and business people Not a quality police officer Drives agile testing Agile testing is more explicitly a service role Serves the business expert and the programmers
Misconceptions: What Does Agile Mean to You? Excuse to skip test documentation Toss aside all existing test skills Does mean an attitude and mindset adjustment
Objective: Ensure quality software Responsibilities
Agile Responsibilities Quality is a whole team concept Create tests collaboratively Translator & idea generator Be part of the requirements analysis process Acceptance tests are developed before software Test early and often - Provide continuous feedback
Traditional Characteristics Domain knowledge about the system under test Level of technical competency Attention to detail Results oriented Agile Novelty-seeking personality Flexibility Communication and collaboration
Challenges Maintaining a high level of regression coverage Anticipating the unknowns Adjusting your mindset from traditional to agile Breaking through others perception of the tester role
Agenda Scrum & Team Roles Overview Business Analyst Quality Assurance Analyst What does this mean to me?
What do you see?
Heresy Can the BA and Tester roles be combined? Common skills and characteristics Commonality of deliverables Should BA and Tester roles be combined?
Ponder Title = Role
What Does it Mean to Lead? Attitude Focus on the goal delivery Avoiding it s not my job mentality Walk the talk
What happens when.
Additional Resources IIBA International Institute of Business Analysts Dallas and Ft Worth Chapters www.iiba.org ALN Agile Leadership Network Dallas and Ft Worth Chapters http://www.meetup.com/dallas-aln/
Relevant Training Agile Acceptance Testing March 22-23 - Improving's Addison Location Becoming an Effective Product Owner February 28-29 - Improving's Addison Location Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master Certification March 22-23 - Improving's Addison Location May 16-17 - Code Magazine s Houston Location Agile Scrum Immersion March 29-30 - Improving's Addison Location April 11-12 - Code Magazine s Houston Location
Questions?
THANK YOU! Susan Fojtasek susan.fojtasek@improvingenterprises.com Tonya Guadiz tonya.guadiz@improvingenterprises.com