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What skills do Agile testers need?
The Agile team collaborates closely and makes a lot of changes. What does the ideal Agile tester possess in technical and people skills?
Automation is an important way to maintain the rapid pace of Agile development, and therefore, all members of Agile teams need to understand the fundamentals of automated testing.
Agile testers design test cases that are easily automated and assess automation feasibility based on potential for reuse -- for example, as part of a regression suite. Agile testers need a working knowledge of automation tools to recommend the most efficient and effective tools for the application under test and for the team.
However, it is not critical that all Agile testers have these automation skills. The tester's role is broader than that of an automation engineer and requires a more comprehensive range of abilities: technical, organizational and people skills, as well as the ability to adapt to change.
Expertise of Agile testers
Agile testers organize their plans and streamline test designs quickly, yet effectively. The best Agile testers are excellent communicators and create limited but meaningful documentation. They tailor the software quality story effectively to reach each stakeholder and understand what to report to each.
Collaboration is a critical skill for Agile testers, who work as integral members of the team. They champion quality in everything the team does, alongside developers and business stakeholders.
Finally, Agile testers are comfortable with constant change. This is probably the most important skill, yet the most difficult to acquire. Welcoming change is integral to Agile, in every role.
