Agile Testing - Quadrants

Introduction Agile Testing Quadrants

Brian Marick developed the Agile Testing Quadrant to help teams plan and prioritize their testing activities. Agile Testing Quadrants provide a framework for classifying different types of testing based on their purpose and level of automation.

This article provides an introduction to the skill-testing quadrants and explains the purpose of each quadrant and the types of tests that can be performed in each quadrant. By understanding the agile testing quadrants, teams can plan their testing efforts more effectively, ensure they cover all the necessary areas, and deliver quality software more efficiently.

About all 4 Quadrants

Agile Testing Quadrants is a framework that classifies different types of testing according to their purpose and level of automation. The framework is divided into four quadrants, with each quadrant representing a different type of testing. In this article, we provide an overview of each quadrant and the tests that can be performed in each quadrant.

• Agile Quadrant 1: Business-Facing Tests
  This quadrant focuses on tests to ensure that the application meets business requirements and user needs. Business-specific tests are performed by testers, business analysts, or users who understand the business domain. Examples of tests in this quadrant include acceptance tests, exploratory tests, and usability tests. Advisory tests are built based on user stories and acceptance criteria to ensure the application meets business requirements. Exploratory testing is a type of testing in which testers examine an application to find bugs and evaluate usability. Usability testing ensures that the application is easy to use and understand for end users.

• Agile Quadrant 2: Technology-Facing Tests
  This quadrant focuses on tests that ensure the technical aspects of the application, such as performance, security, and compatibility. Technical tests are performed by technical testers with expertise in areas such as security, performance, and compatibility. Examples of tests in this quadrant include load testing, security testing, and compatibility testing. Load testing is done to evaluate the performance of the application under different load conditions. Security testing is done to find vulnerabilities in the application that hackers can exploit. Compatibility testing ensures that the application works correctly on different devices, browsers, and operating systems.

• Agile Quadrant 3: Business-Facing Tests with Technology Support
  This quadrant combines business-specific and technology testing to ensure that the application meets both business and technical requirements. Testers, developers, and business analysts test in this quadrant. Examples of tests in this quadrant are end-to-end testing and user scenario testing. Thorough testing is done to ensure that the application works correctly from end to end, from user input to output. User scenario testing is done to evaluate the functionality of the application from the user's perspective.

• Agile Quadrant 4: Tools-Based Tests
  This quadrant focuses on automating repetitive tests such as regression tests and smoke tests. Tests in this quadrant are performed by developers, testers, or automation engineers with experience with test automation tools. Examples of tests in this quadrant include unit testing, API testing, and test automation. Unit testing is done to test individual components or modules of an application. API testing is performed to ensure the proper operation of the application APIs. Test automation is used to automate repetitive tests like regression testing to save time and effort.

How to Use the Agile Testing Quadrants

Agile Testing Quadrants provide a framework for organizing and classifying different types of testing based on their purpose and level of automation. Here's how you can use the Agile Testing Quadrant effectively.

• Define Test Objectives: The first step is to determine the test objectives for your project. What are the main tests? Are there specific business or technical requirements that must be met? By identifying the test objectives, you can determine which quadrants are most relevant to your project.
• Define the Tests for Each Quadrant: Once you have defined the test objectives, the next step is to define the tests for each quadrant. Determine which tests fall into quadrants 1, 2, 3, and 4 based on their purpose and level of automation.
• Test Prioritization: Prioritize your testing effort based on the quadrants most important to the project. , For example,, if your application has many user-specific features, Quadrant 1 tests may be the most critical. On the other hand, if your application is performance-sensitive, Quadrant 2 tests may be the most important.
• Collaborate with the Team: Collaborate with the testing team, developers, and other stakeholders to ensure everyone is on the same page about testing goals and priorities. Make sure everyone understands which tests belong in which quadrant and why.
• Adjust as Needed: Finally, modify the test plan as needed based on feedback from the test results. If certain types of defects were not consistently missed, you may need to modify the test plan to include more tests in that quadrant.

Examples

Q1: Business-facing tests

• User acceptance testing of new e-commerce application functionality to ensure it meets both business and end-user requirements.
• Exploratory testing of the mobile banking application to identify usability issues that may affect the user experience.
• Usability testing of a customer support system ensures that it is easy for customers to find and use the support features they need.

Q2: Technology-facing tests.

• Load-test the social media platform to make sure it can handle a large number of simultaneous users.
• Data security testing of the online payment system to identify and fix potential data security holes.
• Compatibility testing of the online project management tool to ensure it works correctly on different browsers and devices.

Q3: Business-facing tests with technology support.

• Business-based tests with technology support full testing of the medical application so that patients can make an appointment, fill out all the necessary forms and go to the doctor without problems
• Testing travel booking website user scenarios so that users can easily search for flights, compare prices and book travel plans.
• Business workflow testing of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to ensure it can handle complex business processes and workflows.

Q4: Tools-based tests.

• The unit tests the new module in the online shopping cart system to make sure it works properly and doesn't affect other parts of the system.
• Testing the payment gateway API to ensure it communicates with other systems and processes transactions correctly.
• Automated regression testing of software ensures that previously fixed bugs do not appear in new versions.