Rapid Software Testing: A quick look at the context-based methodology
Within the software industry, there are many methodologies and standards that help us to define and organize our work to provide software solutions. This time we will talk about one that we as QA apply in our projects: Rapid Software Testing.
First, we must ask ourselves the question… What is Rapid Software Testing? Its co-author, James Bach, defines it as a methodology for responsible software testing, which seeks to instill a focused mindset and skill set on how to test faster, at lower cost, and with excellent results.
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? But what do you mean by “Rapid”? It is defined in nine points:
- Control your own work: As a QA or Tester you are directly responsible for your work, you are the one who decides what practices you are going to use or how to coordinate the processes within the project.
- Stop doing things that do not contribute: If you feel that you are doing something that is wasting your time, stop doing it.
- Dive into exploration and experimentation: Learning how to use a product helps to create a mental model that allows you to quickly perform good tests.
- Focus on product risk: Test where it is most necessary to ensure the product meets requirements or where it might present the greatest risk.
- Use lightweight and flexible heuristic models to guide your work: Rapid Software Testing methodology offers several heuristic models that are concise, lightweight and offer support for any level of testing.
- Use the most concise form of documentation to solve a problem: Documentation, as an activity, can be a great burden of work and time. Focus on making the documentation in a lightweight form that communicates clearly, concisely, and accurately what is needed to the people who consult it.
- Use tools to optimize work time: QA or Testers do not need to automate software testing by coding, but they do need very good tools to put the RST methodology into action.
- Explain your work (your tests) and their value: When you can explain how important your tests are, clearly and quickly, and focus on the value they bring, the rest of the team and customers will see that your time is well spent.
- Develop your skills so that you can do all the above: Rapid Software Testing does not give you a shortcut to do all of the above, rather Rapid Software Testing shows you how to develop your skills and guides you where you can focus them most efficiently.
However, we can ask ourselves… How is Rapid Software Testing different from other methodologies? We will mention some points in which this methodology stands out:
- It focuses on the testers and the mission they want to achieve.
- A QA or Tester who implements this methodology will always be prepared to be fully responsible and accountable for their work.
- It has an approach that encourages learning.
- It is a customized methodology. That is, when you put it into practice, you will be your own version of Rapid Software Testing, depending on whether you want to change it or extend it, according to your needs.
We have already seen what Rapid Software Testing is and how it stands out from other methodologies. If you are wondering what benefits it brings: First, having your own control of your work allows you to test in an honest way, which makes you responsible for it. Second, as we mentioned before, it promotes being light on documentation, optimizing the time invested, allowing you to be open to perform important tasks.
As we have seen, Rapid Software Testing promotes a very promising approach to apply in our respective teams and projects. By doing this, we will be able to fulfill the purpose of focusing on what really matters without wasting time: Testing.
At GBH, we are open to the idea of seeking and applying methodologies and best practices that can help us achieve more effective product development testing, and ensure that the product has more value for our customers.
Do you want to know more about this methodology? Visit these links:
