Budgeting, Estimation, Planning, and #NoEstimates: They All Make Sense for Agile Testing

Many levels of estimation are practiced in agile, including budgeting, high-level estimation, and task planning (detailed estimation). That might seem like an anathema to agile, but it is not. Mike Harris shares a case study that provides an approach that “checks the box” for standard corporate estimation requirements while staying true to the agile planning and estimation processes. Using the Agile Planning Onion popularized by Mike Cohn, this approach includes team and project level implementations of #NoEstimates concepts. Take away an approach that you can apply to testing for both small and large agile efforts. Most planning and estimating activities for agile testing focus on answering a few very basic questions: When will it be done? How much will it cost? What will actually get tested? Using agile development and testing techniques doesn’t abrogate the need to answer those questions, but it also does not mean testing has to revert to waterfall planning and management techniques.