In this article, we learn the top 13 agile interview questions and answers.
Agile Interview Questions and Answers
1. Mention the key difference between sprint backlog and product backlog?
Product backlog:
It contains a list of all desired features and is owned by the product owner.
Sprint backlog:
It is a subset of the product backlog owned by the development team and commits to deliver it in a sprint. It is created in Sprint Planning Meeting.
2. In Agile mention what is the difference between Incremental and Iterative development?
Iterative:
An iterative method is a continuous process of software development where the software development cycles are repeated (Sprint & Releases) till the final product is achieved.
Release 1: Sprint 1, 2… n
Release n: Sprint 1, 2….n
Incremental:
Incremental development segregates the system functionality into increments or portions. In each increment, each segment of functionality is delivered through cross-discipline work, from the requirements to the deployment.
3. Explain what is Spike and Zero sprint in Agile? What is the purpose of it?
Sprint Zero:
It is introduced to perform some research before initiating the first sprint. Usually, this sprint is used during the start of the project for activities like setting the development environment, preparing the product backlog, and so on.
Spikes:
Spikes are a type of story that are used for activities like research, exploration, design, and even prototyping. In between sprints, you can take spikes for the work related to any technical or design issue. Spikes are of two types Technical Spikes and Functional Spikes.
4. Explain what is Scrum ban?
Scrum ban is a software development model based on Scrum and Kanban. It is specially designed for a project that requires frequent maintenance and unexpected user stories and programming errors. Using these approaches, the team’s workflow is guided in a way that allows minimum completion time for each user story or programming error.
5. What testing is done during Agile?
The primary testing activities during Agile are automated unit testing and exploratory testing.
Though, depending on project requirements, a tester may execute Functional and Non-functional tests on the Application Under Test (AUT).
6. Explain what is Velocity in Agile?
Velocity is a metric that is calculated by the addition of all efforts estimates related to user stories completed in an iteration. It figures out how much work Agile can complete in a sprint and how much time will it need to finish a project.
7. What are the qualities a good Agile tester should have?
A good Agile tester should have the following qualities:
It should be able to understand the requirements quickly.
The agile tester should know Agile principles and concepts well.
As requirements keep changing, the tester should understand the risk involved in it.
Based on the requirements Agile tester should be able to prioritize the work.
Continue communication between business associates, developers and tester is a must.
8. Who are all involved in the Agile team?
In agile the two main leads are
Scrum Masters:
It coordinates most of the inputs and outputs required for an agile program
Development Managers:
They hire the right people and develop them with the team
9. Mention what are the Tools that can be useful for screenshots while working on Agile projects?
While working on Agile projects you can use tools like:
- BugDigger
- BugShooting
- qTrace
- Snagit
- Bonfire
- Usersnap
10. Mention what is the difference between Scrum and Agile?
Scrum:
In the scrum, a sprint is a basic unit of development. Each sprint is followed by a planning meeting, where the tasks for the sprint are identified and estimated. During each sprint, the team creates a finished portion of a product
Agile:
In Agile, each iteration involves a team working through a full software development cycle, including planning, design, coding, requirement analysis, unit testing, and acceptance testing when a product is demonstrated to stakeholders
In simple words, Agile is the practice and scrum is the process of following this practice.
11. What are the different ceremonies in Agile Scrum?
Sprint (or iteration) is the heart of Scrum. It calls for below ceremonies that bring structure to each sprint:
Sprint Planning
Held at the start of each sprint to define the Sprint Backlog (importing stories from the Product/Release backlog), i.e. items that can be completed in the current sprint. As you might have guessed, the Product Owner drives Sprint Planning which stories are highest in priority.
Daily Scrum:
Presided over by the Scrum Master, Daily Scrum is a 15-minute stand-up meeting to synchronize the work of team members, i.e. what’s done on the prior day, what needs to be done today and identify any impediments. It is also a means to track Sprint progress.
Sprint Review:
Held at the end of each sprint to demonstrate the added functionality. The goal is to get feedback from the product owner and other stakeholders to ensure that the delivered increment met the business need and to revise the Product Backlog based on the feedback.
Sprint Retrospective:
Held at the end of each sprint to reflect on the completed sprint and identify opportunities to improve in the next – what went well, what did not, and what can be improved. It allows the team to focus on its overall performance and identify strategies for continuous improvement.
12. Do you have working experience in an Agile environment? What’s your Team composition?
We do follow Scrum methodology with 2-week sprints including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Demo sessions & Sprint reviews. The roles include,
Product Owner:
Champion for Business! The communication bridge between the team and stakeholders writes customer-centric user stories, prioritize, maintains Product Backlog, Demo sessions, defines releases, communicates team status, etc.
Scrum Team:
Champions for sustainable development & QA! Responsible for delivering potentially shippable increments of product at the end of each Sprint. A mix of software engineers, architects, programmers, analysts, QA experts, testers, and UI designers.
Scrum Master:
Champion for Scrum! Coach the team, the product owner, and the business on the scrum process and look for ways to fine-tune their practice of it.
13. Explain how can you implement scrum in an easy way for your project?
These are the tips that can be helpful to implement scrum in your project
Get your backlog in order
Get an idea of the size of your product backlog items
Clarify sprint requirements and duration to complete the sprint backlog
Calculate the team sprint budget and then break requirements into tasks
Collaborate workspace- a center of all team discussion, which includes plans, roadmaps, key dates, sketches of functionality, issues, log, status reports, etc.
Sprint- Make sure you complete one feature at a time before moving on to the next. A sprint should not be aborted unless if there is no other option
Attend a daily stand-up meeting: In meeting, you need to mention, what has been achieved since the last meeting, what will they achieve before the next meeting, and is anything holding up their progress
Use a burndown chart to track daily progress. From the burndown chart, you can estimate whether you are on track, or you are running behind
Complete each feature well before moving on to the next
At the end of the sprint- hold a sprint review meeting, mentioning what is achieved or delivered in the sprint.
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