QA Handbook · Agile & Scrum
Agile & Scrum
How a two-week Sprint works, what happens in each meeting and what a tester does.
Agile means delivering in small steps and learning from feedback. Scrum gives the team a framework for doing this in Sprints.
The Product Owner (PO) manages priorities. The Scrum Master supports the team. Developers and testers build and test together; both are part of Scrum’s Developers group.
Follow the Sprint
Start with the story, plan the work, collaborate daily, then review and improve.
1 / 5 · Before planning
Grooming Meeting
Understand the work before selecting it for a Sprint.
Who joins? Product Owner, developers and testers
What happens?
- The Product Owner explains User Stories (US) in the Product Backlog and their Acceptance Criteria (AC): what the user needs and how the result should behave.
- Developers and testers ask questions, clarify the expected behavior and estimate the work together.
A common estimation scale is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. These Fibonacci-style points compare the size of stories; they are not days.
What does QA do?
Review the acceptance criteria and ask about missing or unclear behavior.
Example · Secure Logout
For “secure logout,” ask: What should happen if the logout request fails? Can the old session still access a protected page?
Outcome Clearer stories, acceptance criteria and shared estimates.
2 / 5 · Sprint start
Sprint Planning Meeting
Agree on the Sprint Goal and make a realistic plan.
Who joins? The whole Scrum Team
What happens?
- The Product Owner brings the priorities and proposes why the Sprint is valuable. The team agrees on a Sprint Goal.
- Developers, including testers, select work from the Product Backlog based on available capacity and past performance.
- They create the Sprint Backlog, break down the work and decide together who will work on each task.
What does QA do?
Plan the testing work, highlight risks and check that test data and environments will be available.
Example · Secure Logout
Sprint Goal: users can log out securely. The plan includes implementation, session checks and logout tests, with developers and testers working together.
Outcome A Sprint Goal and a Sprint Backlog: selected work plus the plan to deliver it.
3 / 5 · Every working day
Daily Stand-up / Daily Scrum
Check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust the upcoming plan.
Who joins? Developers, including testers · 15 minutes
What happens?
- The team discusses progress and blockers, then agrees on what to do next.
- A common format uses the three questions below. The questions are optional; the focus is the Sprint Goal.
- What did we do yesterday?
- What will we do today?
- Do we have any blockers?
An optional burndown chart shows remaining work over time. It helps the team forecast progress, but does not guarantee a completion date.
What does QA do?
Share testing progress, important findings and anything blocking the work.
Example · Secure Logout
Yesterday: prepared logout tests. Today: check session invalidation. Blocker: the test environment is unavailable. A developer and tester agree to investigate after the meeting.
Outcome An updated plan and clear follow-up on blockers.
4 / 5 · Sprint end
Sprint Review / Demo Meeting
Inspect the completed work and gather feedback.
Who joins? Scrum Team and stakeholders, including the client
What happens?
- The team demonstrates working software that meets the Definition of Done (DoD).
- The Product Owner and stakeholders discuss the results and next priorities. Incomplete work returns to the Product Backlog for reprioritization.
What does QA do?
Explain what was tested, demonstrate validated behavior and mention any remaining risks.
Example · Secure Logout
Demonstrate successful logout and show that the old session cannot access protected pages. Discuss a client request for “log out on all devices” as possible future work.
Outcome Stakeholder feedback and an updated Product Backlog.
5 / 5 · After the Review
Sprint Retrospective
Improve the team’s quality and effectiveness.
Who joins? The whole Scrum Team: Product Owner, Scrum Master, developers and testers
What happens?
- The team reflects on how the Sprint went using the questions below.
- It chooses a practical improvement and agrees who will follow it up.
- What went well?
- What went wrong?
- How can we improve?
What does QA do?
Bring a concrete testing problem and suggest an action the team can take.
Example · Secure Logout
Went well: early review of acceptance criteria. Problem: unstable test data. Improvement: a developer and tester will prepare repeatable test data for the next Sprint.
Outcome A clear improvement action with an owner.
QA works throughout the Sprint
Clarify requirements → prepare test cases → test and automate → report defects → verify fixes and run regression checks → share results.
Testing overlaps with development. It does not wait until the last day.
Three useful terms
- Product Backlog
- The ordered work that could improve the product.
- Sprint Backlog
- The Sprint Goal, selected work and the Developers’ delivery plan.
- Definition of Done (DoD)
- The shared quality measures the Increment must meet to be Done.
A quick Scrum clarification
These are five common meeting topics. Grooming, also called backlog refinement, is an ongoing activity rather than an official Scrum event. The five official events are the Sprint itself, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective.
Work must meet the Definition of Done before it is part of a completed Increment. Review is for inspection and feedback; it does not automatically make work Done. Unfinished work is reconsidered in the Product Backlog, not automatically assigned to the next Sprint.