Agile Release Trains

Hi all,

Who is working in an Agile environment where you’re using the Release Train method to deliver software incrementally and often?

If you’re using Release Trains, what challenges are you exeriencing from a testing angle (if any)?

On my current project we have the Release train method.

Challenges: nothing when it comes to testing features before they enter the train, but as a test lead for some releases, with so many people on the project, nailing down testing on each candidate has been tough (environment issues, too many people, different time zones for teams and managing stakeholders)

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Hi Nicola - thanks. Could you expand on some of the challenges you’ve faced? I think you seem to apply that you’ll do a form of verification/system/regression test at certain points in the delivery process?

Yeah, first teams test a feature within the scrum team. Then once the features are in a candidate for a release, they aree tested again as part of that candidate.

The teams that built the feature (and the test lead) have input over how much testing of a feature is needed in a candidate (some are higher risk than others and require more testing in the candidate, depends on how much the feature can affect other things/ be affected by other things)

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Thanks Nicola. And who does the release candidate testing, the scrum teams or an independent team?

Do you find many problems at the release candidate stage?

The scrum teams do the release candidate testing, we make them responsible to “take their feature to production”.
There’s also a BAT team, who are independent, and test features as part of a candidate from a “business perspective”.

No we don’t find many problems at this stage, unless teams somehow to manage to squeeze their features into a release candidate, without having tested it before (they choose to skip testing in the scrum team, and take their chances by hoping it works in the release candidate)

This is my first time working in a ART setup. Does any of what I describe to you, sound familiar?

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Really useful - thanks. We aren’t use ARTs yet but are planning to incorporate it which is why I was keen to get feedback from anyone who was already using it as a deployment/release method.

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