Continuous Software Testing in a Globally Distributed Project

In globally distributed software projects the testing expertise may be scattered across multiple locations. We describe and discuss a globally distributed agile project at DNV GL Software, a multinational provider of software for a safer, smarter and greener future in the energy, process and maritime industries. DNV GL Software is headquartered in Norway. The project is distributed across two locations with 12 team members in Norway and three testers in China. In a distributed agile team with little overlap in working hours the challenge is to coordinate tasks and test activities in a way that makes coordination and communication efficient. DNV GL Software believes in including the remote testers as part of the agile team, enabling self-managing, cross-functional virtual teams that are capable of taking the full responsibility for implementing and verifying one entire feature. To support the communication between testers in China and the rest of the team in Norway, the team needs a shared understanding of the goal of a release and how to collaborate. We conducted interviews with the team and representatives from different roles in the organization, and we performed retrospectives with the team. In this article we describe how continuous testing based on continuous and frequent feedback ensures knowledge sharing and safeguarding the quality of the system under development. We found the following enablers for a successful virtual agile team: coordination by mutual adjustment, dedicated testers and low turnover, shifting working hours, and self-management and autonomy. Non-technical factors, such as socio-technical and organizational factors, have a significant influence on the way software testing is performed in an agile virtual team. To be successful the organization needs to invest in bringing the remote testers closer to the rest of the team, as part of the virtual team.