I have been working on Scrum Methodology for past six months. The problem I am facing is, in my previous projects we had functional requirements for which we use to identify possible scenarios and write test cases around them for functional testing and map them to requirements in HP ALM
However, in this new project the client has started writing user stories along with the requirements which is actually adding to the confusion while mapping the test cases. Should we map our test cases to requirements or to user stories in HP ALM. Saving Changes...
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Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
My experience, albeit limited, has each story satisfying a particular requirement - fulfilling an acceptance criteria.
For instance, if the requirement is for there to be a button to perform an action, then
"As a user, I want a button, so that when clicked, it will do something"
Your test cases will check for both happy and negative path, and scenario variations. The test is to accept the requirement of 'clicking the button to perform an action'. The test passes or fails based on the test result. The test(s) can fail, but the requirement fulfilled. Because of that, it is necessary to write up and map your tests appropriately in HP (Quality Center, I assume), so that it will show that the requirement step passed, but the button label was spelled incorrectly.
Hope that helps, or at least gets a conversation going. Saving Changes...
Appreciate you feedback Andrew, however I feel there seems to be a confusion with User Stories and requirements . Ideally when you write user stories, you are not being specific in terms detailed functionality of the requirement.
User stories are high level requirements which progresses to a detailed requirement as the software is being developed.
Due to limited understanding my explanation might be incorrect. Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
When I write User Stories they are high-level and focus on user understanding. But then I attach details to the user stories like , inputs, outputs, constraints, calculations. It I was using a card, this would be on the back of the card along with test steps.
We use TFS though and there is enough space provided to elaborate on each user story. Saving Changes...
Here is my attempt in finding some differences between them (though I feel it is not correct to do so as they have their own purposes though in different frameworks):
User stories are with respect to user. When we put ourselves in the shoes of a user, the activity that we want to perform is captured in a user story. It is actually not a concept from Scrum, rather it came from XP. It is usually written in the format that Andrew mentioned, though there is no reason why it should not be done so. Without caring about the implementation details (implementation decisions are taken by the team) it specifies what the user wants to do. Usually, it has a set of Acceptance Criteria which defines the acceptance of the user story.
Whereas requirement stems from the traditional development practices. It specifies what the user requires for his actions to be implemented. It captures more details and hence is more specific. Requirement can't be changed without it going through a change control board, however user stories' acceptance criteria can be worked upon as more details evolve till the start of the sprint in which a user story is supposed to be delivered. In short, requirements are kind of set in stone while the user stories and acceptance criteria keep evolving and are light weight.
I would also like to specify here that Scrum is not a methodology, It is rather a framework.
Hope this helps.
I would also like to hear others opinion.
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1 reply by Yogesh Puri
Oct 13, 2016 11:54 PM
Yogesh Puri
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Thank you Venkat for that detailed information, my apologies for mentioning Scrum as a methodology, as you rightly mentioned it is a framework. However my question still remains the same, my concern is with respect to mapping the test cases where in my client has added both user stories and requirements in HP ALM . I want to set a process and convince the client that either we write user stories or the requirements so that we can map our test cases accordingly.
I being new to Scrum framework, need to know what is the right way of managing this whole process of 360 degree mapping so that I can generate proper reports through HP ALM.
Here is my attempt in finding some differences between them (though I feel it is not correct to do so as they have their own purposes though in different frameworks):
User stories are with respect to user. When we put ourselves in the shoes of a user, the activity that we want to perform is captured in a user story. It is actually not a concept from Scrum, rather it came from XP. It is usually written in the format that Andrew mentioned, though there is no reason why it should not be done so. Without caring about the implementation details (implementation decisions are taken by the team) it specifies what the user wants to do. Usually, it has a set of Acceptance Criteria which defines the acceptance of the user story.
Whereas requirement stems from the traditional development practices. It specifies what the user requires for his actions to be implemented. It captures more details and hence is more specific. Requirement can't be changed without it going through a change control board, however user stories' acceptance criteria can be worked upon as more details evolve till the start of the sprint in which a user story is supposed to be delivered. In short, requirements are kind of set in stone while the user stories and acceptance criteria keep evolving and are light weight.
I would also like to specify here that Scrum is not a methodology, It is rather a framework.
Hope this helps.
I would also like to hear others opinion.
Thank you Venkat for that detailed information, my apologies for mentioning Scrum as a methodology, as you rightly mentioned it is a framework. However my question still remains the same, my concern is with respect to mapping the test cases where in my client has added both user stories and requirements in HP ALM . I want to set a process and convince the client that either we write user stories or the requirements so that we can map our test cases accordingly.
I being new to Scrum framework, need to know what is the right way of managing this whole process of 360 degree mapping so that I can generate proper reports through HP ALM. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I agree with Venkata: it's mostly about perspective. Stories are written from a user's point of view - hence the name user stories.
Requirements tend to be written from the system point of view. These differences in points of view can be noted in Andrew's examples above. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Fully agree with Stéphane. And besides that, Yogesh you can go to the basic. From user stories you will get the requirements. All types of requirements. In my case, I will say that you will not get requirements. You will get needs/wants/desires/etc that you will translate into well formed requirements of all type but mainly functional and non-functional. Saving Changes...
