Continuous and Collaborative Validation: A Field Study of Requirements Knowledge in Agile

We present the results of our field study that describe how requirements validation was performed at an industrial software company using agile software practices. As is common in agile processes, the team did not capture requirements knowledge in a comprehensive specification document. Instead, requirements knowledge was captured in user stories, automated acceptance tests, personal notes, and conversations. Validation was performed continuously, during preiteration, iteration planning, and intra iteration using mainly conversations. Validation was also collaborative and involved all team members, including the Product Owner, programmers, and testers. The results of our field study have implications for both agile and validation methods. This successful arrangement of agile practices is instructive for agile practitioners and for researchers studying validation.