Top 50 Agile Interview Questions and Answers (2023)

Agile is a widely known methodology used by organizations in software development. It helps the teams work in small increments so the departments can work efficiently and complete the tasks faster.

Hence, if you are deciding to apply for a role in this domain as a fresher or experienced candidate, here is a list of the above 50 interview questions to help you land a job.

Agile Interview Questions and Answers

1) What is Agile methodology?

Agile methodology is an approach to product development that involves separating the project into tiny parts. The agile team collaborates with the stakeholders and clients for improvement in every development stage.

It consists of planning, execution, and evaluation. In this method, the team releases small parts of the project, making every release more advanced than the previous one.

2) What is the key difference between an Agile and Scrum method?

Here is the distinction between Agile and Scrum:

Agile:

Agile method is used for managing a project.
Agile is a complete continuous process for developing and improving a product.

Scrum:

It is a precise technique that describes an agile methodology. You can term Agile as a practice and Scrum as a procedure.
This methodology is delivered after every development sprint.

3) What is the difference between an Agile and a traditional waterfall process?

Agile and Waterfall are both project management methodologies used for software development phases.

Here are the main differences Agile methodology and the Traditional waterfall process:

Agile methodology	Traditional waterfall process
In Agile, the team can simultaneously work on different phases.	The team needs to complete each phase before working on the next.
Agile is influenced by customer feedback and uses team collaboration.	Waterfall doesn’t take user feedback and external collaboration mid-process.

4) What is the difference between burn-up and burndown charts?

Burn-up and Burn-down charts are used to track the process of developing a project, and they use the same axis. However, these are the differences between these two charts.

Burn-up chart:

The burn-up chart shows the amount of completed work along with the total.
In this chart, the line goes from bottom to upwards.

Burndown chart:

The burndown lets you view the remaining job that needs to be done.
In the burndown chart, the line moves towards the bottom from the top as the team progresses in project development.

5) Define the roles in Scrum?

Defining the roles of Scrum is a common part of agile Scrum interview questions. There are three roles in Scrum:

Product owner: The product owner understands customer demands. Thus, they determine the product’s features and lists them priority-wise. Moreover, they have a vision for the entire team and for increasing the ROI.
Scrum master: The scrum master leads the project and scrum team. It helps them adopt agile methodologies. They assist the product owner to understand the features and the process.
Scrum team: This team works as per the scrum master’s guidance and delivers the requirements of the stakeholders.

6) What is the right moment for using the agile model?

Here are the places where you can utilize the Agile model:

Work category allocation: It provides complete transparency over where you invest your time and shows task priority in order.
Defect removal awareness: This helps in producing quality products by the active members.
Sprint burn down matric: When you need to track the completion of work using sprint.
Cumulative flow diagram: This is a uniform workflow checked where the x-axis shows time, and the y-axis represents the amount of effort.
Time coverage: The duration is measured using the proportion of the number of lines of code which is termed by the test suite using the number of relative lines of code.
Business value delivered: This is about the productivity of the team, and it has 100 points for every project.
Defect resolution time: It is regarding the process where the team identifies and fixes bugs.

7) What is Product Backlog & Sprint Backlog?

The difference between these two backlogs is that Product Backlog consists of all the requirements and modules of a product. It gives you information about the tasks that must be completed. Additionally, it includes the whole procedure needed to carry out these activities to reach the goal.

On the other hand, Sprint Backlog is a sub-division of Product Backlog. It is a detailed requirement and feature of a specific sprint.

The application owner owns the product backlog, while the Sprint backlog is owned by the sprint team.

8) How to deal with Score Creep?

Score creep means an uncontrolled change added without verifying its cost, time, and impact on the scope.

To deal with the score creep, you can follow these steps:

Step 1) Daily monitoring of the work closely.

Step 2) Aligning the vision of the team with proper communication.

Step 3) Regularly review the project requirements VS what was delivered.

Step 4) Avoid adding extra features that weren’t in the original scope.

Step 5) Make sure all the changes pass through change control and are implemented only after approval.

9) What is a test stub?

Test stub is a small code that can replace a specific component by imitating it. The stub provides consistent results and produces the same output as the original component.

10) What is the importance of daily stand-up meetings?

The daily stand-up meetings are important team discussion meets where every contributor reports the work progress. They discuss how to resolve the technical issues, the actions required to complete the remaining project, etc.

11) What is the Scrum of Scrums?

Scrum of Scrums is a meeting held by teams working on a particular project to coordinate and work together to deliver a solution. An ambassador from every team represents their unit in this meeting.

The main topics discussed in this meeting are:

The progress of the unit after the previous Scrum of Scrum.
Tasks that need completing before the next meeting.
The obstacles faced by the team while doing the previous task.

12) What do you know of the term agile testing?

Agile testing is a practice used for software testing. It is carried out by a testing team that receives a piece of code, and the test is done simultaneously during the development of the product. It incorporates the end-user requirements; hence agile development takes place parallelly.

The major principles of this methodology are sustainable development, customer satisfaction, and error-free code. It also follows continuous feedback, a collaboration between developers and businesspeople, face-to-face communication, and successive improvement.

13) What are the true skills of a good agile tester?

The qualities of a good agile tester are:

Test automation and tech knowledge: A good agile tester has enough technical knowledge to know which tests and what parts of the test can be automated.
Understands quality assurance VS testing: The ideal agile tester knows the difference between quality assurance and testing. Hence, they ensure the product has quality from the start.
Gives continuous feedback: Good agile tester can identify if the code has issues within a short period and provides solutions and feedback to the development team throughout.

14) What kind of project is suitable for the Agile Methodology?

Agile methodology is most suitable for frequently requirement-changing projects. This testing method can continuously deliver valuable test results with its time-focused iterative manner.

15) What is Kanban?

Kanban is a software that provides a visual representation of the work progress. It tracks the development of the project as it travels through a process. This system also regulates the supply of components for the project using a card that is sent down the manufacturing line.

16) What is the velocity of a sprint, and how is it measured?

A Sprint’s velocity is the total number of tasks the team has done in a Sprint. It is the team’s rate of progress sprint by sprint. Velocity is then measured by diving the number of story points achieved in a finished sprint with the total number of completed sprints.

17) Explain the role of the Scrum Master.

The scrum master’s role is to lead the project and guide the scrum team. This individual must shield his team from any interruptions that could affect the team’s focus. Scrum master helps the team achieve the sprint goal and also assists them in adopting the Agile methodologies and Scrum principles and applications.

He or she is responsible for watching over the team throughout all the projects and pushing them to remain efficient at all times. The scrum master works under the project owner and also helps them understand the features and the customer feedback.

18) What is the “build-breaker”?

A build breaker is a circumstance that occurs when a bug arises in software. This unforeseen situation leads to failed execution, breaking of the compilation process, or warning generation. In such cases, the tester is expected to bring the software back to its original functioning state by fixing the bug.

19) How does agile methodology work in testing?

Here are the steps to describe how agile methodology work in testing:

Step 1)The testing begins as the development of the software starts, so the testers analyse every feature and module that is created.

Step 2) Next, they break down the feature development of the product into smaller sections to make them manageable.

These parts could be user stories, requirements, and tasks.

Step 3) In this manner, the testing unit can now narrow down the focus on each section to increase accuracy and efficiency.

20) When to choose Agile methodology?

Agile methodology is a perfect choice for product management as its characteristics are short-time frames, adaptability, and iteration.

This method suits continuing projects and developments which have missing details in the starting stage.
It is also useful for projects that do not have enough resources or lacks clear timelines. For example, if you are creating a fresh product, you will encounter many challenges.
It also has quick iteration and helps with seamless communication with stakeholders, so you are immediately aware of the modifications and requirements.

21) What are the Artifacts of the Scrum Process?

The artifacts of the Scrum Process are:

Product Backlog: This is a list that contains freshly added features, modifications made in features, infrastructure changes, bug fixes, etc., to determine if a particular output can be acquired.
Sprint backlog: It is a subdivision of the Product Backlog, which consists of the tasks the team focuses on to meet the sprint goal.
Product Increment: This is a combined list of all Product Backlog jobs completed in a print and the value of earlier sprint increments.

22) What is Scrum-ban?

It is a methodology that combines Scrum and Kanban agile frameworks. In this method, you get the structure of Scrum and the visualization and flexibility of Kanban. Scrum-ban is used to reduce the batching of tasks, adopt a pull-based system, and meet other team requirements.

23) What is Sprint 0 and Spike?

Sprint 0 is the little effort used in creating a rough framework of the product backlog. This also includes the details of the estimated time of release of products. The purpose of Sprint 0 is to build a project skeleton, user stories, story mapping, and a usable product in a minimum time frame.

Spike is a user story for which the unit must determine the amount of work needed. With the help of this calculation, the team can conclude the time limit, problem, and alternative solutions.

Thus, Spike provides visibility, predictability, and trust in the product-building timeline. While Sprint 0 offers helpful value so the team can improve it.

24) What is user story Mapping?

User story mapping means arranging user stories depending on the priority and the horizontal axis. The vertical axis represents their progressing levels of complexity. In this mapping, the product manager and developers list down the tasks that will be valuable for end users.

They analyze to find out which steps are of the highest value to customers and accordingly prioritize the stories.

25) What is Empirical Process Control in Scrum?

Empirical Process Control refers to a task that is based on experience, observations, evidence, experimentation, and facts. This process is followed in Scrum to make sure the project progresses, and the interpretation is made based on observations and facts.

It depends on adaptation, observation, and transparency. The team’s mindset, changes in the thought process, and culture are vital for reaching the organization’s expected agility.

26) What are some significant parts of the Agile process?

The significant parts of the Agile Process are as follows:

Adaptability: Adapt to all the changes and new requirements.
Efficiency: Every individual needs to be efficient and continuously improve with feedback for quality outcomes.
Collaboration: All the parties must contribute to the project’s goal.
Disruption: Changing the traditional method for customer satisfaction is a worthy disruption.
Simplicity: Making the process more agile and preventing wastage is simplicity that creates better results.

27) What are the principles of Agile Testing?

The principles of Agile testing are:

Customer satisfaction: The customer needs must be satisfied.
Welcome changes: The need for change must be addressed.
Working together: The developers and other units must collaborate.
Frequent delivery: Deliver products within a short time frame.
Face-to-face communication: Real-time face-to-face conversations are best for agile testing.
Motivated team: Staying motivated and driven helps in completing projects faster.
Good design: The product can be improved when the team focuses on the design and its technical excellence.
Working software: It depicts the true progress of the project.
Constant pace: This helps the agile process to enable the best sustainable product development.
Self-organized teams offer the best designs, requirements, and architectures.
Efficiency: Reduce idle time with efficiency
Reflect and adjust: Regular reflecting and adjusting to the demands can help with a better Agile process.

28) What are some popular Agile tools?

Some of the popular Agile tools are:

29) What does Scrum poker technique or planning poker mean?

Scrum Poker, or Planning Poker, is a card-based agile method applied for planning and estimating. The product owner studies the user story to begin this technique’s session.

Here are the steps on how planning poker takes place:

Step 1) Every estimator has Scrum Poker cards with values like 0,1,2,3,5, etc., that indicate story points, ideal days, and other estimation measurements used by the team.

Step 2) The product owner has a discussion with every estimator and then chooses a card privately based on their estimation made individually.

Step 3) If all the estimators select the same value cards, it is taken as an estimate, and if not, then the estimator talks about the high and low values of the estimates.

Step 4) Later, each estimator selects a card again privately and shows it. This process continues till an agreement is made.

30) Differentiate between agile testing methods and other testing methods

When asked this question in agile methodology interview questions and answers, you must provide the interviewer with clear differences between these testing methods.

Here are the differences between Agile and Traditional:

Agile testing	Traditional Method
No fixed requirements: the issues are fixed in each sprint.	Follows requirements and resolutions for solving issues and launches the product.
An agile testing methodology has a more iterative and adaptive approach.	It has a predictive model.
It is done not only for product quality but also for quick delivery, even with minimum features.	This method is done for certifying the product quality.
Uses a lot of automation.	It doesn’t use much automation.

Here are the differences between Agile and testing VS Waterfall:

Agile Testing	Waterfall Testing
This testing takes place along with the development.	It is done only after a phase of development is completed.
In this method, there are no time delays between testing and coding.	There are delays between testing and coding.
It is a flexible method.	The Waterfall is a rigid method.
The test plan is analyzed after every sprint.	The test plan is not reviewed at the time of the cycle.

31) What are the most critical agile matrices?

Some of the most critical agile matrices are:

Velocity: This helps track the project’s velocity so the team can know about its progress and other metrics.
Issue removal awareness: As team members work efficiently and remove issues simultaneously, it improves product quality.
Work role allocation: Providing a role and category of work for the teams helps in segregating the task priority accurately.
Sprint burndown: The team can track and monitor the project completion of the sprint and the tasks.
Cumulative flow diagram: It depicts the workflow in which the x-axis denotes the time, and the y-axis shows the work of the team members.
Deliver value of a business: This focuses on the efficiency of the Agile team.
Time coverage: The time needed for developing and testing each iteration is calculated by utilizing the proportion between the number of lines in a code and the number of related lines of code.
Time of defect resolution: It obtains the time required to fix issues and bugs.

32) What are the major Agile quality strategies?

Some of the major Agile quality strategies are:

Code analysis
Iteration
Short feedback sprints
Refactoring
Inspections and reviews
Guidelines and standards
Milestone reviews

33) When not to use Agile?

Here, are the case when you should not use Agile method:

If the requirements are flexible or not.
Can you split the functionality.
If the customer is available or not.
Is the team skilled enough for Agile testing?
Will your time permit it.

34) What do you mean when you say “refactoring”?

Refactoring is a procedure of optimizing and updating the internal structure of a product without modifying its external functions.

It is done to improve or enhance the structure beneath by making changes to its source code. The developers use this process to make code more readable, clearer, and understandable. Additionally, it also makes code easy to maintain.

35) Mention where the Scrum and Kanban methodologies can be used?

When you need to move from the appropriate and prominent process, you can use Scrum. In case there is a requirement to improve the existing process with minimal changes, you can use Kanban.

36) What does build breaker mean?

Build-breaker is a condition that occurs when a bug appears in the software product. With this unannounced occurrence, the execution fails, the compilation process stops, or a warning generates. Then the tester has to get the software back to its original state.

37) What are the different kinds of Agile methodologies?

The different types of Agile methodologies are:

Kanban
Scrum
Extreme Programming (XP)
Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM)
Lean
Crystal

38) What is Product Road Map?

A product Roadmap is a tool that tells you how the product will develop over time. It is a complete view of the features that build the product vision. This tool specifies which development is taking place, the issues that the product will solve, the business goals that it will fulfil, and more.

The product manager owns it, and this tool aims at encouraging the development unit to work collectively. Overall product roadmap helps the teams achieve the desired goal at the product’s release.

39) What are some challenges that the team faces in the Agile process?

Some of the hardships faced by the team in the Agile process are:

Changing requirements: Change in the product’s requirements, features, and specifications.
Slow feedback loop: Feedback between the tester and developer may be slow at times.
Skipping important tests: Keeping some tests on hold because of limited time.
Insufficient test coverage: Sometimes, the testers miss out on important test cases.
Late issue detection: Defects are harder to fix if you try to resolve them later.
Performance Bottlenecks: Performance issues in the product.
Frequent code breakage: The codes may break during or after the build due to several edits and rewriting.

40) Describe the merits and demerits of the Agile Technique.

Here are the Agile technique’s merits:

It is the fastest and most flexible technique available for testing.
The customers can ask for modification anytime in the development stage.
Regularly delivers products so the clients can see their software at an early development phase.
It ensures customer satisfaction as the team focuses on the demands of the clients.
This methodology prioritizes good design.
There is no communication gap due to regular contact between the teams and stakeholders.
Bugs and defects are identified and fixed in the early stages.
It is suitable for projects that have undefined and ambiguous requirements.

Here are the Agile technique’s Demerits:

It lacks documentation due to frequent requirement changes.
Due to unknown requirements, calculating the time needed to complete the project is difficult.
The outcome of this technique cannot be foreseen.
Required time and resources for the product cannot be estimated.
It is not recommended for uncomplicated projects with less work.
Agile is more expensive than a conventional technique.

41) Why do companies adopt Agile methodology?

Here are the main reasons why the companies adopt Agile methodology:

Faster time-to-market: Its incremental approach and continuous delivery reduce the time-to-market while creating products.
Quick ROI: The reduction in time-to-market helps in getting after ROI.
High product quality is a continuous improvement process; thus, it helps create superior products with its iterative approach.
Reduced risk: Agile methodology mitigates risk by testing every development and preventing expensive risks.
Increased adaptability: It helps the organization work in smaller units and reduces complexities while making the employees more efficient.
Better customer satisfaction: Agile methodology highly depends on the client’s feedback and makes sure that their requirements are met.

42) How does Agile save money?

Agile methodology prioritizes completing tasks that add value to the business. Hence, the team requires to produce just enough documentation to complete the task instead of creating waste with excessive documentation. This makes Agile cost-effective as it takes less time than the traditional technique.

43) How do you deal with distributed teams in Agile?

Here are the tips to manage distributed teams in Agile:

Distribute work uniformly and allocate the tasks.
Hire dedicated and self-reliant individuals to bring the vision to life.
You can create co-located units and allow them to find ways to share the tasks.
Invest in collaboration tools for better teamwork.
Conduct stand-up meetings daily to find out about potential obstacles and decrease dependencies.

44) What do you mean by release candidate?

Release candidate means the version of the product that is ready to be released but not yet approved. This product is the possible, stable version internally released for a final check.

To become a release candidate, an application must undergo an extensive testing process to ensure it satisfies all the criteria.

In Agile and Scrum methodologies, a release candidate is the last action in the process before the product is launched for the true end users.

45) What is the difference between Agile and traditional software development methods?

Here are the differences between Agile and traditional software development methods:

Agile method	Traditional method
This method is used to develop complex software.	It is used for building simple software.
Development and testing are done simultaneously.	It is conducted after the development.
Runs with iterative organization structure.	Uses a linear organization design.
Comes with high security.	Has less security.
It mainly focuses on the client’s requirements.	It has less client involvement.
Agile supports a changeable model for development.	Has a fixed development model.

46) Explain Incremental and Iterative Development in Agile methodology.

Incremental Development: Most of the agile teams choose Incremental development. It is a distribution of huge tasks into smaller parts to build the product piece by piece.

Every new version of the product in the increment development functions, and every version includes a new feature

Iterative Development: A huge product is divided into small parts in this type of development. A new feature code is written and tested in cycles till it runs without defects. In each new version, a new feature is added in iterative development and tested so the product runs as it is expected to.

47) What do you know about the SAFe team?

SAFe, or Scaled Agile Framework, is a collection of operational and organizational designs that allows companies to scale agile methodologies.

It is a group of concepts, best practices, and procedures that let organizations adopt Agile techniques such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean for building quality products. SAFe is recommended for complicated large projects that require big teams.

48) What are the drawbacks and benefits of Scrum?

The list of benefits and drawbacks of Scrum are as follows:

Benefits	Drawbacks
It suits projects with imprecise and ambiguous requirements in the early development phase.	It leads to scope creep as there is no accurate end date.
In Scrum, the project is cut down into small manageable sprints.	Project failure is highly possible if the individuals in the team are not cooperative and diligent.
Requires less documentation and monitoring; hence, it is cost-effective.	The team has to go through a rigorous testing process to implement quality.
Each team member puts effort into completing their job, which leads to high quality.	Large teams find it hard to adopt Scrum.
Changes are welcomed in any stage of development as it encourages customer participation in the entire building process.	It is designed for professionals only.
Provides high customer satisfaction as the team focuses on all the client’s needs and feedback.	In case a team member quits in between the development, it can be difficult to adjust.

49) Could you describe the many forms of burndown charts?

Below are the four forms of burndown charts:

Project burndown chart: This chart highlights the story point of every completed sprint. It shows the goals that have been met, and that are yet to be achieved.
Sprint burndown chart: A diagram showcases the amount of work left in one sprint. This graph lets you view each team member’s progress and performance rate.
Release burndown chart: Scrum master updates this chart after each sprint. It shows how much progress the current release and the sprint have made.
Defect burndown chart: It lets you see how many defects have been identified and fixed.

50) What do you know about scrum time boxing?

Scrum time boxing is a strictly allocated time for a certain task or event. All Scrum activities are time-boxed using a time-boxing device. Its key purpose is to increase efficiency and productivity by dividing the project into distinct amounts of time.

Here are some of the pivotal tasks that are time-boxed:

Daily Scrum: This task is allocated 15 minutes.
Sprint: Single sprint is given a week’s time.
Planning of sprint: It is given two hours.
Review of sprint: This is allocated one hour.
Sprint retrospective: It is allowed to be one hour long.

51) Define Impediments in Scrum

Impediments in Scrum are any form of obstacle that stops the team from completing the tasks or meeting goals. These impediments slow down the velocity and reduce the progress rate.

It can occur in several ways, like shortage of resources, power cuts, sick team members, lack of support from management, technical issues, etc.

52) What challenges are you looking for in an agile project position?

You can tackle this question by highlighting that challenges motivate you. Describe how you can meet these difficulties, explain your skills, and tell them that you are flexible in adjusting to and overcoming challenges.

Furthermore, you can list the specific obstacles you have encountered and how you handled them to reach the goals from your previous experiences.