List of Books Every Agile Software Tester Should Read

The world is constantly changing and agile software testing is not an exception.

Reading and curiosity are some of the vital skills every agile tester should have, and we strongly believe that there is nothing as empowering as reading a book.

While you are waiting for the next edition of the Agile Testing Days or Agile Testing Days USA, we created the “List of Books Every Agile Software Tester Should Read”.

Below, you will find books that cover different topics related to agile software testing. Let the authors guide you through insights on new tools and techniques. Expand your mindset and widen your scope on challenges and solutions for your testing career. 

Regardless of your experience level, background, or job title, all these books will prove useful and interesting if you are passionate about agile software testing.

We hope that some of these books will spark the motivation you need to get out there and start boosting your career.

Note: Order does not apply to priority. Each book is as valuable and important as the other.

Agile Testing  Condensed - Janet Gregory & Lisa Crispin (2019)

This is the latest book of the agile testing pioneers Janet Gregory and Lisa Crispin. The book, published in 2019, presents a concise, easy-to-read overview of how to succeed with testing and build a quality culture in an agile context. This is a must-read for testers, software delivery team members, product team members, business stakeholders, managers, and executives.

Janet and Lisa have distilled their knowledge and experiences from two decades of agile testing in their newest book. 

More info here: https://agiletester.ca/agile-testing-condensed-a-brief-introduction/

More books published by Janet Gregory and Lisa Crispin here: https://agiletester.ca/

Continuous Testing For DevOps Professionals - Eran Kinsbruner (2018)

Eran Kinsbruner published his most recent book in 2018 and it is the perfect guide for DevOps teams! The book covers the best practices required to excel at continuous testing at each step of the DevOps pipeline.

Continuous Testing For DevOps Professionals is aimed at all DevOps practitioners, including software developers, testers, operations managers, and business executives.

More info here: https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Testing-DevOps-Professionals-Practical/dp/1727132173

Other book published by Eran Kinsbruner: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Quality-Handbook-color-Continuous/dp/0692885919

Continuous Delivery -  Jez Humble & David Farley (2010)

Whether you’re a developer, systems administrator, tester, or manager, the book of Jez and David provides the help your team needs to move from idea to release faster than ever. 

It presents the foundations of the rapid, reliable, low-risk delivery process, followed by an introduction to the deployment pipeline, and the explanation of the “Ecosystem” needed to support continuous delivery, from infrastructure, data and configuration management to governance.
More info here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321601912?tag=contindelive-20

Perfect Software And Other Illusions About Testing - Gerald Weinberg (2008)

Gerald guides readers to test strategies development that is scalable for any project. The book answers questions that puzzle most people: 

-Why bother doing tests? 

- Why not just test everything?

- Is perfect software even possible?

- And even more. 

Perfect Software is a book not only for testers and QA engineers but also for anyone engaged in developing or testing anything, especially intangible objects like software and processes.
More info here: https://leanpub.com/perfectsoftware

 Fifty Quick Ideas To Improve Your Tests - Gojko Adzic, David Evans and Tom Roden (2015)

The Three Musketeers Gojko Adzic, David Evans, and Tom Roden! These awesome men joined forces to provide you with a book that focuses on how to get the most out of your investment in testing activities in an agile process. 

This book is primarily aimed at cross-functional teams working in an iterative delivery environment, planning with user stories, and testing frequently changing software under the tough time pressure of short iterations.

More Info: https://leanpub.com/50quickideas-tests

The Way Of The Web Tester -  Jonathan Rasmusson (2016)

A book for anyone who needs to test the web. This book gives you everything you need to start writing your very own automated tests. Learn how the web works, how to write good automated tests, and how to explain, coordinate, and share your efforts with others are just a few of the things you will learn from Jonathan Rasmusson.

What makes this book so special is that it has cartoons, a lot of graphics, best practices and plenty of humor, and hands-on exercises.

 More info here: https://pragprog.com/book/jrtest/the-way-of-the-web-tester

 A Practical Guide To Testing In DevOps - Katrina Clokie (2017)

This book, published in 2017, offers direction and advice relevant to anyone involved in testing in a DevOps environment. The well-structured book answers questions such as: 

-How does the appetite for risk change once a product can be tested in production? 

-Who should testers look to connect with across the organization and how can they work together effectively to deliver quality software? ---And what does testing look like in an environment with automating build and deployment pipelines?

More info here: https://leanpub.com/testingindevops

Explore It!: Reduce Risk And Increase Confidence With Exploratory Testing- Elisabeth Hendrickson (2013)

Even though this book was published in 2013, it still provides the reader with incredible knowledge. 

Explore It! teaches you the essential skills of a master explorer, including how to analyze software to discover key points of vulnerability, how to design experiments on the fly, how to hone your observation skills, and how to focus your efforts.
More info here: https://pragprog.com/book/ehxta/explore-it

Accelerate -  Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble and Gene Kim (2018)

Accelerate, winner of the Shingo Publication Award, provides the readers with insights on how to measure the performance of their teams, and what capabilities they should invest in to drive higher performance. 

More info here: https://itrevolution.com/book/accelerate/ 

Team Guide To Software Testability - Ash winter and Rob Meaney (2019)

Ash and Rob equip you with insights on how testability can help bring team members together to observe, understand, and control customer needs, ensuring fitness and predictability of deliveries. The authors demonstrate that testability is not only and exclusive about tester or about testing but the responsibility of the whole organization. 
More info here: http://testabilitybook.com

Leading Quality - Ronald Cummings-John and Owais Peer ( 2019)

Ronald and Owais explain to you how to influence and align your company’s definition of quality so that you can deliver the best possible experience to your clients. You will learn the techniques that successful leaders use to make their strategic decisions and receive the tools you need to ensure that your team is aligned to achieve a common goal. Leading Quality is the first book that teaches why quality is important and how to incorporate it within the workspace.

More info here: https://www.leadingqualitybook.com/

How To Test - Mike Talks (2016)

Mike Talks provides us with a free book for people new to software testing, which focuses on teaching the basics of the job. 
More info here: https://leanpub.com/howtotest

Around The World With 80 Software Testers - Viv Richards (2020)

Around the World with 80 Software Testers draws upon the knowledge and experience from both experts and new voices from around the world involved in software testing.

This book contains reflections and thoughts based on many people’s own personal experiences, some of which you may agree with, and others you may well not. There is no overarching narrative, this book is for you to absorb, link what you read together, evaluating it based upon your own meaning, knowledge, and experience.

More info here: https://leanpub.com/AroundTheWorldWith80SoftwareTesters

More Fearless Change - Mary Lynh Manns and Linda Rising (2015)

This powerful duo teaches you, through their book, strategies that appeal to each individual’s logic (head), feelings (heart), and desire to contribute (hands)–the best way to motivate real change and sustain it for the long haul.

The book is packed with learning on how to: 

-Focus on the best things you can achieve with limited resources

-Get help from the right people in the right ways

-Build bridges, work with skeptics, soften resistance, and open minds

-Uncover easier paths towards change, and build on what already works

-Sustain momentum, provide time for reflection, and celebrate small successes
More info: https://www.amazon.com/More-Fearless-Change-Strategies-Making/dp/0133966445

The Drive-Thru Is Not Always Faster - Mike Lyles

Mike Lyles shares a collection of stories, personal notes, quotes and experiences about real-life situations that can help everyone be a better leader and accomplish their goals in various ways.

This book is the dose of motivation you need to boot your career!
More info here: https://www.thedrivethrubook.com/

If you own one or some of these books and you want it signed by one of the authors, the chances are high that you will meet some of them at the Agile Testing Days conferences, so check which author will be there and grab a personal dedication.

In case we miss a very relevant book, please write us an email via info@lagiletestingdays.com and 

we will add it to the list.

Happy Reading!