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Scrum is the agile development approach that incorporates the practice of dividing a project into iterations called sprints, with each sprint resulting in a potentially releasable/shippable product. Scrum's iterative and incremental approach allows teams to deliver working software frequently, with a focus on delivering tangible value to the customer at the end of each sprint​​.

Equivalence partitioning is a black box test design technique suitable for verifying the accuracy of user stories like the one described. It involves dividing input data of a software unit into partitions of equivalent data from which test cases can be derived. For a user story involving tax percentage calculation based on income, Equivalence Partitioning allows the creation of test cases for different income ranges (low, medium, high) to ensure that the system accurately calculates tax percentages for each partition, thus covering various scenarios within the application's functionality.

An Agile task board is a visual management tool used by Agile teams to track the progress of work items during an iteration or sprint. It typically includes columns for different stages of work (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done) and cards or sticky notes representing individual tasks or user stories. The task board provides a detailed visual representation of the whole team's status, allowing team members and stakeholders to quickly see what work is in progress, what has been completed, and what is yet to be started. This visibility supports transparency, one of the core values of Agile, and facilitates communication and collaboration within the team. The task board is updated regularly, often daily during stand-up meetings, to reflect the most current status of the work​​.

The whole-team approach in agile methodologies is beneficial because it leverages the diverse skill sets within the team for the project's benefit. In this collaborative environment, team members, including developers, testers, and business analysts, work closely together from the project's outset. This close collaboration ensures a better understanding of the project goals, more innovative solutions to problems, and a higher quality product. The whole-team approach encourages knowledge sharing and collective problem-solving, leading to more efficient and effective project outcomes. This approach contrasts with traditional methodologies, where roles are more siloed, and collaboration between different roles occurs less frequently​​.

The 3C concept in Agile development refers to Card, Conversation, and Confirmation. This concept emphasizes the collaborative and iterative nature of defining user stories and their acceptance criteria in Agile projects. In the context of the provided user story, "As a customer, I want to subscribe to the mailing list so that I can receive the latest deal in an email," option A is correct. The conversation should include the acceptance criteria discussion, which is an integral part of the 3C concept.

The Card represents the user story itself, which is a brief statement describing a feature or requirement from the user's perspective. The Conversation involves discussions between the development team and the product owner (or other stakeholders) to clarify the details and ensure a mutual understanding of the user story. This conversation is crucial for exploring the user story's implications, discussing potential implementation approaches, and agreeing on the acceptance criteria that define when the story is considered complete and satisfactory.

Confirmation involves agreeing on and documenting the acceptance criteria that emerge from the conversation. These criteria serve as a checklist to ensure that the implemented feature meets the user's needs and expectations as defined in the user story.

Option A is the verified answer because it accurately reflects the importance of including acceptance criteria discussions in the conversation phase of the 3C concept. This practice aligns with Agile principles by ensuring clarity, shared understanding, and a focus on delivering value to the customer.

In Agile projects, test automation plays a crucial role in maintaining high quality and accommodating the rapid pace of iterative development. Statement ii highlights the difficulty of ensuring high quality without test automation, given Agile's frequent changes and fast iterations. Test automation facilitates continuous testing, allowing teams to quickly identify and address issues. Statement iii, regarding automated acceptance tests being part of continuous integration, underscores the Agile practice of integrating and testing changes regularly to ensure that the product evolves correctly with each iteration. This practice aligns with the principles of Agile methodologies that advocate for sustainable development, continuous attention to technical excellence, and good design to enhance agility.

Agile software development is characterized by its iterative and incremental approach, where development is conducted in cycles, and the work is divided into small, manageable chunks known as iterations or sprints. This approach allows for frequent reassessment of the project's direction, making it easier to incorporate changes and adapt to newinformation. Self-organizing, cross-functional teams are a hallmark of agile methodologies, emphasizing collaboration, flexibility, and team empowerment. This definition captures the essence of agile as described in various agile methodologies and the Agile Manifesto​​.

A test charter is primarily used in exploratory testing (i) to guide the test session with a clear mission or objective, which might be related to specific functionalities, user stories, or areas of the application, making reference to user stories (iii) plausible. It also contains notes taken during the test session (iv), which are crucial for documenting observations, anomalies, and insights gained during exploratory testing. This approach aligns with Agile's emphasis on individuals and interactions and responding to change, as exploratory testing is inherently adaptive and relies on the tester's skill, creativity, and intuition. It contrasts with more traditional, documentation-heavy approaches, emphasizing the value of working software and collaboration.

In an agile project, testers often perform tasks beyond traditional testing roles, including implementing test strategy (i), measuring and reporting test coverage (iii), and coaching the development team on relevant aspects of testing (iv). Implementing test strategy involves planning how testing will be conducted within the agile framework, ensuring that testing aligns with agile principles and practices. Measuring and reporting test coverage help the team understand the extent to which the codebase is tested, which is crucial for maintaining quality in fast-paced agile environments. Coaching the development team involves sharing knowledge on testing best practices and fostering a quality-centric mindset across the team. These activities contribute to the collaborative and iterative nature of agile projects, where continuous feedback and improvement are emphasized​​.

A testable acceptance criterion must be specific, measurable, and verifiable, which makes option C the correct choice. Stating that "the response time to confirm a customer submission must not exceed 5 seconds" provides a clear, quantifiable measure that can be tested to determine whether the criterion has been met. This contrasts with more subjective criteria, such as the system being "easy to use," which cannot be easily quantified or measured in a straightforward manner. The specificity of the response time allows for the creation of test cases that can confirm whether the system meets this particular requirement, thus making it a testable acceptance criterion​​.