Crowdsourced testing is a great way to connect with users and ensure that the product idea, design, implementation, and nonfunctional elements meet their expectations—or, hopefully, even exceed them. But like any other test effort, crowdsourced testing is both a science and an art. Here's how to do it effectively.

Testers have always been advocates for the end-user. But there are now more opportunities to be that advocate, including emotional intelligence-based testing and role-based testing, which form a critical part of empathetic testing. Building empathy into our software engineering process ends up benefiting everyone.

One way to address poorly defined product backlog items is to spend time refining the items as you go. Refining the backlog continuously helps the team deliver consistently and can lead to shorter planning meetings at the start of the sprint. It can even help improve reliability, velocity, and the quality of work.