Examples of Agility in Google Chrome

I just read through Google's introduction to Chrome (their new light-weight browser). The intro is done as a cartoon. One thing that's really interesting (the browser sounds pretty cool too) is how many references there are to agile development within it. You can find the complete intro at http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/.

On page 9, they talk about their automated testing and the benefits of doing things incrementally...

"Within 20-30 minutes of each new browser build, we can test it on tens of thousands of different web pages."

"The key is catching problems as early as possible. It is less expensive and easier to fix them right away. After a few days it is harder to track them down. And catching them early helps engineers write better code. They say, 'Oh, this mistake is part of a pattern' and the next time, they're less likely to make it."

On page 10, they talk about the breadth of their automated testing and how it is part of their check in process...

"There are several ways we test each check-in, from unit tests of individual pieces of code to automated UI testing of scripted user actions like 'clicked back button... went to page..." to fuzz testing: sending your application random input."

On page 11, they talk about test driven design and about code debt.

"When we started we were passing 23% of WebKit's layout tests. Moving from there to 99% has been a fun challenge and an interesting example of test-driven design."

"It's hard to cover 100%, but that's what we're trying to do."

"I don't care if there's one fewer feature. I just want this product to be rock solid."

Good stuff.