  Background: The artifacts used in Agile software testing and the reasons why
these artifacts are used are fairly well-understood. However, empirical
research on how Agile test artifacts are eventually designed in practice and
which quality factors make them useful for software testing remains sparse.
Aims: Our objective is two-fold. First, we identify current challenges in using
test artifacts to understand why certain quality factors are considered good or
bad. Second, we build an Activity-Based Artifact Quality Model that describes
what Agile test artifacts should look like. Method: We conduct an industrial
survey with 18 practitioners from 12 companies operating in seven different
domains. Results: Our analysis reveals nine challenges and 16 factors
describing the quality of six test artifacts from the perspective of Agile
testers. Interestingly, we observed mostly challenges regarding language and
traceability, which are well-known to occur in non-Agile projects. Conclusions:
Although Agile software testing is becoming the norm, we still have little
confidence about general do's and don'ts going beyond conventional wisdom. This
study is the first to distill a list of quality factors deemed important to
what can be considered as useful test artifacts.
