What benefits does effective testing provide?

Effective testing provides several key benefits:

B. Conforms to specifications as defined in stories: Testing ensures that the developed software meets the requirements and acceptance criteria outlined in user stories or other requirement documents.

D. Validates new functionality without introducing regressions: Testing verifies that new features or changes work as expected and do not negatively impact existing functionality (regressions).  

E. Identifies defects early in the development process: The earlier defects are found, the cheaper and easier they are to fix. Testing helps identify issues early in the development lifecycle.  

Why not the other options?

A. Ensures compliance with industry standards: While testing can help with compliance, it's not the primary goal. Compliance often involves specific audits and assessments.

C. Enhances overall system performance: Performance testing is a specific type of testing that focuses on system performance, but it's not a general benefit of all testing.