Walk then run
The test with 6 parachutists was, I expect, one of the sensible small-scale checks that are being done on the A400M (Algy will correct me if my surmise is wrong ...), like the rough runway check made earlier with a length of runway covered in chalk pellets. Full-up tests on a really rough runway are scheduled later, and the full parachuting tests are (or were last time I looked at the web-site) due to be held in Turkey (consortium partner), presumably in 2011.
Mods were done, I read recently, after the side doors and ramp were opened in flight earlier in flight testing, with noise and buffeting mentioned. These mods seem to have cleared the air for this test, avoiding the need to develop excrescences such as those applied to the unfortunate Beverley. Seems a reasonably cautious approach, with a fair chance of the later "full" tests going through smoothly - but the carpers are never satisfied ...