Welcome back Readers!
Today I am back with an interesting topic. Well, I am asked or told many times that Testing is an easy job. Which always been a good discussion with lots of arguments. Why not discuss on this today?
Many times I am asked by freshers if Software Testing is a easy job and can be used as a stepping stone to get into IT market. Lot of time I am told by Developers that Testers do an easy job and it don't need much of effort or knowledge to accomplish this job. Sometime this questions disappoint me. But all the time I feel happy to explain the questioner what it really takes to do a proper Testing.
It takes a few skills for someone to become the one good Tester. Lets discuss them one by one.
1. Tester needs great Analytical skills.
Analysis is a key for Testing. How a product works? Why we might be getting this problem? How can we fix this issue with minimum efforts? This type of questions can only be answered if a Tester have a good analytical skill and can find a solution fast.
2. A Tester needs to have Attention to Details quality.
Finding a problem from something which seems to be working fine is not an easy task. Sometime Tester needs to foresee scenarios which no one else might have thought or have might have observed. They need to keep eye on every small details and find out there impacts on business. One with a proper attention to detail can perform a good testing.
3. Tester should have great patience.
Testing or Checking or Verifying something repeatedly sometimes takes the most out of a Tester. Testing and finding defects on something that everyone believes is working fine is also a quality. It takes a great level of patience to do that.
4. Tester should have good communication skills.
Communicating own thoughts or observations Verbally or in Written is important for a Tester. If a Tester can't explain a problem or a issue or observation to others then they can't understand its importance properly. Hence a good communication skill is important for a Tester.
5. Tester should have the guts to question anyone.
Sometime Tester needs to clarify own doubts from Developers, Managers, Clients etc. In some cases they need to ask silly questions or questions to someone who is quite senior to us or out of our team. But for a better understanding a Tester need to ask questions and clarify the required doubts.
6. Tester should be able to stand for what is right.
Sometimes in Testing career Testers are questioned on some of their statements as they might be contradicting someone. When you know you are right you need to stand for it and need to explain the other person why you came to this conclusion and whats the base of the observation. If the Tester is not right he should also be humble enough to accept the mistake.
7. A Tester should know how to play with the application through Automation (when required).
Sometime Tester uses automation tools to help him/ herself with the Testing. Automation is not something that is mandatory, but its always good to have knowledge on this to apply it during Testing to make Testing more effective.
8. Tester should have knowledge on how Programming Languages or Scripts works.
A Tester who have knowledge on how any programming language or script works can analyse any issue in application technically and on developers prospective. Which helps Tester to find a root cause more efficiently. This also helps a Tester to apply this knowledge on Automation tools.
9. Tester should have knowledge on how a database works and how to write efficient queries.
Learning how a data from front end goes to backend and how is it stored is important. How to retrieve the data saved to check if proper data is saved and in proper format can be done by Tester effectively if a he/ she knows the concept of database and queries.
10. A Tester should be a continuous learner and should always keep him/ herself updated with technology and trends.
Learning something and stopping is not a choice of a good tester. A good Tester always keeps him/ herself updated with the latest technologies, testing world etc. This helps a Tester to perform an effective Testing.
11. Tester should have good networking with fellow Testers and keep gaining knowledge from other's work.
Networking is an important aspect in a Testers life. They connects with other Testers and try to learn from their experience and their testing process.
I must have missed a few more points above. But does it look simple to get there?
Lets see what do we mean by covering Testing. As I think Testing can be done on everything. But being on IT side I would like to list down a few Testing that is generally done on an ideal product or application.
1. Functional Testing.
2. Performance Testing.
3. Security Testing.
4 .ETL or Database Testing.
5. Hardware Testing.
6. Mobile Testing.
7. Functional Testing using Automation Tools.
And this list will go on.
Based on the above facts if job of a Tester is evaluated, it is very clear that there are quite a few unique skills that a Tester needs to have. Testing is quite a vast field and its not about just testing the functionality of an application. It goes far in depth and may be never ending if done thoroughly.
Hence Testing is not a easy job or it should not be taken as a stepping stone to career in IT. Its one of the prestigious career now and carries equal importance as any other career options available.
Please share your thoughts and feedback on this discussion or blog post.
Till the next post, Happy Testing!!!
Today I am back with an interesting topic. Well, I am asked or told many times that Testing is an easy job. Which always been a good discussion with lots of arguments. Why not discuss on this today?
Many times I am asked by freshers if Software Testing is a easy job and can be used as a stepping stone to get into IT market. Lot of time I am told by Developers that Testers do an easy job and it don't need much of effort or knowledge to accomplish this job. Sometime this questions disappoint me. But all the time I feel happy to explain the questioner what it really takes to do a proper Testing.
It takes a few skills for someone to become the one good Tester. Lets discuss them one by one.
1. Tester needs great Analytical skills.
Analysis is a key for Testing. How a product works? Why we might be getting this problem? How can we fix this issue with minimum efforts? This type of questions can only be answered if a Tester have a good analytical skill and can find a solution fast.
2. A Tester needs to have Attention to Details quality.
Finding a problem from something which seems to be working fine is not an easy task. Sometime Tester needs to foresee scenarios which no one else might have thought or have might have observed. They need to keep eye on every small details and find out there impacts on business. One with a proper attention to detail can perform a good testing.
3. Tester should have great patience.
Testing or Checking or Verifying something repeatedly sometimes takes the most out of a Tester. Testing and finding defects on something that everyone believes is working fine is also a quality. It takes a great level of patience to do that.
4. Tester should have good communication skills.
Communicating own thoughts or observations Verbally or in Written is important for a Tester. If a Tester can't explain a problem or a issue or observation to others then they can't understand its importance properly. Hence a good communication skill is important for a Tester.
5. Tester should have the guts to question anyone.
Sometime Tester needs to clarify own doubts from Developers, Managers, Clients etc. In some cases they need to ask silly questions or questions to someone who is quite senior to us or out of our team. But for a better understanding a Tester need to ask questions and clarify the required doubts.
6. Tester should be able to stand for what is right.
Sometimes in Testing career Testers are questioned on some of their statements as they might be contradicting someone. When you know you are right you need to stand for it and need to explain the other person why you came to this conclusion and whats the base of the observation. If the Tester is not right he should also be humble enough to accept the mistake.
7. A Tester should know how to play with the application through Automation (when required).
Sometime Tester uses automation tools to help him/ herself with the Testing. Automation is not something that is mandatory, but its always good to have knowledge on this to apply it during Testing to make Testing more effective.
8. Tester should have knowledge on how Programming Languages or Scripts works.
A Tester who have knowledge on how any programming language or script works can analyse any issue in application technically and on developers prospective. Which helps Tester to find a root cause more efficiently. This also helps a Tester to apply this knowledge on Automation tools.
9. Tester should have knowledge on how a database works and how to write efficient queries.
Learning how a data from front end goes to backend and how is it stored is important. How to retrieve the data saved to check if proper data is saved and in proper format can be done by Tester effectively if a he/ she knows the concept of database and queries.
10. A Tester should be a continuous learner and should always keep him/ herself updated with technology and trends.
Learning something and stopping is not a choice of a good tester. A good Tester always keeps him/ herself updated with the latest technologies, testing world etc. This helps a Tester to perform an effective Testing.
11. Tester should have good networking with fellow Testers and keep gaining knowledge from other's work.
Networking is an important aspect in a Testers life. They connects with other Testers and try to learn from their experience and their testing process.
I must have missed a few more points above. But does it look simple to get there?
Lets see what do we mean by covering Testing. As I think Testing can be done on everything. But being on IT side I would like to list down a few Testing that is generally done on an ideal product or application.
1. Functional Testing.
2. Performance Testing.
3. Security Testing.
4 .ETL or Database Testing.
5. Hardware Testing.
6. Mobile Testing.
7. Functional Testing using Automation Tools.
And this list will go on.
Based on the above facts if job of a Tester is evaluated, it is very clear that there are quite a few unique skills that a Tester needs to have. Testing is quite a vast field and its not about just testing the functionality of an application. It goes far in depth and may be never ending if done thoroughly.
Hence Testing is not a easy job or it should not be taken as a stepping stone to career in IT. Its one of the prestigious career now and carries equal importance as any other career options available.
Please share your thoughts and feedback on this discussion or blog post.
Till the next post, Happy Testing!!!
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