Software products are the result of a multidisciplinary team coming together to make a concrete product that serves customer needs. Although the team is formed of several roles, such as managers, analysts, developers, and testers, each role is essential to deliver a suitable and robust product. This requires each of these contributors to be a part of the quality process.
If every role has a part in ensuring quality, why do we need a separate role for testers? One simple reason is to introduce a fresh set of eyes. While it is possible for a developer to test their own code or software, it requires a different mindset to ensure quality. A developer's mindset is to prove that their software works, but a tester's mindset is to make the product fail to work. Thus, the tester's role is more about finding defects in the software.
Now that we understand the difference in the thought process required for software testing, let's discuss the key skills an effective tester should possess:
- Analytical thinking: There are various methods to approach a problem, however, solutions based on the analysis of data tend to be more accurate and optimal. Hence, a tester should analyze complex problems first and then design steps to resolve it. It helps a tester to plan and come up with various scenarios to compare with the business requirements.
- Observability: Good observational skills and attention to detail are always important when trying to identify defects. This makes our job easy by simply observing and identifying what's not working. This helps testers to design end-to-end workflows, comparing the throughput, validating UI design and functionality, and so on.
- Logical thinking: Pattern analysis is another aspect of noticing what is going wrong and where the problem could lie – recognizing patterns, connecting the dots, and the ability to perform root-cause analysis are things that help testers stay relevant in the event of automation.
- Reasoning: It's always better to know an application in depth, not only its functionalities and user interface but also the logic built in the code. Supporting your reasoning with artifacts or proof is essential. Artifacts, such as logs and screenshots, are good sources of proof that testers can provide along with a defect. Not only does this help to reproduce defects, it also helps developers to debug code and provides a place to start debugging.
- Test-to-break attitude: You should have a mindset that is bent on breaking the application. In order to do that, you need to first understand how the specific function or application being tested works. This results in generating ideas for scenarios that can help to find hidden and latent defects.
- Broadening perspective: Domain knowledge adds value when it comes to verifying a product, as, sometimes, it's essential for testers to think from a broader perspective. Testing is not limited to verifying the part or component of the software where the changes have been made; it also deals with testing the parts where nothing has changed. Verifying whether the developed product works in a different environment, with different software, and whole different set of parameters, makes it more reliable.
- Understanding end user's perspective: Testing is not always about breaking; it's also about ensuring that the software works as expected and satisfies the intended purpose. Hence, when validating software, testing from an end user's perspective helps testers see different dimensions to perform verification effectively.
- Good communication skills: This plays a key role in team environments—it helps testers collaborate better and build a rapport as a team. Testers play a very delicate role, which is to effectively find flaws in developers' code. Hence, it is imperative for them to ensure the team focuses collectively to improve the software rather than blaming the developers.
- Thinking outside the box: Out-of-the-box thinking results in finding pathways that have probably not been explored before. This helps testers to find hidden and not-so-obvious defects.
- Learning attitude: As technology keeps changing, it is a must for a tester to keep themselves abreast with the newest technology. Learning new skills is crucial for them to be able to survive and adapt.